第4章 古希腊——西方历史与文化的开源(3)

Rise of Macedon：Change from a small kingdom to a greatempire

Macedon was an ancient kingdom， centered in the northern part of the Greek peninsula， bordered by Epirus to the west， Paeonia to the north， the region of Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south.

The rise of Macedon， from a small kingdom at the periphery of Classical Greek affairs， to one which came to dominate the entire Hellenic world （and beyond）， occurred in the space of just 25 years， between 359–336 BC. This ascendancy is largely attributable to the personality and policies of Philip II. After a brief period， he was assassinated. His son Alexander the Great conquested it and it became the most powerful state in the world， controlling a territory that included the former Persian empire， stretching as far as the Indus River； at that time it inaugurated the Hellenistic period of Ancient Greek civilization.

马其顿的崛起：从小王国到大帝国的蜕变

马其顿是一个古王国，位于希腊半岛北部，西临伊庇鲁斯，北至培奥尼亚，东到色雷斯地区，南达色萨利。

马其顿的崛起，从一个游离于古典希腊事务之外的小王国，到一个主导了整个希腊世界的大帝国，这段历史发生在公元前359～前336年间，这段25年的漫长历史归因于菲利普二世统治时期的个性与策略，他统治一段时间后被刺身亡。菲利普二世的儿子亚历山大征服希腊后，马其顿成为世界上最强大的国家，控制的领土从波斯帝国一直延伸到印度河流域，并开创了希腊化时期的古希腊文明。

2. The civilization marks pioneering in the western culture

Classical Greek culture， especially philosophy， had a powerful influence on the Roman Empire， which carried a version of it to many parts of the Mediterranean region and Europe， for which reason Classical Greece is generally considered to be the seminal culture which provided the foundation of modern Western culture.

开创西方文化先河的文明印记

古典希腊文化，特别是哲学，在罗马帝国有着强大的影响力，在地中海地区和欧洲的许多地方演绎。因为这个原因，古典希腊通常被认为是为现代西方文化奠定基础的开创性文化。

Minoan Culture：A bronze-aged civilization on the island of Crete

Minoan civilization was a bronze-aged civilization that arose on the island of Crete and came to dominate the shores and islands of the Aegean Sea. The civilization flourished as a maritime power from approximately the 27th century to the 15th century BC.

The collection of Minoan art is in the museum at Heraklion， near Knossos on the north shore of Crete. Minoan art， with other remains of material culture， especially the sequence of ceramic styles， has allowed archaeologists to define the three phases of Minoan culture （EM， MM， LM）. Since wood and textiles have vanished through decomposition， the best preserved， and so most easily learned from， surviving examples of Minoan art are Minoan pottery， the palace architecture with its frescos that include landscapes， stone carvings， and intricately carved seal stones.

In the Early Minoan period ceramics were characterized by linear patterns of spirals， triangles， curved lines， crosses， fishbone motifs， and like. In the Middle Minoan period naturalistic designs such as fish， squid， birds， and lilies were common. In the Late Minoan period， flowers and animals were still the most characteristic， but the variability had increased. The palace style of the region around Knossos is characterised by a strong geometric simplification of naturalistic shapes and monochromatic paintings. Very noteworthy are the similarities between Late Minoan and Mycenaean art. Frescoes were the main form of art during this time of the Minoan culture.

The Minoans seem to have worshipped primarily goddesses， which has sometimes been described as a "matriarchal religion". Although there is some evidence of male gods， depictions of Minoan goddesses vastly outnumber depictions of anything that could be considered a Minoan god. There still seem to be several goddesses including a Mother Goddess of fertility， a Mistress of the Animals， a protectress of cities， the household， the harvest， and the underworld， and more. Minoan sacred symbols include the bull and its horns of consecration， the double-headed axe， the pillar， the serpent and the tree.

米诺斯文明：克里特岛上的青铜时代文明

米诺斯文明是一个出现在克里特岛上的青铜时代文明，后来主宰了整个爱琴海的海岸和岛屿，该文明作为一股海上力量于公元前27～前15世纪兴旺发达起来。

米诺斯艺术品集中在克里特岛北岸的克诺索斯附近的伊拉克利翁米诺斯艺术博物馆当中。米诺斯艺术和物质文化的遗迹，特别是陶瓷风格的序列，帮助在考古学中界定了迈诺安文化的三个阶段（早期、中期、晚期）。由于木材和纺织品已经腐烂了，如今保存最完好，最容易研究的米诺斯艺术遗迹是克里特陶器和宫殿建筑的壁画，它们包括风景、石雕和雕刻精致的封印石。

早期米诺斯的陶瓷制品以线状的螺旋、三角、曲线、十字和鱼骨纹等为特征；中期米诺斯的自然主义设计，如鱼、乌贼、鸟和百合的图案则变得普遍；晚期米诺斯的花和动物依然是主要的特征，但是增强了变化性。在诺索斯周围的地区通常体现出“宫殿风格”，特征为自然形状的几何抽象以及单色的绘画。非常值得注意的是迈锡尼艺术与后期米诺斯艺术十分相似，壁画是这个时期的主要艺术表现形式。

克里特文明似乎主要崇拜女神，这一点有时被描述为“母权宗教”。虽然米诺斯宗教中也提到过一些男神，但它对于女神的描写大大超过了前者。在描写中有掌管生育的母神，一个女性的动物主宰，一个城市、家庭、收获、冥界的女性保护者，等等。米诺斯文明的神圣标志包括祭祀用的公牛和牛角、双头斧、蛇和树。

The golden age of Mycenaean civilization

Mycenaean Greece was a cultural period of Bronze Age Greece taking its name from the archaeological site of Mycenae， in the Peloponnese of southern Greece. Athens， Pylos， Thebes， and Tiryns are also important Mycenaean sites. The last phase of the Bronze Age in Ancient Greece， it is the historical setting of much ancient Greek literature and myth， including the epics of Homer.

The Mycenaean civilization flourished during the period roughly between 1600 BC and 1100 BC. It perished with the collapse of Bronze-Age civilization in the eastern Mediterranean. The collapse is commonly attributed to the Dorian invasion， although other theories describing natural disasters and climate change have been advanced as well. The major Mycenaean cities were Mycenae and Tiryns in Argolis， Pylos in Messenia， Athens in Attica， Thebes and Orchomenus in Boeotia， and Iolkos in Thessaly.

Mycenaean frescoes have been discovered in palace contexts， notably at Pylos， Mycenae， Orchomenos， Thebes， and Tiryns， and in a few nonpalatial， perhaps privately-owned contexts. The subjects hold tenaciously to Minoan traditions： lions and wingless griffins.