7. Cupid and Psyche:Cupid was the god of love, better known by his son of Aphrodite and AresThe story [Eros and Psyche] is about a princess named Psyche, who was so beautiful that when it came time for her to wed no suitors could be found -- for everyone worshiped her from afar believing that she was the appearance on earth of the Goddess of Love. While this attention saddened and embarrassed the young princess it infuriated Venus, the real Goddess of Beauty and Love. She directed her son, Cupid, to cast a spell upon Psyche that would cause her to fall in love with some despicable creature and in consequence to suffer so greatly that her beauty would fade. Obediently Cupid descended to earth, but the moment he saw the maiden his heart filled with love.Psyche's parents meantime had gone to the Oracle at Delphi for advice. Oracle was explicit: dress Psyche in mourning, escort her to the top of the mountain, and leave her to await her bridegroom Grief-stricken, Psyche was led in funeral procession to the summit of the mountain and left there as the sun slowly set. Zephyrus, the evening breeze, carried her down into the valley below. Upon waking, Psyche found herself before the entrance of a magnificent palace. She entered and walked from room to room, admiring the treasures they contained. In the darkness of night Cupid arrived and, though invisible to her, his words and embraces were so tender and loving she knew that this was the lover she had always longed for. When he asked her to give him her trust and her love and to become his bride, even though she must promise never to look upon him, she readily pledged him her troth.Life for Psyche was happier than ever, but after a time she grew homesick. To cheer her Cupid arranged for her two sisters to visit, but warned that if she revealed the secret of their marriage, their happiness would end as he would be forced to depart. Psyche promised to say nothing, but under the pressure of her sisters' questioning she let something slip which they twisted to convince her that she had married a monster and must slay him.Tormented with doubts, Psyche determined to discover the truth about her invisible husband who always disappeared before dawn. She arose, lit a lamp, and turned to look for the first time upon her beloved:Overwhelmed by his beauty Psyche inadvertently tipped the lamp and a drop of oil spilled on his shoulder, waking the slumbering god. "O simple-hearted Psyche," he exclaimed, "how could you doubt me? Now I must depart." In an instant he was gone. Psyche, brokenhearted, set out to find her beloved, not knowing that he had returned to Olympus where his mother tended his wound and had him guarded lest he return to earth.Psyche searched through long and weary years but found no trace of Cupid. She entered the temples of Demeter and Hera to seek their aid, and they advised her to be steadfast and faithful: "If Cupid still loves you, no power on earth or inheaven will keep him from you." Psyche realized now that Cupid must be on Olympus and was wondering how she could reach him when Mercury, messenger of the gods, appeared and offered to carry her there. She gladly accepted. Upon her arrival, however, Venus had her seized and would have had her destroyed had Psyche not pleaded for clemency. She offered to serve the goddess in every way possible could she but see her beloved once more. Venus agreed -- Psyche had first to accomplish three tasks, which the goddess knew were impossible for mortals to perform. The first was to separate by nightfall the seeds in an enormous pile of mixed grains; the second, to fetch golden fleece from a herd of fierce wild sheep; and the third, to obtain a cupful of black water from a river guarded by dragons. Psyche accomplished the first with the help of ants; the second, by following the advice of a nymph; and the third with the aid of the eagle of Jupiter.Venus was amazed and set Psyche one more task: to descend into Hades and obtain enough spray from the Fountain of Youth to restore the beauty the goddess had lost caring for her son's burnt shoulder. Again Psyche received help. She overcame all obstacles and lures of the underworld, and finally received the precious spray from Persephone. Upon reaching the world of the living she began to weaken: "One drop of this potion would restore my own beauty and bring Cupid to my side . . . only one little drop . . . no one would know." She barely touched the lid when it sprang open and poisonous fumes enveloped her and she fell into a deathlike stupor. Cupid, having recovered and escaped his guards, at this very moment arrived at her side, with a kiss, wakened the unconscious Psyche and explained to her that spray from the Fountain of Youth, being derived from the Water of Death, overcomes mortals and causes them to pass through death and rebirth.As he spoke Psyche herself was transformed, with wings unfolding from her shoulders; and when Cupid placed his arm around her they rose together to Olympus. In the presence of the gods, Jupiter united the couple in wedlock.