世界小史 第23章:奥西里斯神

Perhaps you're wondering why the pharaoh should want to build such a gigantic tomb?

你也许要问：为什么法老想建造这么一座巨大的坟墓呢?

It was all part of his religion.

这跟他的宗教有关。

The Egyptians believed in many gods.

埃及人信仰许多神。

Some had ruled over them as kings long ago - or at least, that's what they thought - and among these were Osiris and his consort, Isis.

过去一些神像国王一样统治他们很长时间--至少他们是这么认为的，在诸神中有奥西里斯神和他的妻子伊希斯。

The sun god, Amon, was a special god.

太阳神阿蒙，是一个特殊的神。

The Kingdom of the Dead had its own god, Anubis, and he had a jackal's head.

一个神主宰着冥府，他长着一颗胡狼脑袋，名叫阿努比斯。

Each pharaoh, they believed, was a son of the sun god, which explains why they feared him so much and obeyed all his commands.

他们认为每一个法老都是太阳神的儿子，这就解释了他们为什么这么惧怕他并服从他所有的命令。

In honor of their gods they chiselled majestic stone statues, as tall as a five-storey house, and built temples as big as towns.

为了向他们的神表达敬意，他们凿了巨大、庄严的石像，像五层楼房一样高，还建了像城镇那样大的庙宇。

In front of the temples they set tall pointed stones, cut from a single block ofgranite.

他们在庙宇前耸立着从整块的花岗石分割出来的高而尖的石头。

These are called 'obelisks', a Greek word meaning something like 'little spear'.

它们被称为方尖石碑，这是希腊语，是"小矛"的意思。

In some of our own cities you can still see obelisks that people brought back from Egypt.

今天你还能在某些城市见到这样的方尖石碑，它们是从埃及运来的。

There's one in London by the Thames.

在泰晤士河畔的伦敦也有一座(方尖石碑)。