The Acropolis now
如今的雅典卫城
by Valia Katsis
Valia Katsis著
No one has had a greater influence on Western civilization than the ancient Greeks.
没有人比古希腊人对欧洲文明产生的影响更大。
They made many advances in philosophy, science, mathematics, art, architecture, theatre, politics and sport.
他们对哲学、科学、数学、艺术、建筑、戏剧、政治和体育等方面的许多进步做出了贡献。
The Roman alphabet is a Greek invention, as is the marathon,
罗马字母表就是希腊人的发明，正如马拉松赛跑一样。
a long distance race created in honour of a Greek soldier who ran from Marathon to Athens to report the victory at the battle of Marathon in 490 BC.
马拉松赛跑是一项长跑比赛，是为纪念一位希腊士兵而命名的。公元前490年，他从马拉松一直跑到雅典去报告马拉松战役的胜利。
For a period of about 300 years (from 650 to 323 BC), the Greek civilization made advances in various fields
在大约300年（从公元前650年到公元前323年）间，希腊人在各个领域取得了进步。
that have influenced the world for more than 2,500 years and will continue to do so.
这些进步已经影响了世界2,500多年，并且会继续产生影响。
In particular, we associate ancient Greek civilization with the capital city of Athens, the greatest symbol of which is the Acropolis.
我们尤其要把古希腊文明与其都城雅典联系起来，而雅典最伟大的象征就是雅典卫城。
The Acropolis is a large, flat rock in the centre of Athens, rising up high above the city.
雅典卫城是雅典中心的一个大的岩石城堡，位于高于雅典城的一处地方。
In the 5th century BC, the greatest architects and artists of the time began building temples and monuments on this Sacred Rock.
公元前5世纪，当时最伟大的建筑家和艺术家开始在Sacred岩石上建造神庙和纪念碑。
On top of the Acropolis, there are three main temples to Athena, the goddess of the city: the Parthenon, the Erechtheum and the Temple of Athena Nike.
雅典卫城在上面，有供奉城市女神雅典娜的三大神庙，它们是帕台农神庙、厄瑞克修姆神庙，以及雅典娜胜利女神庙。
The Temple of Athena Nike is the smallest among the three.
雅典娜胜利女神庙是三座神庙里最小的一座。
It used to house a 13-metre-high gold-covered statue of Athena as the Goddess of the Victory.
它过去供奉着一座13米高的镀金胜利女神像。
The Parthenon, the largest of all three, was built between 447 and 432 BC and contained a gold statue of Athena.
帕台农神庙建于公元前447年到432年间，供奉着一座由黄金雕成的雅典娜神像。它是三座神庙里最大的一座。
The Erechtheum is famous for the six female statues which support part of its roof.
厄瑞克修姆神庙以其入口处六座用作支撑屋顶的女性雕像而著名。