There are two urns that stand on the door-sill of Zeus. They are unlike for the gifts they bestow: an urn of evils, an urn of blessings. If Zeus who delights in thunder mingles these and bestows them on man, he shifts, and moves now in evil, again in good fortune. But when Zeus bestows from the urn of sorrows, he makes a failure of man, and the evil hunger drives him over the shining earth, and he wanders respected neither of gods nor mortalsThis concept centers on the woman as accountable for the existence of hardship, sufferings, and thus evil in the world. In ancient Greek tradition this woman is Pandora, the one who gives origin to the deadly race of women (Hesiod, Theogony 590); she is also the one for whose creation and inevitable evil nature Zeus is the responsible.
From her is the race of female women,
the deadly race and population of women,
a great infestation among mortal men,
at home with wealth but not with poverty.
It’s the same as with bees in their overhung hives
feeding the drones, evil conspirators.
The bees work every day until the sun goes down,
busy all day long making pale honeycombs,
while the drones stay inside, in the hollow hives,
stuffing their stomachs with the work of others.
That’s just how Zeus, the high lord of thund er,
made women as a curse for mortal men,
evil conspirators. And he added another evil
to offset the good
Thus woman, created to give man troubles and sufferings, seems to personify the quintessence of evil 1[2] , the origin of every evil, the source and the reason for evil, the inevitability of encountering evil.
Thus, the ultimate reason for the entrance of evil in the world is Zeus. Indeed, Pandora is an instrument in Zeus’ hands. It is Zeus who meant to introduce her as the source of all troubles. It is Zeus who creates, through Pandora, a precise kind of evil, a deceptive one, attractive and appealing on the outside, resembling something good (a caste and shy girl), but hiding bad things inside, the “sheer deception” wonderfully described through t he striking oxymoron kalòn kakòn (literally “a beautiful/lovely evil thing). It is Zeus, finally, who makes his lovely evil an irresistible and incurable one, so that nobody could escape. Whether or not you get married, that is, whether or not you deal with women, because of them you will encounter evils, anyway. And, as Zeus wants, there is no way to escape this evil
if a man tries to escape women and marriage, in order no to be forced to hard work and suffering, he is destined to a sad and lonely old age, without anybody who takes care of him;
if a man gets married and he is lucky to have a good woman, nevertheless he will have good and evil forever, since woman per se, independently from her individual character, is evil in that she is meant “to eat” her husband’s income;
if a man gets married and he is unlucky to have a woman that has also an individual bad attitude, for him there is no way to escape any kind of sorrow and evil.
, Pandora is often compared to Eve, who too was created after man and is responsible for his
troubles, his loss of Paradise. In the other version of Pandora’s myth that Hesiod offers in Works and Days, there is a peculiar act by Pandora that seems to provide a parallel to the doctrine of original sin, and consequently to the similar conception of Eve. After describing how Zeus ordered several gods and goddesses to manufacture the “lovely evil”, to give her specific qualities so that she would be a creature of irresistible beauty
.” Before her arrival and her opening of the jar, there was no trouble, no hard work, no sickness, no miseries or sorrow at all. Although Hesiod does not mention where the jar comes from, nor does he say anything that allows us to ascribe the opening to an intentional act of dangerous curiosity by Pandora, by the time of early Christian apologists (c. 1st-2nd c. AD.) Pandora’s opening of the jar was compared to Eve’s eating of the forbidden fruit 1[4] . Both actions mark the entrance of suffering and hardship in the world; both women – Pandora and Eve – Inevitably embody evil.
However, a closer analysis reveals important differences. Just to touch on some of them: Pandora’s creation by Zeus is meant to bring evil in human life, while Eve’s creation by God is meant to give a partner, a supportive companion to man. More importantly, Eve is told not to eat of the apple; she knew it was forbidden, yet she chose - so to speak - to eat of it by letting herself be persuaded by the serpent to do so. As hinted at above, nowhere in Hesiod’s recount is Pandora prohibi ted to open the jar 1[5] . Everything, from opening the jar to closing it before Hope escaped, is “all by the plan of Zeus”, which means Pandora does not choose to act as she acted. Despite these significant discrepancies, there is no doubt that in both cases woman and evil are identified with each other.
In ancient Greek concept of evil as embedded and spread by the female gender, there is something more that lets us go back to the starting quotation of this discussion: due to Zeus’ will, human life is characterized by evil - inevitable evil - and by a mixture of evil and good things. As a matter of fact, not only is Pandora the inevitable evil Zeus is responsible for; she is also the one who reserves for men a sort of antidote against evils: in compliance with the wishes of Zeus she keeps hope inside the jar, while all evils are scattered. The presence of hope in Pandora’s jar has been long debated: being media vox, hope can in turn be a good or bad thing, i.e. expectation of good or negative foreboding, m ere illusion. Given that the world’s occurrences in early Greek poetry show mainly a positive meaning, the content of Pandora’s jar may mirror both the mixture of good and evil which Zeus apportions as human destiny, and the mixture of good and evil that the woman herself might personify: women are the evil par excellence for men since they have been created to be so, but women may “hopefully” have a good attitude and give men evils mixed with good things, exactly in accordance with the plan of Zeus.
III. Prometheus
What role did Prometheus play in the primal history of mankind? What cultural value does the Promethean fire have in the history of human civilization?
How do you like the mythical account that Prometheus was unbound and restored to Olympus? And why?
l Family history
Titan Iapetus +Clymene, daughter of Oceanos
--- Atlas holding the broad sky at the ends of the earth---Hesperides p.307-310
--- Menoetius sent by Zeus to Erebus
---Prometheus ( Forethought先觉者)--Deucalion
---Epimetheus(Afterthought后觉者) ---Pyrrha
l Creator of humans:
---dust/earth (with Uranus’s seeds)
---wet the earth with water (water of life)
---fashioned it into the image of Gods
---to put life into it, confined good and evil of animals into human body, making it half living being (animal life)
---Athene gave it soul/psyche and breath of life
l Human benefactor:
---fire
---arts of healing, medicine
---mathematics
---astronomy
---navigation航海
---divination占卜
---architecture
---metallurgy冶金
l Defender of human interest:
---cheating at sacrifice---leaving meat to men
---bringing the needed fire, the symbol of civilization (the Forbidden Fruit)
[Promethean Fire: the Forbidden Fruit, which makes civilization possible and simultaneously severs humanity’s primal bond with Nature (Eden/animal)]
l Savior of mankind:
Christ-like, to suffer for the sake of mankind
l Rebel against tyranny:
refused to tell the secret (Zeus/Poseidon+Thetis ) and give in to Zeus
Prometheus’s acceptance to Olympus: a compromise or a triumph?
