世界小史 第57期:象形文字

 At Mycenae he discovered palaces and the tombs of kings, armor and shields, just as the Homeric songs had described them.

于是他在迈锡尼找到了国王们的宫殿和墓穴、盔甲和盾牌，一切都跟荷马的歌里一样。

And he found Troy, too, and dug there.

他也找到并挖掘了特洛伊。

And it turned out that it really had been destroyed by fire.

结果表明，它确实是被大火烧毁的。

But in all those tombs and palaces there wasn't one inscription¹,

但是在墓穴和宫殿里没有铭文，

so that for a long time no one could put a date to them until,

所以人们长期不知道，这究竟是什么时候发生的事，

one day, quite by chance, a ring was found in Mycenae that didn't come from there.

后来人们在迈锡尼偶然找到了一枚指环，它并不来自迈锡尼。

On it, in hieroglyphs², was the name of an Egyptian king who had lived around 1,400 BC,

指环上有象形文字，是一个埃及国王的名字，这位国王生活在公元前1400年左右，

and had been the predecessor³ of Akhenaton, the great reformer.

他是大革新家埃赫那吞的前任国王。

Now at that time there was living in Greece,and on the many neighboring islands and shores, a warlike people who had amassed⁴ great treasures.

那就是说，在这个时期，在希腊和许多毗邻的岛屿上居住着一个有着大量财富的好战的部落。

Greece was not so much a kingdom as a collection of small fortified⁵ cities, each with its own palace and king.

当时希腊还不是一个统一的国家，只有一些小的城市要塞，每个城市有自己的宫殿和国王。

1 inscription   

n.（尤指石块上的）刻印文字，铭文，碑文

参考例句：

• The inscription has worn away and can no longer be read.铭文已磨损，无法辨认了。
• He chiselled an inscription on the marble.他在大理石上刻碑文。

2 hieroglyphs   

n.象形字（如古埃及等所用的）( hieroglyph的名词复数 )；秘密的或另有含意的书写符号

参考例句：

• Hieroglyphs are carved into the walls of the temple. 寺庙的墙壁上刻着象形文字。 来自辞典例句
• This paper discusses the fundamental distinctions between the hieroglyphs andforerunner of writing. 英汉象形文字的比较是建立在象形文字具体内涵的基础上。 来自互联网

3 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

4 amassed   

v.积累，积聚( amass的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He amassed a fortune from silver mining. 他靠开采银矿积累了一笔财富。
• They have amassed a fortune in just a few years. 他们在几年的时间里就聚集了一笔财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 fortified   

adj. 加强的

参考例句：

• He fortified himself against the cold with a hot drink. 他喝了一杯热饮御寒。
• The enemy drew back into a few fortified points. 敌人收缩到几个据点里。