Chapter 1（奥林匹斯众神的故事）

1 The Olympin Gods
奥林匹斯的诸神

Between Macedon and Thessaly of eastern Greece there stood a high mountain． —
在东希腊的马其顿和塞萨利之间，有一座高山屹立其间。 —

Its cloudy top rushed into the very heavens． —
山顶笼罩在云雾之中，直插云霄。 —

On the top of the mountain， the home of the gods was bathed in brightness． —
在山巅，众神的住所光芒四射。 —

At Olympus Zeus ruled as the father of gods and men． Zeus was not a crude ruler by any standards． —
在奥林匹斯，宙斯作为众神和人类的父亲统治着。 —

All the gods listened to his final words，it was true． —
所有的神听从他的最后决定，这是真实的。 —

But Zeus made them all sit on a committee of twelve members，including six gods and six goddesses． —
但宙斯让他们都坐在一个由六位男神和六位女神组成的委员会上。 —

The first in the Olympian crowd sat Zeus himself． —
奥林匹斯的头等宾客是宙斯本人。 —

He was the overlord of gods and men and the operator of the thunderbolt ． —
他是众神和人类的统治者，拥有雷霆之力。 —

Next to him was Hera，his proud and greeneyed queen． —
紧随其后的是赫拉，他那自豪而嫉妒的皇后。 —

Poseidon was ruler of the sea，And Hades，king of the lower world，had no seat in the committee． —
波塞冬是海洋之主，而冥王哈迪斯，却没有在委员会中有席位。 —

Apollo was the god of the sun，music and poetry，while his twinsister Artemis was the goddess of the moon and the chase． —
阿波罗是太阳神，兼具音乐和诗歌之神，而他的孪生姐姐阿尔忒弥斯则是月亮和狩猎之女神。 —

Athena was the goddess of wisdom and patroness of house holdarts． —
雅典娜是智慧女神，家庭艺术的赞助者。 —

Hestin，the goddess of the family，represented home life and family happiness． —
赫斯提亚，家庭女神，代表家庭生活和幸福。 —

The frightening Ares was the god of war，and the charming Aphrodite the goddess of love and beauty． —
充满恐怖的阿瑞斯是战争之神，而迷人的阿芙罗狄忒则是爱与美的女神。 —

The god of fire，Hephaestus，was the forger of the thunderbolts of Zeus． —
火神赫淮斯托斯是宙斯的雷电锻造者。 —

The wing footed messenger Hermes was the god of invention and commerce； —
一脚翼飞快的信使赫尔墨斯是发明和商业之神； —

and the goddess of grains and harvests，Demeter，looked after agriculture and stood for mother ofcivilization．
谷物和丰收女神狄蜜特负责农业，象征文明之母。

All the chief gods mentioned above took human forms of incomparable beauty and grace． —
所有上述主要神祇都以无与伦比的美丽和优雅的人形出现。 —

Often moved by human feelings and desires，they frequently gave way to anger and jealousy． —
他们常被人类感情和欲望所感动，经常表现出愤怒和嫉妒。 —

They became involved in ceaseless battles with the world of man． —
他们卷入与人类世界的不断战斗。 —

Among themselves at Olympus they plotted and struggled for power． —
在奥林匹斯山他们之间密谋争夺权力。 —

In the human world they experienced competitions and difficulties． —
在人类世界他们经历竞争和困难。 —

They enjoyed earthly friendships and loves． —
他们享受人间友谊和爱情。 —

Acrowd of everlasting gods looked and acted in a perfectly human fashion that is what all gods at Olympus actually were．
一群永恒的神祗以完全符合人类习惯的方式行事，这正是奥林匹斯山上的一切神明所是。