IV. Pandora
What is the traditional understanding of Pandora? In what way is she a “lovely evil”?
Pandora is often regarded as Eve, the first woman in the Bible. How does she resemble Eve? How do you defend her from the feminist point of view?
What does it mean that “hope” alone remains in Pandora’s jar/box? What is the significance of “hope”?
1. Nature of Woman
l “all-gifted”有着一切天赋的女人
l “the root of all evils”, the symbol of extravagance and ill-nature
l the being with “curiosity”
l the first woman, Greek Eve
l a complementary curse and blessing for men
[If a man refuses to marry, he has a dismal old age with no one to look after him and no family to inherit his possessions. If a man has a good wife, he has at least a mixture of good and evil.]
2. Different accounts of the jar
A．all good things flew back to heaven, only Hope was caught
B．both good and evil, Hope the last one to fly out before the jar was shut
C．all evils in the jar flew out to attack humans, only Hope remained
3. Cultural interpretation of Pandora
l a pro duct of earth and a gift of malevolence, the polar opposite of Prometheus’s gift, the celestial flame that ignites the spark of civilization
l this “lovely evil”, the lovely blessing and curse, like Eve, is the catalyst 催化剂of human “decline” and marks the beginning of tension between male and female
l with the opening of her jar or box ends the Golden Age, shattering the link between humanity and divinity, and plunging human history into an irreversible downward spiral
l a being of complexity with distin ctive features of female good and evil, e.g. Ares’s , Hermes’s, Athene’s, Aphrodite’s, etc. as a blessing necessity as well as a curse to men
4. Feminist Reading of Pandora
l Gods punish men for civilization/brutality, women become the scapegoat.
l Her story is really about men’s gullibility (Epimetheus) or innate weakness.
l Women have played a decisive role in human civilization: It is human nature to be curious, and it is female curiosity/intelligence/cunning that leads to human civilization/knowledge.
---Is female curiosity/intelligence bringing downfall of mankind or initiating Man into larger possibilities of civilized awareness?
---Would you rather live contentedly in ignorance or suffer with a good knowledge of what you are doing?
The gods gave her that now famous box as well. Of course they told her not to open it, THEN gave her an super duper extra dose of curiosity. She was dooomed to success. Anyway, she probably only opened the box because her gay lunkhead of a husband didn't have enough blood in him to excite a flea. It's another Adam and Eve story, probably the basis for that as well. Semonides concludes: "Zeus designed woman as the greatest of all evils. She is a source of evil, especially to her husband, even if she seems to be a help in some ways. No one manages to spend a whole day in contentment if he has a wife... Y es, this is the greatest plague Zeus has made, and he has bound us to them with a fetter than cannot be broken. Because of
this, some have gone to Hades fighting for a woman." 16 Semonides is here probably thinking of the adulterous Helen of Troy.
Can literary fragments be relied on to portray dominant cultural values? If so, the characteristic ancient Greek outlook on women can be found in two quips by comic playwrights. Eubulus, a fourth century Athenian, judging evil women to outnumber good ones overwhelmingly, alludes to Pandora. "The second man to marry should be punished, but not the first [Epimetheus], who had no experience of how awful a wife can be." 18 Eva Keuls, in her study of sexual politics in ancient Athens, entitled The Reign of the Phallus, selects this line from the fifth century Pherecrates to illustrate the deep-seated misogyny: "He who bemoans the death of his wife is a fool who doesn't appreciate his good fortune." 19
In that verse, a philosopher sounds a warning about the wiles of women: "I found something more bitter than death--woman. The love
she offers you will catch you like a trap or like a net; and her arms around you will hold you like a chain. A man who pleases God will get away, but she will catch the sinner."
