THERE wasnce a man named Hellen-strange-sunding name fr a man， isn"t it？ He had a great many children and children"s children， and they called themselves Hellenes. They lived in a little scrapf a cuntry that juts int the Mediterranean Sea， and they called their land Hellas.Ince upset a bttlef inkn my desk， and the ink ranut int a wriggly spt that lked exactly as Hellas desn the map. Thugh Hellas is hardly any bigger thannefur states， its histry is mre famus than thatf anyther cuntryf its size in the wrld. We call Hellas Greece and the peple wh lived there Greeks.
Abut the same time， the Jews were leaving Egypt， abut the time when peple were beginning t use irn insteadf brnze， that is， abut 1300 B.C.， we first begin t hearf Hellas and the Hellenes，f Greece and the Greeks.
The Greeks believed in many gds， nt inne Gd， as we d and as the Jews d， and their gds were mre like peple in fairy tales than like divine beings. Many beautiful statues have been madef their different gds， and pems and stries have been written abut them.
There were twelve-just a dzen-chief gds. Sixf these were female gds， knwn as gddesses. They were suppsed t liven Muntlympus， which was the highest muntain in Greece. These gds were nt always gd， butften quarreled and cheated and did even wrse things. The gds livedn a kindf fd that was much mre delicius than what we eat. It was called nectar and ambrsia， and the Greeks thught it made thse wh ate it immrtal； that is， s that they wuld never die.
Let me intrduce yu t the familyf the gds. I knw yu will be pleased t meet them. Mstf them are knwn by tw names； the first name is Greek， the secnd is Rman.
Zeusr Jupiter is the fatherf the gds and the king wh rulesver all human beings. He sitsn a thrne and hlds a zigzag flashf lightning called a thunderblt in his hand. An eagle， the kingf birds， is usually by his side.
Herar Jun is his wife and the queenf the gds. She carries a scepter， and her pet bird， the peacck， isften with her.
Pseidnr Neptune isnef the brthersf Zeus. He rulesver the sea. Herides in a charit drawn by sea-hrses and carries in his hand a trident， which lks like a pitchfrk with three pints. He can make a strm at sear quiet the waves simply by striking them with his trident.
Hephaestusr Vulcan is the gdf fire. He is a lame blacksmith and wrks at a frge. His frge is said t be in the cavef a muntain， and as smke and fire cme frth frm sme muntains they are called vlcanes after the gd Vulcan inside.
Apll is the mst beautifulf all the gds； his name is the same t bth Greeks and Rmans. Apll is the gdf the sun andf sng and music. Every mrning- s the Greeks said-he drives his sun-charit acrss the sky frm the east t the west， and this makes the sunlighted day.
Artemisr Diana is the twin sisterf Apll. She is the gddessf the mn andf hunting.
Aresr Mars is the terrible gdf war， wh isnly happy when a war is gingn-s that he is happy mstf the time.
Hermesr Mercury is the messengerf the gds. He has wingsn his cap andn his sandals， and he carries in his hand a wnderful winged stickr wand， which， if placed between tw peple wh are quarreling， will immediately make them friends.ne day Hermes saw tw snakes fighting and he put his wand between them， whereupn they twined arund it as if in a lving hug， and ever since the snakes have remained entwined arund it. This wand is called a caduceus.
Birthf Minervar Athena [ 密涅瓦（雅典娜）的出生 ]
Athenar Minerva is the gddessf wisdm. She was brn in a very strange way.ne day Zeus had a terrible headache-what we call a splitting headache. It gt wrse and wrse， until at last he culd stand it n lnger， but he tk a very strange way t cure it. He called Hephaestus， the lame blacksmith， and tld him t hit himn the head with his hammer. Thugh Hephaestus must have thught this a funny request，f curse he had tbey the father gd. S he struck Zeus a terrible blwn the head， whereupn there sprang frth Athena in all her armr， and the headache，f which she had been the cause， had gne. S she was brn frm his brain； that is why Athena is the gddessf wisdm. She funded a great city in Greece and named it Athens， after herself. She is suppsed t lkut fr this city as a mther des fr her child.
