The Acropolis

 

 

The ¹⁾boldness and ambition of the Acropolis was funded by the ²⁾spoils of war, a war that determined¹ the fate of Greece. In 480 BC, ³⁾Athens ⁴⁾lay in ruins conquered by the ⁵⁾seemingly ⁶⁾unstoppable Persian Empire. At sea the Persian ⁷⁾armada of 800 ⁸⁾vessels ⁹⁾bore down on the retreating Greek fleet who were hopelessly outnumbered. On the night before the inevitable³ battle, an owl⁴, symbol of their protective goddess Athena, was seen flying through the night sky. Inspired by this good ¹⁰⁾omen⁵, the Greek navy daringly engaged and defeated the Persian fleet at the battle of Salamis. In one of the great ¹¹⁾naval⁶ victories of history, the Greeks sank 200 enemy ships while losing only 40 of their own. The Persian threat had been overcome. The unexpected victory heralded⁷ a new period of stability for Athens and her allies. The Golden Age of Greece was born.

A permanent ¹²⁾alliance of Agean city-states was formed called the Delian League to defend Greece’s new found independence from the Persian ¹³⁾menace. One man, Heracles of Athens emerged as its ¹⁴⁾undisputed leader. His ambition was simple: to make Athens a political and cultural capital, effectively creating the Athenian Empire. The Acropolis was to be the master ¹⁵⁾stroke of Heracles’ power broking, a monumental declaration of Athens’ dominance in the New World order.

 In 447 BC, he committed the new empire and its wealth to its construction. He brought together three unique artistic⁸ talents, Phidias the sculptor⁹, and architects Ictinus and Callicrates. Together they imagined a ¹⁶⁾complex of temples and public places to be built along classical ideals but ¹⁷⁾exceeding them in scale and perfection. Amazingly they worked without architectural plans or drawings as we understand them today. Instead they were guided by a set of ¹⁸⁾codes and principles dictated¹⁰ by the art of ¹⁹⁾geometry. For the architects of Athens’ Golden Age, the mastery of geometry was a magical discovery that revealed the glories of nature. The Acropolis of Callicrates and Ictinus is a ²⁰⁾startling celebration of their new intellectual power.

The Acropolis shows a maturity¹¹ of Greek mathematics and also an appreciation¹² of geometrical ideas. This is a work of ²¹⁾utmost importance in that it lays the foundations of logic¹³ into mathematics and enables us to use this as a tool to explore the unknown.

Every detail of the Acropolis, its ²²⁾masonry¹⁴, sculptures and painted decorations were to be the finest ever created.CE

 

12、雅典卫城

 

建造雅典卫城的大胆想法和雄图来自一场纷扰的战事，一场决定了希腊命运的战事。公元前480年，锐不可挡的波斯帝国大军攻克雅典，雅典夷为废墟。汪洋大海上，800艘波斯战舰穷追猛打希腊战船，数量远远落后的希腊战船步步后退。就在不可避免即将开战的前夜，象征着希腊人守护女神雅典娜的猫头鹰在夜空中飞翔出现。在此吉兆的鼓舞下，希腊海军军心大振，在撒拉米斯战役中一举击败波斯舰队。在历史上一次获得伟大胜利的海战中，希腊军队击沉200艘敌船，己方只损失40艘。击败了入侵的波斯军队。意想不到的胜利令雅典及其盟国得到新的安定。希腊进入了黄金时期。

爱琴海各城邦组成德利安联盟，携手永久保卫脱离波斯魔掌、新获独立的希腊。一个名叫赫拉克利斯的人众望所归成为雅典领袖。他的抱负很明确，就是令雅典成为政治文化中心，有效地创建起一个雅典人的王国。雅典卫城便是在赫拉克利斯的大力策划下兴建起来的，它具有非常的意义，宣告雅典在世界新秩序中的统治地位。