当Cupid 离开Psyche 时说：Love could not dwell where there is no trust.Psyche: a hellenistic personification of the soul as female 人类灵魂德女性化身 or sometimes as a butterfly.psyche: the human soul, mind or spirit.PsychiatricPsychiatrist 精神病医生psychology n. 心理学psychological adj. 心理的Under the Rose ：in secret; privately confidentially 秘密地;私下得;暗中丘比特是战神玛斯(Mars)和爱与美之神维纳斯(venus)所生的儿子.维纳斯，也就是希腊神话里的阿芙罗狄蒂(Aphrodite),传说她是从大海的泡沫里生出来，以美丽著称,从宙斯到奥林匹帕斯的诸神都为起美貌姿容所倾倒.有关她的恋爱传说很多，欧洲很多文艺作品常用维纳斯做题材.小爱神丘比特为了维护其母的声誉,给沉默之神哈伯克拉底(Harpocrates)送了一束玫瑰花,请他守口如瓶不要把维纳斯的风流韵事传播出去.哈伯克拉底受了玫瑰花就缄默不语了,成为名副其实的"沉默之神"古罗马人对维纳斯非常尊崇,不仅奉为掌管人类的爱情.婚姻.生育的爱与美的神,而且尊为丰收女神.园艺女神.罗马的统治者恺撒大帝甚至追搠维纳斯是罗马人的祖先.由于上述神话传说,古罗马人把玫瑰花当作沉没或严守秘密的象征,并在日常生活中相尚成风.人们去串门做客,当看到主人家的桌子上方画有玫瑰,客人就了解在这桌上所谈的一切行为均不应外传.于是在语言中产生了Sub rosa 在玫瑰花底下这个拉丁成语. 据<牛津英语词典>解释,英语under the rose 系源自德语unter der Rosen. 古代德国的宴会厅.会议室以及旅店的餐室,在天花板上常画有或雕刻着玫瑰花,用来提醒在场者要守口如瓶,严守秘密,不要把玫瑰花底下的言行透露出去.这个流行于15至17世纪的德语成语反映了这种习俗. 罗马帝国全盛时,其势力几乎席卷了整个欧洲,罗马某些文化风尚也随着他的军事力量渗透到欧洲各国.因此，以玫瑰花象征沉默的习俗,并不限于德国..under the rose 是个状语性成语，在句中修饰动词,其含义因所修饰的动词的不同而略有不同.如:born under the rose"私生的""非婚生的";do under the rose"暗中进行"eg:The senator told me under the rose that there is to be a chance in the cabinet.The matter was finally settled under the rose.Do what you like undeer the rose,but don't give a sign of what you're about...8. the Legend of half-god(Greek Hero)8.1. Legend of Odysseus:The king of Ithaca, a leader of the Greeks in the Trojan War, who reached home after ten years of wandering.8.1.1. Lotus Eaters: a person who spends his time indulging in pleasure and luxury rather than dealing with practical concerns.On the tenth day after leaving Troy，and his men came to an island，where the people only took lotus fruit and flowers as their food．This plant had such a magic effect on its eaters that it could make them forget their past and produce a dreamy laziness over them．When Odysseus' men arrived，they were kindly invited by the people on the island to eat the sweet food．Its magic power began to work on the mimmediately．They fell into a deep daydream．They lost all wishes for future，To them the sea and ship appeared dull and hateful．And they were not eager to see wife，child and kingdom．When he saw no trace of his men coming back，Odysseus became suspicious．He set out with some well armed men to find out the truth．It did not take him long to find out the magic effect of the food．Not allowing his followers to touch the plant，he ordered them to drag their lazy friends back to their ship．There he had them tied to the benches until they slept off the harmful effect of the lotus．8.1.2. The SirensFar out in the sea there was an island，on the rocky edge of which lived three Sirens，the three sisters of magic song．Half human and half bird，the Siren sisters sat in a field of flowers，singing in voices that excited the hearts of men．The attractive songs were so sweet that ships were attracted to the island and struck to pieces on the rocks．No sailor nor ship had ever been known to pass the Island of the Sirens without being attracted to disaster ．Odysseus took careful preparation against the Sirens．Before their ships came to where they could hear the song，Odysseus had himself tied to the mast，stopped the ears of his men with wax and ordered them to ignore his orders and gestures when they were passing the fatal island ．Soon they came in sight of the rocky island，and the attractive song reached the ears of Odysseus．It moved him so much that he struggled in despair to free himself and shouted for his men to turn towards the rich and flowery grass land of the singing sisters．But no one paid any attention to him．The sailors kept straight on until theywere completely out of hearing．Then his friends freed him and took the wax out of their ears．For once the Sirens had sung with no effects．The eldest of the sisters，loved Odysseus so much that she threw herself into the sea after his ships had passed．siren 迷人的美女；汽笛；警报8.1.3. Odysseus and Trojan WarAt the end of nine years of Trojan War, a prophet predicted that Troy would not fall as long as the Palladium stayed within its walls. Odysseus went into the city in disguise and stole it out of the temple of the city. Then he designed a great wooden horse, in which some Greek soldiers hid themselves, and pretended to withdraw. The overjoyed Trojans believed that it was sent by Athena and hauled it into their capital. At night the hidden Greeks crawled out and threw the whold city into confusion. Troy was robbed.The Trojan Horse木马计；暗藏的危险；奸细the hidden danger; the covert wreckers （内奸）; to engage in underhand activitiesThe superpowers are always sending the Trojan horses to many countries in the world. They are defeated only because of the Trojan horse in their country.Greek Gift(s): a gift with some sinister purposes of the enemy; one given with intent to harm; a gift sent in order to murder sb. When the fox preaches,take care of your geese；阴谋害人的礼物；黄鼠狼拜年，不安好心He is always buying you expensive clothes, I'm afraid they are Greek gifts for you.当特洛伊人要把大木马拖进城的时候，祭司拉奥孔(Laocoon)劝说不要接受希腊人留下的东西。
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。