woman is singled out as "the beginning of evil." Eve and her daughters are described in this disparaging way: "The woman, being imperfect and depraved by nature, made the beginning of sinning and prevaricating; but the man, being the more excellent and perfect creature, was the first to set the example of blushing and of being ashamed, and indeed of every good feeling and action." 20
The "beautiful evil" (kalon kakon) was named Pandora because a variety of Olympian gods and goddesses had given her traits. This "booby trap" equipped with "lying and tricky talk" was delivered to Epimetheus ("afterthinker"), the uncautious brother of Prometheus ("forethinker"). Before Epimetheus accepted the gift, men lived like gods in a paradisiacal Golden Age "free from evils, harsh labor, and consuming diseases." But when Pandora maliciously opened the lid of a huge jar, all kinds of miseries flew out and infected mortals throughout the earth. Hesiod ends his story: "This was the origin of damnable womankind, a plague with which men must live." Further on in Works and Days, the poet warns of sweet-talking and hip-wiggling women who steal from those that find them fascinating. Hesiod's final judgment: "Any man who trusts a woman, trusts a deceiver" (373-375). He believed that the multitude of Pandora's daughters inherit their mother's loveliness and cunning. Their charm and breeding potentially compel men to associate with them, but their bad character makes domestic life miserable. woman is singled out as "the beginning of evil." Eve and her daughters are described in this disparaging way: "The woman, being imperfect and depraved by nature, made the beginning of sinning and prevaricating; but the man, being the more excellent and perfect creature, was the first to set the example of blushing and of being ashamed, and indeed of every good feeling and action." 20 "Eve in Scripture opened the forbidden fruit by her bite, by which death invaded the world. So did Pandora open the box in defiance of a divine injunction, whereby all the evils and infinite calamities broke loose and overwhelmed the hapless mortals with countless infirmities
精心整理西方文化有两个源头:一为希腊(Hellenic)文化,一为希伯莱(Hebrew)文化,而希腊文化中的希腊神话(Greekmythology)对英语影响非常广泛。表现在词汇方面就是英语吸收了部分词汇并将之沿用,而这些词又或是可分解词或是可溯源词。这些词源包含的信息不仅可帮助读者准确理解每个词的词义,增添记忆单词的乐趣,还能特别记录、描述英语与古希腊文化的差异和交流,具有很高的历史性和趣味性。由于罗马神话深受希腊神话的影响,故事情节与希腊神话大同小异,只不过人名不同,所以希腊神话时常和罗马神话联系在一起。希腊罗马神话就像神话故事中的灵泉,滋养着英语的词汇,产生了 还是Cupid,成天无所事事,在天上飞来飞去练习射箭,搞得大家人心惶惶。 所以他们衍生出的单词都含贬义:erotic色情的;cupidity贪心,贪婪。 中国是matchmaker媒婆 10、Hygeia:希腊健康女神,其形象为年轻女子,身着白色长衣(白大褂),头戴祭司冠,用饭碗喂着一条蛇。衍生词:hygiene（n卫生学）。 11、Morpheus:希腊神话中的梦神。梦神是睡神Hypnos的儿子,掌管人们的梦境。衍生词:morphine(吗啡),marijuana(大麻),两者都是opium(鸦片)的提取物。morphine有麻醉镇 定的作用。 12．Chaos：开天辟地的混沌之神＜反＞cosmos：宇宙，有序的整体
13．Zeus主神宙斯 14．Pluto冥界之神，阴间之神；因为具有“冥河之宝藏”而似的“-pluto”作为词根表示”财富”;eg:plutocracy财阀统治；plutolatry拜金主义pluto冥王星 15．Styx环绕冥土四周的冥河，阴河;styxstygian冥河的，阴间的；黑洞洞的；幽暗的16．Lethe忘川，冥府河流名，饮其水则会忘记过去；忘却，遗忘 lethargic昏昏欲睡的<>stimulate 冥界三河：Styx冥河/Lethe忘川河/Meader河 abyss地狱深渊 abysmal深的。深渊的 17．Poseidon海洋之神，海王 eristic争 )siren , ) Chimerical空想的，幻想中的；异想天开的，不可能的 31．Iris（为诸神报信的）彩虹女神 iridescent彩虹色的，灿烂光辉的 32．Zephyr西风之神；西风的拟人化用语；和风，轻风，微风；轻罗，细纱 33．Academy柏拉图学派；某个科学领域内的权威定论机构 34．Stoic斯多葛学派哲学（公元前4世纪由哲学家Zeno创立于雅典）；禁欲主义35．Peripateticism逍遥学派(由古希腊哲学家亚里士多德在学园内漫步讲学而得此名) peripatetic逍遥学派的,走来走去的 二源于希腊神话的英语习语 1、Pandora’sbox(潘朵拉的盒子):普罗米修斯(Prometheus)为人类盗来了天火,激怒了宙斯(Zeus)。Zeus 决定惩罚人类,于是他命令火神造出一个美貌的女人Pandora,
