How about Aphrodite?

阿佛洛狄忒怎麼樣？

Or Helios?

還是赫利俄斯？

These characters, and many others, are all a part of something called Greek mythology.

這些人物和其他許多人物都是希臘神話的一部分。

What is mythology?

什麼是神話？

In ancient times, people often created fictional stories about gods and other characters to help explain things that they didn't understand, like weather or fire.

在古代，人們經常虛構一些關於神和其他人物的故事，來幫助解釋他們不理解的事物，比如天氣或火。

These imaginary stories are called myths or mythology.

這些想象中的故事被稱為神話或神話。

Peoples like the Native Americans, Egyptians, Romans, and other cultures and religions have all developed myths.

美洲原住民、埃及人、羅馬人以及其他文化和宗教都創造了神話。

However, ancient Greek mythology is probably one of the best known in our modern world and its stories still exist today.

然而，古希臘神話可能是現代世界最著名的神話之一，其故事至今仍然存在。

Ancient Greece Ancient Greece is the foundation for most Western culture today, which is why you have probably heard at least a little bit about some of its most famous stories and characters.

古希臘 古希臘是當今大多數西方文化的基礎，是以您可能至少聽說過一些古希臘最著名的故事和人物。

The period of ancient Greece lasted between 800 BC and 146 BC, which was when Greece was conquered by the Romans.

古希臘時期從公元前 800 年到公元前 146 年，也就是希臘被羅馬人征服的時期。

Like all peoples who have created mythology, the ancient Greeks formed make-believe stories to explain the world around them.

與所有創造神話的民族一樣，古希臘人通過虛構的故事來解釋他們周圍的世界。

Take a thunderstorm for example.

以雷雨為例。

Because the people didn't have access to the same types of science and technology that we do today, they created a story to explain the cause of thunder and lightning.

由於當時的人們無法獲得與我們今天相同的科學和技術，他們創造了一個故事來解釋雷電的成因。

According to the ancient Greeks, they both came from a god called Zeus, who could throw bolts of lightning with his bare hands.

根據古希臘人的說法，它們都來自一個名叫宙斯的神，宙斯可以徒手擲出閃電。

The sun was controlled by the god Helios, who drove a chariot carrying the sun across the sky each day, which is how the ancient Greeks explained the changing positions of the sun in the sky and why it rose and set every day.

太陽由赫利俄斯神控制，他每天駕著戰車載著太陽在天空中飛行，古希臘人就是這樣解釋太陽在天空中位置的變化以及它每天升起和落下的原因的。

Next, let's talk about Greek gods and goddesses.

接下來，讓我們談談希臘諸神。

For the most part, Greek mythology was formed around gods and goddesses that related to their religious beliefs.

在大多數情況下，希臘神話是圍繞著與他們的宗教信仰有關的諸神而形成的。

These gods and goddesses would appear in different stories, but their personalities and powers wouldn't change.

這些諸神會出現在不同的故事中，但他們的個性和力量不會改變。

Each of these characters had wildly exaggerated personalities, combined with one or more magical powers.

每個角色都有誇張的個性，並擁有一種或多種神奇的力量。

Greek gods were neither good nor bad.

希臘諸神沒有好壞之分。

They could use these powers for good, trickery, or adventure.

他們可以利用這些力量做好事、耍花招或冒險。

Greek gods were either Titans, who had ruled the world, or Olympians, who later defeated the Titans.

希臘諸神要麼是統治世界的泰坦，要麼是後來打敗泰坦的奧林匹斯神。

And some gods were relatives of both.

有些神則是兩者的親戚。

Despite being immortal and having superpowers, the gods often fought with each other or made life miserable for humans on Earth.

儘管諸神是不朽的，而且擁有超能力，但他們經常互相爭鬥，或者讓地球上的人類過著悲慘的生活。

We've already talked a little bit about Zeus and Helios, but let's talk about a few more mythological creatures, like Hades, for example.

關於宙斯和赫利俄斯，我們已經談了一些，下面我們再來談談其他一些神話中的生物，比如哈迪斯。

Hades was the god of the underworld and actually Zeus' brother.

哈迪斯是冥界之神，實際上是宙斯的兄弟。

It's no secret that he and his brother didn't get along, and many stories portray Zeus as a hero and Hades as a villain.

宙斯和他的兄弟關係不和已不是祕密，許多故事都把宙斯描繪成英雄，把哈迪斯描繪成惡棍。

Hades couldn't throw lightning bolts, but he did have the power of invisibility if he wore a special helmet.

