1 The Olympin Gods
Between Macedon and Thessaly of eastern Greece there stood a high mountain . Its cloudy top rushed into the very heavens . On the top of the mountain , the home of the gods was bathed in brightness . At Olympus Zeus ruled as the father of gods and men . Zeus was not a crude ruler by any standards . All the gods listened to his final words , it was true . But Zeus made them all sit on a committee of twelve members , including six gods and six goddesses . The first in the Olympian crowd sat Zeus himself . He was the overlord of gods and men and the operator of the thunderbolt . Next to him was Hera , his proud and greeneyed queen . Poseidon was ruler of the sea , And Hades , king of the lower world , had no seat in the committee . Apollo was the god of the sun , music and poetry , while his twinsister Artemis was the goddess of the moon and the chase . Athena was the goddess of wisdom and patroness of house holdarts . Hestin , the goddess of the family , represented home life and family happiness . The frightening Ares was the god of war , and the charming Aphrodite the goddess of love and beauty . The god of fire , Hephaestus , was the forger of the thunderbolts of Zeus . The wing footed messenger Hermes was the god of invention and commerce ; and the goddess of grains and harvests , Demeter , looked after agriculture and stood for mother ofcivilization .
All the chief gods mentioned above took human forms of incomparable beauty and grace . Often moved by human feelings and desires , they frequently gave way to anger and jealousy . They became involved in ceaseless battles with the world of man . Among themselves at Olympus they plotted and struggled for power . In the human world they experienced competitions and difficulties . They enjoyed earthly friendships and loves . Acrowd of everlasting gods looked and acted in a perfectly human fashion that is what all gods at Olympus actually were .
1 奥林波斯山神
在马其顿和希腊东部的色萨利之间矗立着一座高山。大雾弥漫的山顶直插云霄。山顶上,众神们的家园沐浴在阳光之中。宙斯作为山神和人类之父主宰着那里的一切。总的说来,宙斯并不是一个独裁统治者。但毫无疑问,凡事山神们都要听从他的命令。宙斯将男女山神 12 人组成一个委员会,宙斯本人则坐第一把交椅,是众神与人类的太上皇,也是雷电的操纵者。他旁边是他那傲慢且嫉妒的皇后赫拉。波塞冬是大海的统治者。哈得斯是主宰阴间的冥王,他在委员会中没有席位。阿波罗是太阳神、音乐和诗神。他的孪生姐妹阿耳特弥斯是月亮和狩猎女神。雅典娜是智慧女神和家居艺术品的守护女神。赫提斯是家室之神,象征着家庭中的生命与幸福。气势汹汹的阿瑞斯是战神。媚人的阿芙罗狄蒂是爱与美神。火神赫菲斯托斯是宙斯雷电的创造者。以翅代步的信使海尔墨斯掌管商业与发明事务。谷物与丰收女神得墨特尔负责管理农业,她是文明之母。
以上所提到的主要天神们都假装成凡人的样子,他们的美丽与魅力无可匹敌。因常受到凡人情感与愿望的感染,他们不时地勃然大怒,妒嫉别人。他们卷入与人类世界无休止的争斗中。在奥林波斯,他们之间也充满了阴谋与权力之争。在凡人的世界里,他们经历了敌对与挫折。他们珍惜人间的爱与友善。这群长生不老的天神们的外表与行为完全符合人间的方式。这就是奥林波斯山神们的本来面目。
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