公元前447年，他全力建设新帝国，由聚敛财富到兴建土木。他请来了三位不同凡响的艺术天才-雕刻家斐迪亚斯，建筑师艾士提努、卡利克拉提斯。他们一起设想如何将神殿和公共场所组合到一起，并决定沿用古典设计，但将在规模和美学上进行突破。神奇的是，他们当时既没有诸如我们今天的建筑计划也没有蓝图，而是依据一套几何学的符号和法则来施工。雅典黄金时期的建筑师认为，掌握几何学是发掘自然美的魔法。卫城使卡利克拉提斯和艾士提努有机会一展杰出的智慧与身手。

雅典卫城显示了希腊人对数学的精通以及对几何学的推崇。这项工程至关重要，它奠定了将逻辑引入数学的基石，令后人得以借此途径探索未知世界。

雅典卫城在每一处细节上，无论石匠技术、雕刻艺术，还是绘画装饰，都是前无古人的精美绝伦。CE

 

1) boldness [bEuldnis] n. 大胆，勇敢

2) spoil [spCil] n. 摧毁，扰乱

3) Athens [5AWinz] n.雅典，希腊首都

4) lie in ruins 成为废墟

5) seemingly [5si:miNli] adv. 表面上地

6) unstoppable [5Qn5stCpEhEl] a.不可挡的

7) armada [a:5ma:dE] n.舰队

8) vessel² [5vesEl] n.船

9) bear down on 逼近

10) omen [5Eumen] n.预示，征兆

11) naval [5neivEl] a. 海军的

12) alliance [E5laiEns] n. 联盟，联合

13) menace [5menEs] n. 威胁，恐吓 

14) undisputed [Qndi5spju:tid] a. 无可置辩的

15) stroke [strEuk] n. 笔画，努力

16) complex [5kCmpleks] n. 综合体

17) exceed [ik5si:d] v. 超越，胜过

18) code [kEud] n. 代码，密码，编码

19) geometry [dVi5Cmitri] n. 几何

20) startling [5sta:tliN] a. 令人吃惊的

21) utmost [5QtmEust] a. 极度的，最远的

22) masonry [5meisnri] n. 石工术

 

1 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

2 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

3 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

4 owl   

n.猫头鹰，枭

参考例句：

• Her new glasses make her look like an owl.她的新眼镜让她看上去像只猫头鹰。
• I'm a night owl and seldom go to bed until after midnight.我睡得很晚，经常半夜后才睡觉。

5 omen   

n.征兆，预兆；vt.预示

参考例句：

• The superstitious regard it as a bad omen.迷信的人认为那是一种恶兆。
• Could this at last be a good omen for peace?这是否终于可以视作和平的吉兆了？

6 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

7 heralded   

v.预示( herald的过去式和过去分词 )；宣布（好或重要）

参考例句：

• The singing of the birds heralded in the day. 鸟鸣报晓。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A fanfare of trumpets heralded the arrival of the King. 嘹亮的小号声宣告了国王驾到。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

9 sculptor   

n.雕刻家，雕刻家

参考例句：

• A sculptor forms her material.雕塑家把材料塑造成雕塑品。
• The sculptor rounded the clay into a sphere.那位雕塑家把黏土做成了一个球状。

10 dictated   

v.大声讲或读( dictate的过去式和过去分词 )；口授；支配；摆布

参考例句：

• He dictated a letter to his secretary. 他向秘书口授信稿。
• No person of a strong character likes to be dictated to. 没有一个个性强的人愿受人使唤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 maturity   

n.成熟；完成；(支票、债券等)到期

参考例句：

• These plants ought to reach maturity after five years.这些植物五年后就该长成了。
• This is the period at which the body attains maturity.这是身体发育成熟的时期。

12 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

13 logic   

n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性

参考例句：

• What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？
• I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。

14 masonry   

n.砖土建筑；砖石

参考例句：

• Masonry is a careful skill.砖石工艺是一种精心的技艺。
• The masonry of the old building began to crumble.旧楼房的砖石结构开始崩落。