Aphrditer Venus is the gddessf lve and beauty. She is the mst beautifulf the gddesses， as Apll is the mst beautifulf the gds. She is said t have been brn frm the sea fam. Ersr Cupid， her sn， is a chubby by with a quiverf arrwsn his back. He ges abut shting his invisible arrws int the heartsf human beings， but insteadf dying when they are hit， they atnce fall in lve with smene. That is why we put hearts with arrws thrugh themn valentines.
Hestiar Vesta is the gddessf the hme and fireside， wh lksut fr thefamily.
Demeterr Ceres is the gddessf the farmer.
These are the twelve gds and gddessesf thelympian family.
Hadesr Plut is a brtherf Zeus. He rules the wrld undergrund and lives dwn there.
There are manyther less imprtant gds and gddesses as well as sme gds that are half human， such as the three Fates， the three Graces， and the nine Muses.
Smef the planets in the sky that lk like stars are still called by the namesf these gds. Jupiter is the namef the largest planet. Mars is the namefne that is reddish-the clrf bld. Venus is the namefne that is very beautiful. There is als a Mercury， a Neptune， and a Plut.
The Greeks" prayers t their gds were nt likeurs. Insteadf kneeling and clsing their eyes as we d， they std up and stretched their arms straightut befre them. They did nt pray t be frgiven fr their sins and t be made better. They prayed fr victryver their enemiesr t be prtected frm harm.
When they prayed， theyften made the gds anfferingf animals， fruit， hney，r wine inrder t please them s that the gdsr gddesses wuld grant their prayer. The wine they puredutn the grund， thinking the gds wuld like t have them d this. The animals they killed and then burned by building a fire under themn an altar. This was called a sacrifice. Their idea seemed t be that even thugh the gds culd nt eat the meatf the animals nr drink the wine themselves， they liked t have smething given up fr them. Even tday we say a persn makes a sacrifice when he gives up smething fr anther persn.
When the Greeks were sacrificing， they usually lked fr sme sign t tell whether the gds were pleased with the sacrifice and whether they wuld answer the prayer and d what was asked. A flckf birds flyingverhead， a flashf lightning，r any unusual happening they thught was a sign which meant smething. Such signs were calledmens. Smemens were gd and shwed that the gd wuld d what he was asked， and smemens were very much like smef the signs that peple believe in even tday when they say it is a gd signr gd luck if yu see the new mnver the right shulder，r a bad signr bad luck if yu spill the salt.
Nt s very far frm Athens is a muntain called Munt Parnassus.n the sidef Munt Parnassus was a twn called Delphi. In the twnf Delphi there was a crack in the grund， frm which gas came frth， smewhat as it des frm cracks in a vlcan. This gas was suppsed t be the breathf the gd Apll， and there was a wman priest called a priestess， wh satn a three- legged stlr tripdver the crack s as t breathe the gas. She wuld becme delirius， as sme peple d when they are sick with fever and we say they areutf their heads， and when peple asked her questins she wuld mutter strange things and a priest wuld tell what she meant. This place was called the Delphicracle， and peple wuld g lng distances t ask theracle questins， fr they thught Apll was answering them.
The Greeks went t theracle whenever they wanted t knw what t dr what was ging t happen， and they firmly believed in what theracle tld them. Usually， hwever， the answersf theracle were like a riddle， s that they culd be understd in mre thanne way. Fr instance， a king wh was abut t g t war with anther king asked theracle wh wuld win. Theracle replied， "A great kingdm will fall." What d yu suppse theracle meant？ Such an answer， which yu can understand in twr three ways， is still calledracular.
