雅典卫城、奥林匹亚宙斯神庙、古罗马市场遗址的英文

雅典卫城、奥林匹亚宙斯神庙、古罗马市场遗址的英文
雅典卫城、奥林匹亚宙斯神庙、古罗马市场遗址

Acropolis
The Acropolis of Athens,a hill c.260 ft (80 m) high,with a flat oval top c.500 ft (150 m) wide and 1,150 ft (350 m) long,was a ceremonial site beginning in the Neolithic Period and was walled before the 6th cent.B.C.by the Pelasgians.Devoted to religious rather than defensive purposes,the area was adorned during the time of Cimon and Pericles with some of the world's greatest architectural and sculptural monuments.
The top was reached by a winding processional path at the west end,where the impressive Propylaea (see under propylaeum) stood.From there,the Sacred Way led past a colossal bronze statue of Athena (called Athena Promachus) and the site of the old temple of Athena to the Parthenon.To the north was the Erechtheum and to the southwest the temple of Nike Apteros (Wingless Victory).On the southern slope were the Odeum of Herodes Atticus and the theater of Dionysus.
Although the Acropolis was laid waste by the Persians in 480 B.C.and was later further damaged by the Turks and others,remains of the Parthenon,Erechtheum,and Propylaea still stand.Many of its treasures are in the national museum of Greece,in Athens.Over the years,the Acropolis has suffered severely from pollution and from well-intentioned but badly executed attempts at repair.In 1975 the Greek government began a major restoration project,which by the mid-1990s was only about 40% complete.
Statue of Zeus at Olympia
The seated statue occupied the whole width of the aisle of the temple that was built to house it,and was 40 feet (12 meters) tall."It seems that if Zeus were to stand up," the geographer Strabo noted early in the 1st century BC,"he would unroof the temple."[citation needed] Zeus was carved from ivory (technically the ivory was soaked in a liquid that made it softer,so it was probably both carved and shaped as necessary) then covered with gold plating (thus chryselephantine) and was seated on a magnificent throne of cedarwood,inlaid with ivory,gold,ebony,and precious stones.In Zeus' right hand there was a small statue of Nike,the goddess of victory,and in his left hand,a shining sceptre on which an eagle perched.[1] Visitors like the Roman general Aemilius Paulus,the victor over Macedon,were moved to awe by the godlike majesty and splendor that Phidias had captured.[citation needed]
The circumstances of its eventual destruction are a source of debate:some scholars argue that it perished with the temple in the 5th century AD,others argue that it was carried off to Constantinople,where it was destroyed in the great fire of the Lauseion (Schobel 1965).According to Lucian of Samosata in the later second century,"they have laid hands on your person at Olympia,my lord High-Thunderer,and you had not the energy to wake the dogs or call in the neighbours; surely they might have come to the rescue and caught the fellows before they had finished packing up the swag."[2]
Perhaps the greatest discovery in terms of finding out about this wonder came in 1958 with the excavation of the workshop used to create the statue.This has led archaeologists to be able to re-create the technique used to make the great work.
Colosseum
The Colosseum or Coliseum,originally known as the Flavian Amphitheatre[1] (Latin:Amphitheatrum Flavium,in Italian Anfiteatro Flavio or Colosseo),is the largest amphitheatre built in the Roman Empire.Originally capable of seating 50,000 spectators,it was used for gladiatorial combat.It was built in the 70s and completed in 80 AD.
The Coloseum is located just east of the Roman Forum.
Construction of the Coloseum began under the rule of Emperor Vespasian[1] in 72.It was completed by his son,Titus,in 80[1],with later improvements by Domitian.It was built at the site of Nero's lake below his extensive palace,the Domus Aurea,which had been built covering the slope of the Palatine after the great fire of Rome in 64.Dio Cassius recounts that 9,000 wild animals were killed in the one hundred days of celebration which inaugurated the amphitheatre opening.
After the Coloseum's first two years in operation,Vespasian's younger son (the newly-designated Emperor Domitian) decided to sacrifice the ability to flood the arena in return for a hypogeum,a series of underground tunnels used to house animals and slaves.