《希腊神话》读后感 当仔细品读一部作品后，大家心中一定有很多感想，不妨坐下来好好写写读后感吧。现在你是否对读后感一筹莫展呢？以下是为大家收集的《希腊神话》读后感，仅供参考，欢迎大家阅读。 暑假里，我读了一本好书，书名是《希腊神话》，这本书让我手不释卷，意犹未尽。书里一个个小故事虽然篇幅不长但意义深远。故事中有正直的普罗米修斯，让我知道了舍己为人的含义;美丽的欧罗巴，让我知道了做人要知足;阴险狡诈的西绪福斯让我懂得了骗人是没有好结果的。 书里我最喜欢的故事叫做《菲勒蒙和包喀斯》。菲勒蒙和包喀斯他们虽然一贫如洗，但他们忍受悲苦的命运，诚实为人做事，所以他们又是一对幸福的老人。 这天，宙斯带着儿子来到人间考察人类的友好程度。他们敲了很多人家的门，却没有一家愿意收留他们，这时两位老人收留了他们并给了他们很多帮助。最后，宙斯故意把一袋金子悄悄放在桌上，但被老太太发现后立刻把金子还给了他。为了表彰两位老人，宙斯让两位老人做了他的祭司，并且获得了永生。 看完这个故事，我不禁联想到自己。我喜欢看书，一拿到书就会如痴如醉，甚至废寝忘食，因此影响了视力，早早戴上眼镜。就因为这，妈妈不让我多看书，特别是一些故事书，以免伤眼。为了看书，暑假里我上演了一次“窃读记”：一次半夜起来看书，还一直看了三个多小时。早晨在我睡得最熟的时候，书被妈妈发现了。等我起床后妈妈问我时，我还故作镇定地说：“啊?这本书怎么在我床上呀，我都不知道，我马上去把它放好。”说着，就想从妈妈手中抢过书，准备溜之大吉。妈妈往后一退，认真地看着我：“是吗?你真的不知道?你睡着没有感觉吗?”我感觉这时妈妈的眼光就像两道闪电击在我的身上，看得我脸火辣辣的，都不敢抬头，想着妈妈肯定知道了，肯定会责备我，暴风骤雨即将来临。出乎意料的是，妈妈只是把我拉到床边，语重心长地说：“陈熙，诚实是为人之本。犯了错误，就应该要勇敢地承认。用自己的诚实来换取别人的谅解和信任。”妈妈这次的话让我印象深刻。 最近我读了一本名叫《希腊神话》的书，书中讲了许许多多古希腊的奇妙故事，有许许多多的人物，神与人同形同性，既有人的体态美，也有人的七情六欲，懂得喜怒哀乐，参与人的活动。神与人的区别仅仅在于前者永生，无死亡期；后者生命有限，有生老病死。希腊神话中的神个性鲜明，没有禁欲主义因素，也很少有神秘主义色彩。希腊神话的美丽就在于神依然有命运，依然会为情所困，为自己的利益做出坏事。 那里面的俄狄浦斯虽然拥有智慧与勇气，机智地把狮身人面兽斯芬克斯的谜语：“什么动物早晨用四条腿走路，中午用两条腿走路，晚上用三条腿走路？腿最多的时候，也正是他走路最慢，体力最弱的时候。”用他那充满智慧的脑袋给想出来了。但是，他的一生还是在命运的轨迹中。所以，对比我们，我们要打破命运的束缚，努力改变自己的命运。 一切都靠自己争取！你本着一切向善的心态去做事，你的命运自然就会好的。所谓的命运好坏主要是说前世的因果，前世种了多多做善事，今世当然有福相报了，相反，如果前世做善事不多，今世受苦了，那也不要紧，按照佛家法门戒律去做，多做善事好运多，你的命
希腊神话英语小故事：海伦 Helen was the most beautiful woman of the world．She was an infamous lady．She lighted the flames of the Trojan war and brought extreme destruction on the city of Troy．Helen was the daughter of Zeus．Helen's matchless beauty and charms drew towards her many heroes from all parts of Greece. When still small she was carried off by Theseus，who wished to have a divine wife ．But she was rescued later by her brother Castor，and brought back to her native land．Her stepfather married her to Menelaus，king of Sparta． Nothing of importance had happened to her married life until Paris came to visit Sparta．Helen was attracted by Paris' lovely face．They stole one another's love in the absence of Menelausand then eloped on board a ship to Troy．Helen left her young daughter behind．To get Helen back，the Greek army sailed across and laid a long siege to the city of Troy ． Helen was quietly weaving her story into a web of golden carpet one day when she was called up the city walls of Troy to look at the fighting between Menelaus and Paris．Menelaus was determined to kill Paris in the battle．Sitting by the side of King Priam，she told the chiefs of the Greek side to him．Tears of love filled up her eyes when she saw her first husband down below．After Paris fled the field she had the feelings of love and scorn．She encouraged Hector and Paris to take the field again and sincerely mourned the death of the true hero Hector. But when Odysseus and Diomedes came in disguise to steal the Palladium，she helped them to do so as
最经典的希腊神话故事 今天在这分享一些最经典的希腊神话故事给大家，欢迎大家阅读!1.天神乌拉诺斯相传盖亚在太阳自东方升起时许下诺言:要将希望的种子植入每一个在地球上出生的生命。 混沌于是赐予大地(盖亚)乌拉诺斯，代表第一个希望。 乌拉诺斯是盖亚的受造物，也是盖亚的丈夫和十二泰坦神(Titans)、三个独眼巨人(Cyclopes)与三个百臂巨人(Hekatonchires)的父亲。 乌拉诺斯和盖亚生了六男六女，就是泰坦神。 这种婚姻关系可能反映了希腊远古时期贵十二泰坦族中的一种风俗。 他是躺着的，躺卧在生下他的大地身上，他们完全叠合。 每一块土地都有一片天空粘在皮肤上。 原始的乌拉诺斯除了性交之外什么都不做。 盖亚和奸诈的克洛诺斯制定了一个极其狡诈的计划。 为了实施该计划，她在自己体内用白钢制作了一把工具，这是一个弯刀状的东西。 她把这柄弯刀放在小克罗诺斯的手中。 他在母亲的肚子里，在乌拉诺斯和她交合的地方，埋伏着、窥伺着机会。 紧接着，为了避免自己的行为可能带来的麻烦，他顺势把乌拉诺斯的生殖器往上扔了出去。