【中文阅读】
从前有个人叫赫愣--男人叫这个名字听起来怪怪的，不是吗？他有很多的子 孙，子孙又有子孙，这个大家族的人称自己"赫愣人"。他们生活在很小的一块陆地 上，这块陆地伸进地中海，被他们叫做"海拉斯"。我有一次把桌上的墨水瓶碰翻 了，墨水流出来，在桌上留下一个弯弯扭扭的墨渍，看上去简直就像地图上的海拉 斯。尽管海拉斯比我们的一个州大不了多少，但是它的历史却比世界上任何一个和 它面积差不多的国家都出名。我们把海拉斯叫做"希腊"，生活在那儿的人叫做"希 腊人"。
差不多和犹太人离开埃及同时，正是人类刚开始用铁器来代替青铜器的时候， 也就是公元前 1300 年左右，我们最早开始听说有海拉斯和赫愣人，也就是希腊和希 腊人。
希腊人信仰的神很多，而不像我们或犹太人那样信仰一个上帝，他们的神更像 是神话故事中的人物而不像是崇高的神灵。他们为不同的神建了很多精美的雕像， 还为他们写了很多的诗歌和故事。
他们信仰的主神有十二个--正好一打。其中六个是女性，叫女神。希腊人认 为他们住在希腊最高的山，奥林匹斯山上，这些神并不总是善良的，而是经常互相 争吵，彼此欺骗，甚至还做出更坏的事。众神吃的食物可比我们吃的要美味得多， 他们喝的是仙酒，吃的是仙果，希腊人认为凡是吃了仙酒、仙果的人就可以永生， 也就是说，可以永远不死。
让我给你们介绍一下众神的大家庭吧。我知道你们会很乐意和他们会会面。他 们大多都有两个名字：一个是希腊名字，另一个是罗马名字。
宙斯或叫朱庇特，是众神之父，也是统治全人类的王。他坐在宝座上，手持一 道"之"字形的闪电，叫"霹雳"，一只雄鹰总在他身旁，那是鸟中之王。
赫拉或叫朱诺，是宙斯的妻子，也是天后。她手持权杖，常和她的爱鸟孔雀在 一起。
波塞冬或叫涅普顿，是宙斯的一个兄弟。他掌管大海。他驾着一辆由海马拉的 战车，手持三叉戟，那武器看上去就像有三个尖头的干草叉。他既能在海上掀起狂 风巨浪，但只用三叉戟一挥击打巨浪，又能使风浪平息。
赫菲斯托斯或叫伍尔坎，是火神。他是个瘸腿的铁匠，在锻铁炉边工作。据说 他的锻铁炉是在一个山洞里。有些山的山顶有烟和火喷出时，就被称为火山。因为 传说火神在里面，所以火山（vlcan）就是根据他的罗马名字（Vulcan）来命名的。
阿波罗是男神中最俊美的一个，希腊人和罗马人都称他阿波罗。他是太阳神，也是歌曲和音乐之神。每天早晨--希腊人是这样说的--他驾着太阳战车从东向 西穿过天空，就形成了阳光明媚的白天。
阿尔忒弥斯或叫狄安娜，是阿波罗的孪生妹妹，她是月亮女神，也是狩猎女神。
阿 瑞 斯 或 叫 玛 尔 斯， 是 可 怕 的 战 神， 他 只 有 在 战 争 发 生 的 时 候 才 会 觉 得 开 心--所以他大多数时候是快乐的（因为经常有战争发生）。
赫耳墨斯或叫墨丘利，是众神的使者。他的头盔和鞋子上有翅膀，手持一根带 飞翼的神奇木杖，或叫魔杖。如果把魔杖放在两个正在争吵的人中，就会让他们立 即言归于好。有一天，赫耳墨斯看到两条蛇在争斗，就把魔杖往它们中间一放，它 们马上围着魔杖互相缠绕在一起，好像恋人拥抱一样，从此以后，这两条蛇就盘绕 在他的魔杖上。这根魔杖叫"墨丘利杖"。
雅典娜或叫密涅瓦，是智慧女神。她的出生非常奇特。有一天，宙斯头痛得厉 害--就像我们说的头痛欲裂，而且痛得越来越厉害，最后他再也无法忍受了，但 是他想了个奇怪的办法来止痛。他叫来赫菲斯托斯，就是那个瘸腿的铁匠，让他用 锤子砸自己的头。尽管赫菲斯托斯一定觉得这是个莫名其妙的请求，当然，他还是 不得不服从众神之父的命令。于是，他朝着宙斯的头狠狠地砸了下去。结果，全身 披挂盔甲的雅典娜跳了出来，因她而起的头痛也随之消失了。她就这样从宙斯的头 脑中诞生出来了，这就是为什么雅典娜是智慧女神。她在希腊建了一座伟大的城市， 用自己的名字命名为雅典，据说她守护着这座城市就像母亲看护着自己的孩子。
