The Acropolis

（单词翻译）

The ¹⁾boldness and ambition of the Acropolis was funded by the ²⁾spoils of war, a war that determined¹ the fate of Greece. In 480 BC, ³⁾Athens ⁴⁾lay in ruins conquered by the ⁵⁾seemingly ⁶⁾unstoppable Persian Empire. At sea the Persian ⁷⁾armada of 800 ⁸⁾vessels ⁹⁾bore down on the retreating Greek fleet who were hopelessly outnumbered. On the night before the inevitable³ battle, an owl⁴, symbol of their protective goddess Athena, was seen flying through the night sky. Inspired by this good ¹⁰⁾omen⁵, the Greek navy daringly engaged and defeated the Persian fleet at the battle of Salamis. In one of the great ¹¹⁾naval⁶ victories of history, the Greeks sank 200 enemy ships while losing only 40 of their own. The Persian threat had been overcome. The unexpected victory heralded⁷ a new period of stability for Athens and her allies. The Golden Age of Greece was born.

A permanent ¹²⁾alliance of Agean city-states was formed called the Delian League to defend Greece’s new found independence from the Persian ¹³⁾menace. One man, Heracles of Athens emerged as its ¹⁴⁾undisputed leader. His ambition was simple: to make Athens a political and cultural capital, effectively creating the Athenian Empire. The Acropolis was to be the master ¹⁵⁾stroke of Heracles’ power broking, a monumental declaration of Athens’ dominance in the New World order.

 In 447 BC, he committed the new empire and its wealth to its construction. He brought together three unique artistic⁸ talents, Phidias the sculptor⁹, and architects Ictinus and Callicrates. Together they imagined a ¹⁶⁾complex of temples and public places to be built along classical ideals but ¹⁷⁾exceeding them in scale and perfection. Amazingly they worked without architectural plans or drawings as we understand them today. Instead they were guided by a set of ¹⁸⁾codes and principles dictated¹⁰ by the art of ¹⁹⁾geometry. For the architects of Athens’ Golden Age, the mastery of geometry was a magical discovery that revealed the glories of nature. The Acropolis of Callicrates and Ictinus is a ²⁰⁾startling celebration of their new intellectual power.

The Acropolis shows a maturity¹¹ of Greek mathematics and also an appreciation¹² of geometrical ideas. This is a work of ²¹⁾utmost importance in that it lays the foundations of logic¹³ into mathematics and enables us to use this as a tool to explore the unknown.

Every detail of the Acropolis, its ²²⁾masonry¹⁴, sculptures and painted decorations were to be the finest ever created.CE

12、雅典卫城

建造雅典卫城的大胆想法和雄图来自一场纷扰的战事，一场决定了希腊命运的战事。公元前480年，锐不可挡的波斯帝国大军攻克雅典，雅典夷为废墟。汪洋大海上，800艘波斯战舰穷追猛打希腊战船，数量远远落后的希腊战船步步后退。就在不可避免即将开战的前夜，象征着希腊人守护女神雅典娜的猫头鹰在夜空中飞翔出现。在此吉兆的鼓舞下，希腊海军军心大振，在撒拉米斯战役中一举击败波斯舰队。在历史上一次获得伟大胜利的海战中，希腊军队击沉200艘敌船，己方只损失40艘。击败了入侵的波斯军队。意想不到的胜利令雅典及其盟国得到新的安定。希腊进入了黄金时期。

爱琴海各城邦组成德利安联盟，携手永久保卫脱离波斯魔掌、新获独立的希腊。一个名叫赫拉克利斯的人众望所归成为雅典领袖。他的抱负很明确，就是令雅典成为政治文化中心，有效地创建起一个雅典人的王国。雅典卫城便是在赫拉克利斯的大力策划下兴建起来的，它具有非常的意义，宣告雅典在世界新秩序中的统治地位。

公元前447年，他全力建设新帝国，由聚敛财富到兴建土木。他请来了三位不同凡响的艺术天才-雕刻家斐迪亚斯，建筑师艾士提努、卡利克拉提斯。他们一起设想如何将神殿和公共场所组合到一起，并决定沿用古典设计，但将在规模和美学上进行突破。神奇的是，他们当时既没有诸如我们今天的建筑计划也没有蓝图，而是依据一套几何学的符号和法则来施工。雅典黄金时期的建筑师认为，掌握几何学是发掘自然美的魔法。卫城使卡利克拉提斯和艾士提努有机会一展杰出的智慧与身手。

雅典卫城显示了希腊人对数学的精通以及对几何学的推崇。这项工程至关重要，它奠定了将逻辑引入数学的基石，令后人得以借此途径探索未知世界。

雅典卫城在每一处细节上，无论石匠技术、雕刻艺术，还是绘画装饰，都是前无古人的精美绝伦。CE