纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 035奥古斯都头像(2)

Our head comes from this time, a year or two after Augustus became emperor. It was once part of a full-length statue that showed him as a warrior¹, slightly larger than life-sized. It's broken off at the neck but otherwise the bronze is in very good condition. It's an image that in one form or another would have been familiar to hundreds of thousands of people, because statues like this were set up in cities all over the Roman Empire. This is how Augustus wanted his subjects to see him. And although every inch a Roman, he wanted them to know that he was also the equal of Alexander and heir to the legacy² of Greece. The distinguished³ Roman historian Susan Walker explains what is going on:

这尊头像制作于奥古斯都称帝后一至两年内。这尊比真人略大，充满了力量的头像将他塑造为一名勇士。尽管雕像在颈部折断，但其余部分的青铜仍状况良好。这副面容以不同的形式出现在罗马帝国的每一个城市里，为成千上万的公民所熟悉。这就是奥古斯都都希望自己留给百姓的形象。虽然他是个地道的罗马人，却希望百姓知道他也是希腊文化的继承者，功绩堪与亚历山大大帝比肩。罗马历史学家苏珊沃尔克解释道:

"When he had become master of the Mediterranean⁴ world and took the name Augustus, he really needed to find a new image. And he really couldn't copy Caesar's image, because Caesar looked like a crusty old Roman. He had a real warts-and-all portrait-very thin and scraggy, and bald, and very austere⁵, very much in the manner of traditional Roman portraiture⁶. So that image had become a little bit discredited⁷, and in any case Augustus-as he now was-was setting up an entirely⁸ new political system, so he needed to have a new image to go with it. And having assumed this image when he was still in his thirties, he stayed with it until he died aged⁹ 76, so there's no suggestion in his portraits, even any subtle suggestion such as we see in the portraits of our Queen, for example, of any aging process at all."

在成为地中海地区的君主，接受了新衔之后，奥古斯都需要一个全新的形象。他不能复制凯撒的头像，因为凯撒的肖像看起来就像个暴躁的罗马老头：骨瘦如柴兼又谢顶，采用了传统的罗马雕刻手法，完全未加美化，有损罗马君主的威名。而现在奥古斯都正在建立一个全新的政治系统，因此需要一个全新的与之相称的形象。他使用了自己三十多岁时的样貌，直到七十多岁去世时仍未变更。他的所有雕像都没有任何年龄的变化。

1 warrior   

n.勇士，武士，斗士

参考例句：

• The young man is a bold warrior.这个年轻人是个很英勇的武士。
• A true warrior values glory and honor above life.一个真正的勇士珍视荣誉胜过生命。

2 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

3 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

4 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

5 austere   

adj.艰苦的；朴素的，朴实无华的；严峻的

参考例句：

• His way of life is rather austere.他的生活方式相当简朴。
• The room was furnished in austere style.这间屋子的陈设都很简单朴素。

6 portraiture   

n.肖像画法

参考例句：

• I am going to have my portraiture taken.我请人给自己画张肖像。
• The painting of beautiful women was another field of portraiture.人物画中的另一个领域是仕女画。

7 discredited   

不足信的，不名誉的

参考例句：

• The reactionary authorities are between two fires and have been discredited. 反动当局弄得进退维谷，不得人心。
• Her honour was discredited in the newspapers. 她的名声被报纸败坏了。

8 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

9 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。