Unit 1 Greek Myths
Introduction
Throughout time, every nation has had stories about the origin of the world, the creation of people, gods who have been held sacred and ancient heroes who have been admired.随着时间的推移，每个国家都有关于世界的起源、人的创造、被认为是神圣的神和被崇拜的古代英雄的故事。
Yet, compared with myths of the rest of the world, Greek myths seem to have been extraordinarily influential.然而，与世界其他地方的神话相比，希腊神话似乎具有非凡的影响力。
The ancient Greek gods and heroes crossed the borders of Greece thousands of years ago, walked into every corner of Europe, and have traveled to most parts of the world — wherever the Europeans or their culture have reached.古希腊的神和英雄在几千年前越过希腊的边境，走进欧洲的每一个角落，来到了世界的大部分地区——欧洲人或他们的文化到达的地方。
The magnitude of the Greek myths may be accounted for by two factors. First, the Greek gods form a well-organized society, or, in other words, a large “network.”希腊神话的规模可以由两个因素来解释。首先，希腊神形成了一个组织良好的社会，换句话说，一个巨大的“网络”。
The chief gods are often interrelated, and each has a definite rank and scope of responsibilities. Their distinct nature and deedshave made them alive in the imagination of every reader.主要的神通常是相互关联的，每一个神都有明确的等级和责任范围。他们独特的本性和行为使他们在每一个读者的想象中鲜活起来。
Second, throughout history, an enormous body of artistic works have been created to increase the influence of Greek myths. Early poets and playwrights had collected, preserved and developed many stories in their works, of which, Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey are the best known.其次，纵观历史，大量的艺术作品被创造出来，以增加希腊神话的影响。早期的诗人和剧作家在他们的作品中收集、保存和发展了许多故事，其中，荷马的《伊利亚特》和《奥德赛》是最著名的。
Shakespeare, Byron, Shelley, Keats, James Joyce and many other poets or novelists had intense interest in the Greek myths. Many of their works are based on Greek myths.莎士比亚、拜伦、雪莱、济慈、詹姆斯·乔伊斯和许多其他的诗人或小说家都对希腊神话有着浓厚的兴趣。他们的许多作品都是基于希腊神话创作的。
Of course, their influence is not restricted in literature. One will certainly find paintings, sculptures and other works related to the Greek gods and heroes in every western museum, art gallery, and in many other places — even a very ordinary building.当然，它们的影响在文学作品中并不受限制。人们肯定会在每个西方博物馆、艺术画廊和许多其他地方找到与希腊众神和英雄有关的绘画、雕塑和其他作品——甚至是一个非常普通的建筑。
A prominent and unique feature of the Greek myths is that the immortals are often mixed up with the mortals.希腊神话的一个突出和独特的特点是，神仙经常与凡人混在一起。
Unlike their counterparts in most other myths of the world, the Greek gods do not live in the heaven, but on a mountain on the earth.与世界上大多数其他神话中的同类不同，希腊众神不是生活在天堂，而是生活在地上的一座山上。
The gods frequently come down Mt. Olympus to be among human beings. They are always involved in human affairs quite a large proportion of the gods even have relatives in the mundane world.众神经常下山下来。奥林匹斯山将会成为人类之一。他们总是参与人类事务，相当大一部分的神甚至在世俗世界里有亲戚。
As a matter of fact, it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between the two races. For this reason, the Greek myths are actually stories of both gods and humans.事实上，有时很难区分这两个种族。因此，希腊神话实际上是关于神和人类的故事。
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