美国学生人类历史第65期:抗击波斯人侵的战争(5)

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　　温泉关的失守使波斯大军得以长驱直入，希腊的大部分地区相继陷落。波斯人气势汹汹朝雅典挺进，要报8年前的一箭之仇。他们攻占了雅典卫城，将其夷为平地。雅典人扶老携幼逃往萨拉米岛。这场战争看起来似乎是没有希望了。公元前480年9月20日，泰米斯托克利率领雅典海军，将波斯舰队骗入希腊大陆 与萨拉米岛之间的狭窄海面。波斯舰队被迫与雅典海军决战。几个小时后，雅典人摧毁了3／4的波斯舰船，取得决定性胜利。这样一来，波斯人在德摩比勒地区的大捷就变得毫无意义。失去了海上支援，波斯国王泽克西斯被迫撤退。

　　In this way the victory of Thermopylae came to naught².

　　他打算来年再与希腊人进行最后决战，一举歼灭他们。

　　Xerxes was forced to retire. The next year, so he decreed, would bring a final decision. He took his troops to Thessaly and there he waited for spring.

　　波斯军队撤至北部的色萨利地区休整，等待第二年春天的来临。

　　But this time the Spartans³ understood the seriousness of the hour. They left the safe shelter of the wall which they had built across the isthmus⁴ of Corinth and under the leadership of Pausanias they marched against Mardonius the Persian general. The united Greeks(some one hundred thousand men from a dozen different cities) attacked the three hundred thousand men of the enemy near Plataea. Once more the heavy Greek infantry⁵ broke through the Persian barrage⁶ of arrows. The Persians were defeated, as they had been at Marathon, and this time they left for good. By a strange coincidence, the same day that the Greek armies won their victory near Plataea, the Athenian ships destroyed the enemy's fleet near Cape⁷ Mycale in Asia Minor⁸.

　　不过这一回，斯巴达人终于意识到事关全体希腊半岛的存亡，必须倾尽全力一搏。为保护城邦的安全，斯巴达人本已修建了一条横跨柯林斯地峡的城墙，在波仙尼亚斯的率领下，他们离开了城墙安全庇护，主动迎战玛尔多纽斯指挥的波斯军队。大战在普拉提亚附近展开，来自12个城邦的约10万希腊军队，向30万波斯军队发起了总攻击。跟马拉松平原发生的战斗一样，希腊重装步兵再度突破了波斯军队的箭阵，彻底击溃了波斯人。巧合的是，在希腊步兵赢得普拉提亚战役的同一天，雅典海军在小亚细亚附近的米卡尔角也摧毁了敌人的舰队。

　　Thus did the first encounter between Asia and Europe end. Athens had covered herself with glory and Sparta had fought bravely and well. If these two cities had been able to come to an agreement, if they had been willing to forget their little jealousies⁹, they might have become the leaders of a strong and united Hellas.

　　欧洲与亚洲的第一次较量就这样落下了帷幕。雅典赢得了莫大荣誉，斯巴达也因英勇而驰名。如果这两个城市能够冰释前嫌、携手合作，如果他们愿意忘掉彼此之间的小小嫉妒，他们是能够组成一个强大而统一的希腊的领袖。

　　But alas¹⁰, they allowed the hour of victory and enthusiasm to slip by, and the same opportunity never returned.

　　事情的发展往往不如人愿；随着胜利的狂欢和携手的热情悄悄流逝，这样的机会也就一去不返了。

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