许多血从这个割断后被抛出的器官滴到地球上，而那个生殖器却被抛得很远很远，一直落到爱琴海浪里。 从掀起的海浪泡沫中诞生了阿弗洛狄忒(Aphrodite)。 乌拉诺斯的精血溅飞在盖亚身上，使盖亚独自孕育了怪物巨人族(Giants)、复仇三女神厄里尼厄斯(Erinyes)和白橡树三神女墨利埃(Melia)。 乌拉诺斯呢，在自己被阉割的那一瞬间，疼痛得吼叫一声，轰然与盖亚分离，从此永远固定在世界的最高处，再也不能动弹。 乌拉诺斯的身体同盖亚同样高大，有多少块土地就有多少块天空，当我们仰头望时，头顶是同样大的一块天。 接着克洛诺斯从盖亚体内救出了十一位哥哥姐姐，但独眼巨人和百臂巨人仍被关在盖亚体内，他们推举克洛诺斯为神王，但乌拉诺斯对克洛诺斯诅咒:克洛诺斯也会被自己的孩子推翻。 另一说，乌拉诺斯把自己的孩子独目巨人和百臂巨人打入塔尔塔罗斯，受难的孩子呻吟不已，盖亚深感痛苦，所以请求其他的儿子起来反抗他们的父亲，搭救自己的兄弟。 但他们都不敢，只有最小的克洛诺斯敢于起来反抗父亲。 盖亚给他一把镰刀，让他埋伏起来，当乌拉诺斯和盖亚同床时，克洛诺斯用镰刀把他的生殖器砍下来，扔入大海，形成浪花从中生出阿弗洛狄忒。 乌拉诺斯伤口流出的血，生出复仇女神厄里尼厄斯和巨灵。
许多英语的成语来源于希腊神话，并且走入了人们的日常生活。如产生于特洛伊战争（the Trojan War）中的几个成语故事：apple of discord，意思是“不和的根源”。说的是不和女神艾瑞斯（Eris）在某个婚礼中投下一只金苹果，上面写着“送给最美的女神”。结果引起神后赫拉（Hera）、智慧女神雅典娜（Athene）和爱与美的女神阿芙洛狄特（Aphrodite）的争夺。最后她们去找特洛伊城（Troy）的王子帕里斯（Paris）裁决。三位女神向Paris许下了不同的诺言。Aphrodite 许诺说她将把世界上最美的女人送给Paris，于是Paris就把鑫苹果判给了Aphrodite.Hera和Athene非常生气，发誓要报复特洛伊人。后来，Paris出使希腊的斯巴达，在Aphrodite的帮助下，勾引走了斯巴达王后海伦（Helen）——当时世界上最美丽的女人。Paris拐走了Helen，激起了全体希腊人的公愤，于是希腊各国组成联军，远征特洛伊人。战争中，Aphrodite支持特洛伊人，Hera 和Athene支持希腊人。由一只苹果引发了战争，因此apple of discord意思就是“不和的根源，发生纠纷的事端”。这次战争中涌现了许多英雄，阿基里斯（Achilles）就是其中之一。幼年时，他母亲为了使他有不死之身，提着他的脚在冥河中将他全身浸过，使刀枪不能伤害他，唯独脚跟没有浸过冥河水，结果在同Paris作战时，被Paris用毒箭射中脚跟而死，因此Achilles' heel（阿基里斯之踵）就成了“致命的弱点”的同义语。特洛伊战争的最后一年，希腊人采用了“木马计”（the Trojan Horse），在Hera和Athene的帮助下，攻陷了特洛伊城。由于Helen导致了特洛伊城的沦陷，因此Helen of Troy就成了“红颜祸水，倾国尤物”的代名词。 再如：the sword of Damocles（达摩克利斯之剑），Damocles是叙拉古王朝的一位大臣，非常羡慕帝王的荣华富贵。一天，国王让他坐在王位上，在Damocles的头上用一根头发悬一把利剑，告诉他王权的危险就象那把剑一样，随时可能降临。因此the sword of Damocles就成了“富贵中隐藏的危险”的同义语，也可以指形势危急，千钧一发；Damon and Pythias：Damon和Pythias 是好朋友。Pythias出事被判了死刑，为了使他能够回家控视亲人，Damon留在牢中作人质，如果Pythias不按时返回，就处死Damon.当期限满，临处刑之际，Pythias及时赶回。国王深受感动，将二人全部释放，因此，Damon and Pythias 意思就是“生死之交”。 经常说的“潘朵拉的盒子”（Pandora's box）来自这样一个故事：普罗米修斯（Prometheus）为人类盗来了天火，激怒了宙斯（Zeus）。Zeus决定惩罚人类，于是他命令火神造出一个美貌的女人Pandora，让她去勾引Prometheus 的弟弟埃比米修斯（Epimetheus）。结果Epimetheus上当，接近了Pandora，Pandora于是就将手中的盒子打开，放出了里面的罪恶、灾难、疾病、不幸，只留下了“希望”在盒子里。于是Pandora's box就成了“灾难的根源”的代名词。 Penelop's web是来自于史诗奥德赛（Odyssey）的一则成语：泊涅罗珀（Penelop）是奥底修斯（Odysseus）的妻子，以忠贞而著称。特洛伊战争打了十年，Odysseus在返家的途中又耽搁了十年。在这漫长的二十年中，许多王公贵族向Penelop求婚，她都托辞说必须等织完布后才能予以考虑，一到晚上，她又将白天织好的布再拆开。因此Penelop's web就成了一项永远也完不成的工作。
斯芬克斯之谜 出自古希腊神话。传说斯芬克斯是希腊神话中带着翅膀的狮身人面女妖。赫拉派她到忒拜，给忒拜人出了一个谜，谜面是：什么动物早晨用四只脚，中午用两只脚，晚上用三只脚走路？脚最多的时候，正是他走路最慢，体力最弱的时候？忒拜人解不开这个谜语。谁猜错了，她就把谁吃掉，俄狄浦斯解开了她的谜底，她因羞愧投崖而死。斯芬克斯这个名字常用来比喻难以才读、让人琢磨不透的人或事物。 特洛伊木马 来源于希腊神话。特洛伊战争持续十年之久，古希腊联军中的奥德修斯献计制造一直高二丈的大木马，假装作战马神，让士兵藏匿于巨大的木马中，大部队假装撤退而降木马摒弃于特洛伊城下。城中得知结尾的消息后，遂将木马作为奇异的战利品拖入城内，全城饮酒狂欢。到午夜时分，全城军民陷入梦乡，藏匿于木马中的将是开秘门游绳而下，开启城门并且四处纵火，城外伏兵涌入，部队里应外合，焚屠特洛伊城，战争最后以希腊军获胜而技术，后世称这只大木马为“特洛伊木马”。 阿喀琉斯之踵 阿喀琉斯是海洋女神忒提斯与凡人国王的儿子。在他出生后，他的母亲捏着他的脚踝在冥河水中淬炼，使他全身刀枪不入，惟有脚踝为最薄弱处，这就是西方谚语“阿喀琉斯之踵”的来源。特洛伊战争爆发，虽明知自己吉凶未卜，但阿喀琉斯仍为追求荣誉而来到特洛伊，他作战勇猛无比，杀死无数特洛伊人，包括大王子赫克托尔。特洛伊小王子帕里斯在太阳神阿波罗的指点下，在暗处拉弓搭箭，朝着阿喀琉斯容易伤害的脚踝射去一箭。阿喀琉斯感到了一阵钻心的疼痛，像座塌倒的巨塔一样栽倒在地上。他愤怒地叫骂起来：“谁敢在暗处向我卑鄙地放冷箭？如果他胆敢面对面地和我作战，我将叫他鲜血流尽，直到他的灵魂逃到地府里去！懦夫总是在暗中杀害勇士！”第一勇士阿喀琉斯遭到如此暗算，终于倒了下去。后人常以“阿喀琉斯之踵”譬喻这样一个道理：即使是再强大的英雄，他也有致命的死穴或软肋。 阿基琉斯的愤怒 出自荷马史诗《伊利昂纪》。《伊利昂纪》以阿基琉斯的愤怒开篇，奠定了全诗情节的基础。希腊联军统帅阿伽门农蛮横地夺走了阿基琉斯的一名女俘“美貌的布里塞伊斯”。阿基琉斯怒不可遏，决定罢兵不战，从而导致了希腊人在战场上的节节失利，直到阿基琉斯的挚友帕特罗克斯被特洛伊湛江赫克托尔杀死，阿基琉斯才重新上阵为战友复仇，杀死赫克托尔，最后遵照神意，将赫克托尔的尸体交换给他的父亲，年迈的普里阿摩斯。 不和的金苹果 出自希腊神话故事。阿基琉斯的父母结婚的时候，没有邀请不和女神厄里斯，这位女神生气了，有意要挑起一场纷争。她来到席间扔下一个金苹果，上面写着“给最美的女神”。当场就引起了天后赫拉、智慧女神雅典娜和爱神阿佛洛狄忒的争夺。后来她们找特洛伊的王子巴里斯评判，三人各许他以好处。最后巴里斯将金苹果判给了爱神阿佛洛狄忒。为了酬谢巴里斯，爱神帮助他把天下最美的女人——斯巴达王后海伦给拐走了，从而爆发了特洛伊与希腊之间长达十年之久的战争。“不和的金苹果”常被后人用来比喻因争夺某种巨大利益而造成不幸与争端的起源。 潘多拉的盒子
