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Some one has said the reason the Greeks long ago made such beautiful statues and buildings was because they had such beautiful marble to work with; but there is still beautiful marble on Mount Pentelicus, and yet no one seems able to make such beautiful things of it any more.

People long ago used to go to a place called an oracle to have their fortunes told. At Delphi not far from Athens was one of the most famous oracles. There was a crack in the ground from which gas was always escaping. Over this crack in the ground sat a goddess called a Sibyl and over the goddess a little temple was built. The escaping gas put the goddess to sleep, just as the gas a doctor or dentist uses puts people to sleep so they won’t feel any pain; then the goddess began to talk in her sleep and would mumble answers to the questions asked her. People came from all over the World to hear what the oracle had to tell them. The Delphic Oracle, like the statue of Athene, has now gone—no one knows when, nor how, nor where.

Did you know that you could speak Greek? Well, when you say “music,” “museum,” or “amusements” you are speaking Greek, for all three words are named from nine beautiful goddesses called “Muses,” who used to live near a spring at Delphi. This spring was named Castalia, and it was supposed that those who drank from the spring would be able to write music and poetry. The Castalian spring is still there, and sheep and goats as well as men drink its cool waters, but now it does no more than quench the thirst of men and beasts.

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有人曾说，希腊人很久以前就能创造出如此美丽的雕像和建筑物是因为有如此美丽的大理石供他们使用。然而，现在潘泰列克斯山上仍然有美丽的大理石，但是似乎再也没有人能用大理石创造出如此美丽的东西了。

很久以前，人们常去一个叫“神谕”的地方算命。在离雅典不远的德尔斐有一个最有名的神谕所。那儿地面有一条裂缝，不断向外冒气。在裂缝的上方坐着一位叫“西比尔”的女神，女神的上方建了一座小神庙。从裂缝中冒出的气体让女神入睡，就像医生或牙医用麻醉让病人入睡而不会感到任何疼痛一样。女神在睡眠状态中开始说话，用含糊不清的声音回答人们向她提出的问题。人们从世界各地来到这里聆听神谕。像雅典娜雕像一样，德尔斐神谕所也消失了—没有人知道它是何时何地以什么方式消失的。

你知道吗，你说的英语中就含有希腊语？当你说“music”（音乐）、“museum”（博物馆）或“amusement”（娱乐）的时候，你就在说希腊语，因为这三个单词源于九位美丽女神的名字，她们叫“缪斯”（Muses），她们曾住在德尔斐一处清泉附近，清泉名叫“卡斯塔利亚”。据说那些喝了泉水的人，都有创作诗歌和歌曲的灵感。卡斯塔利亚泉现在还在那儿，人和绵羊、山羊都喝里面清凉的泉水，但是，泉水现在也只是给人和动物解解渴而已。