哈迪斯不能發射閃電，但如果戴上特製的頭盔，他確實有隱形的能力。

Pretty cool, huh?

很酷吧？

Poseidon was another Greek god and a brother to Zeus and Hades.

波塞冬是希臘的另一位神，也是宙斯和哈迪斯的兄弟。

Poseidon ruled and controlled the ocean.

波塞冬統治並控制著海洋。

The ancient Greeks believed he could cause earthquakes, too.

古希臘人相信他也能引發地震。

Athena was the goddess of wisdom and courage.

雅典娜是智慧和勇氣女神。

She was so well-loved that she became the patron goddess of Athens, which is still a city in Greece today.

她深受人們的愛戴，成為雅典的守護神，雅典至今仍是希臘的一座城市。

Love and beauty are what Aphrodite was the goddess of.

阿佛洛狄忒是愛與美的女神。

She could make others fall in love with the help of a magical belt.

她可以藉助魔法腰帶讓別人墜入愛河。

Besides the gods and goddesses, there were many other creatures and monsters that were important characters in Greek mythology.

除了眾神之外，還有許多其他生物和怪物也是希臘神話中的重要角色。

Some included centaurs, who were half-man and half-horse, Cerebus, a three-headed dog and Hades' favorite pet, Cyclops, which were one-eyed giants, Griffins, a combination of a lion and an eagle, Hydra, a giant snake with nine heads, and satyrs, which were half-goat, half-man.

其中包括半人半馬的半人馬、哈迪斯最寵愛的寵物--三頭犬 Cerebus、獨眼巨人 Cyclops、獅子和鷹的結合體 Griffins、九頭巨蛇 Hydra 以及半羊半人的 Satyrs。

Oh, and let's not forget one of the most famous monsters of all.

哦，別忘了還有一個最著名的怪物。

Ever heard of a creature called Medusa?

聽說過一種叫美杜莎的生物嗎？

She was a monster called a gorgon.

她是一個被稱為 "戈爾貢 "的怪物。

Medusa had a woman's face with snakes instead of hair.

美杜莎長著一張女人的臉，蛇代替了頭髮。

Can you imagine what that would look like in real life?

你能想象這在現實生活中會是什麼樣子嗎？

And guess what?

你猜怎麼著？

The myth was that anyone who looked into Medusa's eyes would instantly be turned to stone.

傳說中，任何人只要看了美杜莎的眼睛，就會立刻變成石頭。

Pretty wild, don't you think?

很狂野，你不覺得嗎？

Now that we've learned some interesting facts about Greek mythology, let's review.

既然我們已經瞭解了希臘神話的一些趣事，那就讓我們來回顧一下吧。

Name two of Zeus' brothers.

請說出宙斯的兩個兄弟。

Did you remember Hades and Poseidon?

你還記得哈迪斯和波塞冬嗎？

Awesome job!

幹得漂亮

True or false?

真還是假？

A griffin is part eagle and part lion.

獅鷲是鷹和獅子的一部分。

That is true.

沒錯。

Fill in the blank.

填空。

If you looked into Medusa's eyes, you turned into stone.

如果你看著美杜莎的眼睛，你就會變成石頭。

True or false?

真還是假？

Aphrodite was the goddess of hate.

阿佛洛狄忒是仇恨女神。

False.

假的。

Aphrodite is the goddess of love and beauty.

阿佛洛狄忒是愛與美的女神。

Fill in the blank.

填空。

Blank was the goddess of wisdom and courage.

布蘭克是智慧和勇氣女神。

Did you remember Athena?

你還記得雅典娜嗎？

Great job, everyone.

大家辛苦了

You are well on your way to becoming Greek mythology experts.

你們正在成為希臘神話專家的道路上越走越遠。

While some of the Greek myths may seem a little strange in our modern world, they're still a very important part of history and can be fun to learn about.

雖然在我們的現代世界中，有些希臘神話可能看起來有點奇怪，但它們仍然是歷史上非常重要的一部分，瞭解它們會很有趣。

The next time you see a flash of lightning in the sky, you can blame it on Zeus.

下次你再看到天空中的閃電，就可以把它歸咎於宙斯了。

Hope you had fun learning with us.

希望你能和我們一起愉快地學習。

Visit us at learnbright.org for thousands of free resources and turnkey solutions for teachers and homeschoolers.

請訪問我們的網站 learnbright.org，獲取成千上萬的免費資源以及為教師和家庭教育者提供的全套解決方案。