Greek Mythology Today I'm very happy to have this opportunity to show you our presentation. Greek Mythology is a group of traditional tales told by the ancient Greeks. It talks about the deeds of gods, heroes and their relations with human beings. Greek Mythology is not just a literary works; it is also a production of culture of that time and an exhibition of the social surroundings and problems of the current western countries. If we want to know western culture, we need to read this book. It is a summary about gods and heroes story of the ancient Greek nation. It mixed up the real life with the fantasies. After reading the book Greek Mythology, I'm sure everybody is interested in the goddess in this fantastic masterpiece, so I will share with you some of our ideas. Juno was the principal wife of Jupiter, and, as queen of heaven, participated in the honors paid to Jupiter. Juno appears to be the sublime embodiment of strict, matronly and virtue, and is on that account the protectress of purity and married women. Faultless herself in her fidelity as a wife, she is essentially the type of the sanctity of the marriage tie. So strongly was she imbued with this hatred of any immorality, that, finding herself so often called upon to punish the failings of both gods and men in this respect, she became jealous, harsh, and vindictive. She seemed to be hard-hearted to those gods who were sent many blessings by Jupiter. Latona was just a typical example. Juno changed herself into fierce and dreadful forms to frighten Latona and her children - Apollo and Diana to run from the beautiful garden which Jupiter had found for her. Then she followed and tormented Latona in many ways such as sent wild animals to howl horribly behind her when Latona grew tired and to rest. Juno also changed Callisto into a great furry bear when she found that Jupiter was so pleased with Callisto?s charm and goodness. Her exalted position as the wife of the supreme deity, combined with her extreme beauty, caused her to become exceedingly vain, and she consequently resented with great severity any infringement on her rights as queen of heaven, or any apparent slight on her personal appearance. Juno…s character was just like a jealous and manipulative woman in our daily life. Venus was appointed goddess of Love and Marriage．She represented sex, affection and the attraction that binds people together. With the help of her little son，Eros，the god of love，she made many a tale of happiness and sadness in the life of gods and men．Though Venus was regarded as the symbol of extreme beauty, she still showed a human-like emotion. Venus was much vexed by Psyche who was a princess famous of her beauty. Although her little son Eros - - the god of love fell in love with Psyche. Venus tried every method to break them up. Obviously, Venus was jealous of Psyche?s beauty. In another story, Venus made Pygmalion…s (a sculptor) dream come true, only because she was delighted with the loveliness of Pygmalion?s statue which looked much like herself. Venus spent all her life in the pursuit of love, but her enthusiasm for love is temporary. What?s more, she isn?t single-minded in love. Venus created a personality image with strong vanity and beautiful appearance. She stressed the women's instinct to pay more attention to the appearance. And these points made Venus more act like human beings.
英语词汇中的古典成分 【摘要】希腊文化对西方文明有着深远影响，而古希腊神话形成于公元前8世纪左右，作为古希腊文学宝库的奇葩，它对西方社会文化和语言都产生了深刻而久远的影响。本文拟从英语中源于希腊罗马神话的词汇入手，追溯希腊神话对英语词汇的影响。 【关键词】希腊神话，英语词汇 古希腊神话内容庞杂，情节曲折动人，人物众多（据统计有480人之多），它对欧洲文化产生了久远的影响。现代英语80%的词汇都是借自其他语言或从其他语言的词根构成的。据粗略统计，英语中与希腊神话相关的词汇大约有1000个，所得数据未必是准确无误的，但是这至少证明了英语中与希腊神话有关的词汇在英语词汇系统中有着不可轻视的地位和重要性。 源于希腊神话的词汇已经渗透英美国家社会生活的各个层面，并对其文化和语言表达产生了深远影响。这些词汇从来源课大概分为五类：取自奥林匹克12主神的词汇，取自其他神的词汇，取自英雄故事的词汇，取自半人半神的词汇，取自凡人故事的词汇。这些词语根据其在英语中的使用方式可分为直接使用，取其寓意，转意使用，生成新词等。 1.英语中的部分词汇由古希腊罗马神话故事直接转化而来 1.1神话对基本词汇的直接影响 直接借用外来语言中的词汇为本语言所服务，并保留原有的拼写及全部或部分词义的词被称为loan word。希腊神话中的一些人物由
