How Art Made The World 说服的艺术 -11

But the most significant aspect of this little ivory head was when it was made, it was placed in this tomb. That means that it was made before Philip died and before Alexander became king. In other words archeologists realized for the first time, that Alexander's image had been designed for him before he fought a single battle against the Persians. Between them, Philip and Alexander had already come up with a winning image, an image to take on the world. But how exactly would Alexander exploit the power of this image, and portray¹ himself as a leader strong enough to unite an empire?

The answer to that was found buried under tons of lava² at the foot of a volcano, the volcano that buried the Roman town of Pompeii, Mount Vesuvius. The Romans loved Greek art and in one of the villas³ in Pompeii was a mosaic⁴, the copy of an original Macedonian painting from Alexander's time. It's now in the archeological museum of Naples. The mosaic depicts⁵ a famous battle in which Alexander finally defeated the Persian armies.

This is Alexander charging full tilt⁶ into the thick of the battle. His eyes are fixed⁷ on his mortal enemy, the Persian king. Alexander is shown in the heat of action leading his troops, spear in hand. He wears no helmet, his hair flying back, a fearless hero leading from the front. And the impact of this image is even greater when you look across to the other side of the mosaic.

Look at the face of the great Persian king. It's a study of panic and fear, he can't get away quick enough. And so the whole of this political poster offers us a clear choice. Do you go for the brave heart or the coward, the hero or the villain⁸? It's a collision of values in which Alexander is predestined for victory. Alexander had discovered he could use his portrait to persuade his new subjects that he was invincible⁹. It was an image to inspire admiration¹⁰ and respect. Here was a man who could unite the empire and was worthy¹¹ of replacing the king of Persia.

lava: (n.) Molten rock that reaches the earth's surface through a volcano or fissure¹². 火山岩
mosaic: (n.) A picture or decorative¹³ design made by setting small colored pieces, as of stone or tile, into a surface. 马赛克
Naples: (n.) A city of south-central Italy on the Bay of Naples, an arm of the Tyrrhenian Sea. 那不勒斯(意大利中南部)
predestine: (v.) To foreordain or elect by divine will or decree. 命中注定

1 portray   

v.描写，描述；画(人物、景象等)

参考例句：

• It is difficult to portray feelings in words.感情很难用言语来描写。
• Can you portray the best and worst aspects of this job?您能描述一下这份工作最好与最坏的方面吗？

2 lava   

n.熔岩，火山岩

参考例句：

• The lava flowed down the sides of the volcano.熔岩沿火山坡面涌流而下。
• His anger spilled out like lava.他的愤怒像火山爆发似的迸发出来。

3 villas   

别墅，公馆( villa的名词复数 )； （城郊）住宅

参考例句：

• Magnificent villas are found throughout Italy. 在意大利到处可看到豪华的别墅。
• Rich men came down from wealthy Rome to build sea-side villas. 有钱人从富有的罗马来到这儿建造海滨别墅。

4 mosaic   

n./adj.镶嵌细工的，镶嵌工艺品的，嵌花式的

参考例句：

• The sky this morning is a mosaic of blue and white.今天早上的天空是幅蓝白相间的画面。
• The image mosaic is a troublesome work.图象镶嵌是个麻烦的工作。

5 depicts   

描绘，描画( depict的第三人称单数 )； 描述

参考例句：

• The book vividly depicts French society of the 1930s. 这本书生动地描绘了20 世纪30 年代的法国社会。
• He depicts the sordid and vulgar sides of life exclusively. 他只描写人生肮脏和庸俗的一面。

6 tilt   

v.(使)倾侧；(使)倾斜；n.倾侧；倾斜

参考例句：

• She wore her hat at a tilt over her left eye.她歪戴着帽子遮住左眼。
• The table is at a slight tilt.这张桌子没放平，有点儿歪.

7 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

8 villain   

n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因

参考例句：

• He was cast as the villain in the play.他在戏里扮演反面角色。
• The man who played the villain acted very well.扮演恶棍的那个男演员演得很好。

9 invincible   

adj.不可征服的，难以制服的

参考例句：

• This football team was once reputed to be invincible.这支足球队曾被誉为无敌的劲旅。
• The workers are invincible as long as they hold together.只要工人团结一致，他们就是不可战胜的。

10 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。

11 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

12 fissure   

n.裂缝；裂伤

参考例句：

• Though we all got out to examine the fissure,he remained in the car.我们纷纷下车察看那个大裂缝，他却呆在车上。
• Ground fissure is the main geological disaster in Xi'an city construction.地裂缝是西安市主要的工程地质灾害问题。

13 decorative   

adj.装饰的，可作装饰的

参考例句：

• This ware is suitable for decorative purpose but unsuitable for utility.这种器皿中看不中用。
• The style is ornate and highly decorative.这种风格很华丽，而且装饰效果很好。