阿佛罗狄忒或叫维纳斯，是爱与美的女神。她是女神中最美丽的，就像阿波罗 是男神中最俊美的一样。据说她诞生于大海泡沫中。她的儿子厄洛斯或叫丘比特， 是个胖乎乎的小男孩，背着一个箭袋。他四处走动把人眼看不见的箭射穿人的心， 但是被射中的人并不会死去，而是会立刻爱上某个人。这就是为什么我们在情人节 那天在赠送的礼物上要标上被箭射穿的红心。
赫斯提亚或叫维斯塔，是家庭之神，也是女灶神，她守护着家庭。 得墨忒尔或叫克瑞斯，是农事女神。
以上就是奥林匹斯家族中的十二位主神。 哈得斯或叫普路托，是宙斯的一个兄弟，他掌管阴曹地府，也住在那儿。 还有很多相对而言不那么重要的神和一些半人半神，比如命运三女神、美惠三女神，和九位掌管艺术的缪斯女神等。
天空中一些看似恒星的行星至今还是用这些神的名字来命名的。朱庇特（木星） 就是最大的行星的名字。玛尔斯（火星）是那颗有点红色的行星的名字--像血的 颜色。维纳斯（金星）是一颗非常美丽的行星的名字。此外还有墨丘利（水星）、涅 普顿（海王星）和普路托（冥王星）。
希腊人对神的祈祷方式和我们的不一样。他们不像我们那样闭目跪拜，而是身 体直立，双臂向前展开。他们不祈求神宽恕自己的罪过、让自己的心更慈更善，而 是祈求自己能战胜敌人或不受伤害。
他们在祈祷的时候，会向神献上祭品，有牲畜、水果、蜂蜜或葡萄酒，以此讨 好神，这样神就会答应他们的祈求。他们将酒泼洒在地上，认为神要他们这样做的。
他们杀死牲畜，在祭坛上架起火来烧烤，这些被杀害的牲畜叫做"牺牲"。他们似乎 认为，即便神不能亲自吃肉或喝酒，也会喜欢有人向他们"奉献物品"。直到今天当 某人把某物奉献给另一个人的时候，我们就说他做出了"牺牲"。
希腊人在献祭时，还常会寻找某种迹象，从中得知神是否满意他们的"牺牲"， 神是否会答应他们的祈求，而遂其所愿。飞过头顶的鸟群，一道闪电，或任何一件 不寻常的事，他们都会认为是有含义的迹象。这样的迹象叫做"预兆"。有些预兆很 吉利，表明神会满足他们的请求。有些预兆甚至和今天人们相信的一些兆头很相似。 比如有人说当你看到一轮新月出现在你的右肩上方，这就是个好兆头，你把盐撒了， 就是个坏兆头或不吉利。
离雅典不远有座山叫帕纳塞斯山，山边有个城市叫德尔菲。德尔菲城里地上有 道裂缝，气体从裂缝里面冒出来，有点像火山喷发时从裂缝里释放出气体。希腊人 说这种气体就是阿波罗神的呼吸。在裂缝上方一个三条腿的凳子上，坐着一个女祭 司，正呼吸这种气体，显得神志不清，就像人发高烧时那样，我们会说那是"烧昏 了头"。当人们向她请教问题时，她会嘟哝着说一些奇怪的事情，然后一位祭司再来 告诉人们她说的是什么意思。这个地方叫"德尔菲神谕"，人们会走很远的路来到这 里请求神谕回答，因为他们认为那是阿波罗在回答他们。
每当希腊人想知道下一步该做什么或想知道不久会发生什么事的时候，他们就 会来寻求神谕的帮助，无论神谕说什么他们都坚信不疑。不过，神谕的答案通常像 谜一样，可以有多种理解。比如，有个国王正要和另一个国王开战，他去问神谕谁 会赢，神谕说"一个伟大的王国将会灭亡"。你猜这个神谕是什么意思？像这样的回 答你可以有两三种理解。今天，人们还把这种模棱两可的回答称为"神谕似的"。