于具有某种典型的特征或特殊的经历，他们的名字直接转化为普通名词。这种名词不仅保留了原来的拼写，其词义多为申神话人物的象征意义与引申意义。同时，词义的内涵与外延均有很大的扩大，在词形未变的情况下，其词义由单一转化为多样，抽象转化为具体，泛指转化为特指。 如:Adonis是爱神Aphrodite所钟爱的美貌少年猎人，现指美貌少年或美男子 Gorgon（蛇发女怪，凡人见到她就会变成石头）→gorgon（丑陋可怕的女人，令人作呕的人或景象） Python（被Apollo所杀死的巨蟒）→python（蟒蛇） 1.2神话对现代英语花卉名称的影响 现代英语词汇中大量的植物花卉名称跟希腊神话有着千丝万缕的关系。他们部分是神灵的化身，部分是神灵的宠物。如矢车菊centaur源自马人Chiron,月桂树laurel源于太阳神Apollo,芦苇reeds源于牧神Pan,鸢尾花iris源于霓虹女神Iris等。 2.希腊神话对英语词根与词缀的影响（与英语原有词根与词缀融为一体，不易辨别） 2.1 神话中人名对英语词根的影响 按照语言学的观点，词根指必须和一定的词缀组成单词的词，这种派生而来的单词以形容词居多，其次是名词和动词。从数量来看，源自女神的词语明显多于来自女神的词语。如Athene雅典娜女神聪明机智，学识渊博。有她的名字“Athene”后加上后缀“-um”即
经典英语希腊神话故事 潘多拉 Pandora after the stealing of fire，zeus became increasingly unkind to men.one day he ordered his son hephaestus tobuild an image of a beautiful maiden out of clay.he then asked the gods and goddesses to award her with different kinds of gifts.among others ，athena clothed her in an attractive coat and hermes gave her the power of telling lies.a charming young lady，she was the first woman that ever lived.zeus called her pandora.because she had received from each of the gods and goddesses a gift.the gift was harmful to men. zeus decided to send her down to men as a present.so hermes them essenger brought her to epimetheus ，brother of prometheus.the greatness of her beauty touched the hearts of all who looked upon her ，and epimetheus happily received her into his house.he had quite forgotten pometheus'warning ：never to accept anything from zeus.the couple lived a happy life for some time.then trouble came on to the human world. when he was busy with teaching men the art of living，prometheus had left a bigcask in the care of epimetheus.he had warned his brother not to open the lid.pandora was a curious woman.she had been feeling very disappointed that her husband did not allow her to take a look at the contents of the cask.one day，when epimetheus was out ，she lifted the
apple of discord（不和的根源） 不和女神艾瑞斯（Eris）在某个婚礼中投下一只金苹果，上面写着“送给最美的女神”。结果引起神后赫拉（Hera）、智慧女神雅典娜（Athene）和爱与美的女神阿芙洛狄特（Aphrodite）的争夺。最后她们去找特洛伊城（Troy）的王子帕里斯（Paris）裁决。三位女神向Paris许下了不同的诺言。Aphrodite许诺说她将把世界上最美的女人送给Paris，于是Paris就把鑫苹果判给了Aphrodite.Hera和Athene非常生气，发誓要报复特洛伊人。后来，Paris出使希腊的斯巴达，在Aphrodite的帮助下，勾引走了斯巴达王后海伦（Helen）——当时世界上最美丽的女人。Paris拐走了Helen，激起了全体希腊人的公愤，于是希腊各国组成联军，远征特洛伊人。战争中，Aphrodite支持特洛伊人，Hera 和Athene支持希腊人。由一只苹果引发了战争，因此apple of discord意思就是“不和的根源，发生纠纷的事端”。Electra Complex（恋父情结） 爱烈屈拉因母亲与其情人谋杀了她的父亲，故决心替父报仇，最终她与其兄弟杀死了自己的母亲。 Achilles' heel（致命的弱点） 阿基里斯（Achilles）幼年时，他母亲为了使他有不死之身，提着他的脚在冥河中将他全身浸过，使刀枪不能伤害他，唯独脚跟没有浸过冥河水，结果在同Paris作战时，被Paris
用毒箭射中脚跟而死，因此Achilles' heel（阿基里斯之踵）就成了“致命的弱点”的同义语。 Helen of Troy（红颜祸水） 特洛伊战争的最后一年，希腊人采用了“木马计”（the Trojan Horse），在Hera和Athene的帮助下，攻陷了特洛伊城。由于Helen导致了特洛伊城的沦陷，因此Helen of Troy 就成了“红颜祸水，倾国尤物”的代名词。 the sword of Damocles（达摩克利斯之剑） Damocles是叙拉古王朝的一位大臣，非常羡慕帝王的荣华富贵。一天，国王让他坐在王位上，在Damocles的头上用一根头发悬一把利剑，告诉他王权的危险就象那把剑一样，随时可能降临。因此the sword of Damocles就成了“富贵中隐藏的危险”的同义语，也可以指形势危急，千钧一发；
六个经典的希腊神话(总9 页) 本页仅作为文档页封面，使用时可以删除 This document is for reference only-rar21year.March
