How Art Made The World 说服的艺术 -07

The most spectacular reliefs of all are those decorating the staircase that leads to the Great Hall of Darius. Once a year, Darius would invite ambassadors from every nation within his empire to join him here. And as they arrived, all the ambassadors passed up this staircase for their audience with the king. So this was their approach to one of the most imposing¹ monuments in the ancient world.

The ambassadors' eyes would have been drawn² to these figures, the conquered peoples of the empire. All are shown in their national costumes, bringing tributes to the king. No scenes of war and retribution, they are happy to honor Darius. So Darius had found an inspired solution to his problem, a way of communicating his political vision through art--the international language of images. The ambassadors would have left here and traveled home with one message clearly etched in their mind that King Darius valued and respected them. A new benevolent³ political era had dawned.

The ambassadors would have grasped Darius's message, but of course there were still millions of ordinary subjects across his empire who would never glimpse the vision of peace and prosperity inside the palace. So how could he communicate this message to them? Once again, Darius found his solution in art. Towering above the desert, just off the main highway to Persepolis, is a huge political billboard⁴ and carved on it for all the passers-by to see is Darius's vision of his new leadership style.

It looks very impressive, but it's rather weathered now not easy to make out the details. Let's get closer. All right. I got it. Yeah. Ok? Ok, good.


words to remember:

1. benevolent: (adj.) Characterized by or suggestive of doing good. 善意的

2. weathered: (adj.) Worn, stained, or warped by or as if by exposure to weather; seasoned 受风雨侵蚀的，饱经风霜的因或好似因风雨而变得破烂、肮脏或扭曲的；饱经风霜的

1 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

2 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

3 benevolent   

adj.仁慈的，乐善好施的

参考例句：

• His benevolent nature prevented him from refusing any beggar who accosted him.他乐善好施的本性使他不会拒绝走上前向他行乞的任何一个乞丐。
• He was a benevolent old man and he wouldn't hurt a fly.他是一个仁慈的老人，连只苍蝇都不愿伤害。

4 billboard   

n.布告板，揭示栏，广告牌

参考例句：

• He ploughed his energies into his father's billboard business.他把精力投入到父亲的广告牌业务中。
• Billboard spreads will be simpler and more eye-catching.广告牌广告会比较简单且更引人注目。