The Golden Touch (Minas) Midas，was a King of Macedonian Bromium, where he ruled over the Brigians and planted his famous rose gardens． One day,the old hero Silenus，Dionysus' former teacher, was found sleeping and drunken in the rose gardens．The gardeners tied him and led him before Midas. Then Silenus told some wonderful tales to Midas. Midas enjoyed the tales very much and entertained Silenus for five days and nights, and then ordered a guide to lead him to Dionysus' headquarters． Dionysus，who had been worrying about Silenus，was glad to see him back and asked how Midas wished to be rewarded．He replied without hesitation：‘Please turn all I touch into gold. ' However, not only stones, flowers and the furniture of his house turned to gold. Midas was delighted at first then he found the water he want to drink and the food he want to eat turned to gold too. Midas soon begged to be freed from his wish, because he was fast dying of hunger and thirst. Dionysus told him to visit the source of the river Pactolus and there wash himself. He obeyed, and was at once freed from the golden touch, but the sands of the river Pactolusare bright with gold to this day． 点金术 弥达斯是马其顿勃洛弥恩的国王。他统治勃里癸亚人民，种植闻名遐迩的玫瑰花。 一天，狄俄尼索斯以前的老师森林之神老西勒诺斯喝醉了，躺在弥达斯的花园里酣然大睡。园丁发现了他，把他捆起来领去见弥达斯。西勒诺斯给弥达斯说了一些很有意思的故事，让弥达斯很高兴。于是他盛情款待老山神五天五夜，然后派向导护送他回到狄俄尼索斯的大本营。
美杜莎的悲剧 中文学院文秘1401 谢欣静20140701366 初次接触到蛇发妖女美杜莎是在看帕尔休斯的故事之时，这位勇敢的少年在仙女跟雅典娜的帮助之下成功地杀死了这个可以用目光杀死所有人的可怕的怪物。那时候，我对美杜莎有着深深的恐惧，因为她不仅面容丑陋，蛇发獠牙，而且所有与她目光接触到的人就会变成石头死去。 但是每一个人，每一只妖以及每一个神的诞生都是有理由的，帕尔休斯的诞生是因为他的母亲与化成黄金雨的宙斯发生关系生下了他，他出生之后遭到迫害，被骗去做杀死美杜莎这样一件凶险万分的事情，由于他是宙斯的儿子，宙斯与凡人所生育的孩子必然会成为英雄，再加上雅典娜的帮助，他成功了。之后，帕尔休斯的人生便开始走向了新的高峰，统治这一方领地，死后还得以成为星座。反观被帕尔休斯杀死的美杜莎，她本事一名美丽的女祭司，代表着圣洁，因为海神波塞冬垂涎她的美貌，在寺庙中将她强奸，她曾向雅典娜求救，但是雅典娜知道她不能对海神波塞冬作出处罚，而且作为祭司，与神沟通必须纯洁的祭司美杜莎却没有保住自己的贞洁，还苟活于世，这引得雅典娜非常不满，因此迁怒于她以及她的两个姐姐，所以将三姊妹都变为妖怪。她们全身长满金色的鳞片，背上长着鹰的翅膀，美杜莎的背上则长着天鹅的翅膀，头上没有头发，只有盘挠扭动的蛇，但仍然难于掩盖她的美丽，只要有人看过她（们）的眼睛，都会被她的美丽和魔力吸引而失去灵魂变成一尊石像。因此，她逃到了一个孤岛上与世隔绝，但是仍然摆脱不了被害的命运。 在美杜莎被波塞冬墙强暴这件事情上，受到伤害的明明是凡间女子美杜莎，对于一个仅次于宙斯的海神，能够指望她做出什么反抗呢？然而同为女性，并且是美杜莎主人的雅典娜非但没有同情她的悲惨遭遇，反而将罪责落到了她的头上，将怒气发泄到她的身上，让波塞冬逃过了应有的责罚。从这里可以看出希腊神话当中已经相对浓重得而男子主义色彩以及折射了当时的父系社会以及女性地位的相对低下。 我们可以看到希腊神话当中很女神的形象十分鲜明，却又是在男性神，天后赫拉生性善妒，对于宙斯的情人以及私生子加以残酷的迫害，她虽掌管着妇女婚姻与家庭，自己的丈夫却荒淫无度，在凡间四处强占貌美的女子并使他们怀孕，在人间私生子无数。作为掌管婚姻
西方文化有两个源头:一为希腊(Hellenic) 文化,一为希伯莱(Hebrew) 文化,而希腊文化中的希腊神话(Greek mythology) 对英语影响非常广泛。表现在词汇方面就是英语吸收了部分词汇并将之沿用,而这些词又或是可分解词或是可溯源词。这些词源包含的信息不仅可帮助读者准确理解每个词的词义,增添记忆单词的乐趣,还能特别记录、描述英语与古希腊文化的差异和交流,具有很高的历史性和趣味性。由于罗马神话深受希腊神话的影响,故事情节与希腊神话大同小异,只不过人名不同,所以希腊神话时常和罗马神话联系在一起。希腊罗马神话就像神话故事中的灵泉,滋养着英语的词汇,产生了许许多多美妙动人的词汇故事,增强了英语的生命力。 一源于希腊罗马神话中众神名字的英语词汇 现代英语中,不少词汇来源于希腊罗马神话中众神的名字,至今仍起着重要的作用。典型的词源试举如: 1、Flora :古希腊罗马神话中的花神。她嫁给了西风之神Zephyr ,丈夫送给她一座满是奇花异草的园子。春天时,Flora和丈夫Zephyr 手挽手在园子里漫步,他们一路走过的地方百花齐放。Flora 在现代英语里指代“植物”。衍生词:flower ,flour , flourish , floral , florist。 2、The Muses(缪斯) : 希腊神话中掌管艺术的诸神。共九位,分别是历史、抒情诗、喜剧(牧歌、田园诗) 、悲剧、歌舞、爱情诗、颂歌、天文、史诗。Muses 的艺术衍生出单词music ,Muses 收藏艺术品的地方就是museum。艺术带来的快乐便是muse ,amusement。 3、Pan(潘) :牧神和森林之神,受打扰时会大声吼叫。衍生词:panic(惊慌,恐慌)。 4、Titan(泰坦) :曾统治世界的巨人族的一员。Titan 在现代英语里指代高大强壮的人,重要人物。衍生词titanic 意指巨大的,极大的。“泰坦尼克号”即以此命名。 5、Zephyrus(泽费罗斯) :西风之神。衍生词:zephyr (西风,和风,微风)。 6、Atlas : 阿特拉斯，希腊神话中Titans (泰坦) 巨神之一,因背叛Zeus(宙斯) 被罚在世界的西边尽头以双肩扛天。16 世纪地理学家麦卡脱把Atlas 擎天图作为一本地图册的卷首插图。后人争相效仿, atlas 从此有了地图、地图集、身负重担的人的含义。其他衍生词:Atlantic。 7、Ceres :庄稼保护神。古罗马遭受大旱,教士们求助女巫占卜,占卜的结果是要立一位新的女神Ceres ,向她供奉,这样她就会给大地带来雨水。此后,Ceres 就变成了庄稼的保护神。cereal 从拉丁语变化而来,意即“of Ceres”属于谷物女神的。衍生词:cereals(谷类,早餐麦片)。 8、Cronos :宙斯的父亲。害怕子女反抗自己,曾吞食自己的后代。就像无情的时间,吞噬一切。因此字根“chron”意指“time”。衍生词:chronic(耗费时间的,慢性的) ;chronology(年代学,年表)。 9、Eros(厄洛斯) :爱神。是一位生有双翼的美少年,相当于罗马神话中的Cupid(丘比特) 。不管是Eros 还是Cupid ,成天无所事事,在天上飞来飞去练习射箭,搞得大家人心惶惶。 所以他们衍生出的单词都含贬义:erotic 色情的;cupidity 贪心,贪婪。