2015-06-14
【Aiden in English】
It doesn't seem as if you wake up on some random day covered in a sheet of burning ash. If you know what I mean, I'm talking about the Pompeii of Italy and reacquainting myself with the timeless power of nature. It was tragic that the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD buried the entire city of Pompeii. Pompeii was a thriving Roman city renowned as a vacation getaway for Rome's elite and possessed technology far more advanced than its time. There were hundreds of houses and a strong social class system. Powerful rulers made a vigorous civilization. The population was skyrocketing and out of control. Freshwater was available, and resources were plentiful. They became the first to create a system of water drainage pipes beneath the city, serving as a sewage disposal system for the dirty water on the stone-paved streets. They understood the principles of sound, which enabled them to design an amphitheater that effectively amplified the speaker's voice. Of course, all things had to be destroyed. But Pompeii wasn't conquered by armies, and it fell into the Dark Ages with a weak ruler. Mt. Vesuvius leveled them. If the people of Pompeii were to point fingers, then blame the city's founders for picking a spot 10 miles/16 km from an active volcano! There was nothing that could stop it either. What's interesting is that the people weren't killed by lava but by the ash. The burning flakes fell from the sky like rain, and a large sheet of fire covered the people. The cloud of gas released from the volcano also made the air unbreathable. As we proceeded into the ancient city, the guide explained that the upper part of the city was reconstructed. The ash had burned away the top, and archeologists rebuilt it from clues in the remains. The scientists also created a few statues of people in the process of dying. How, you may ask, did they get them? Today, science allows us to inflate corpses to regular sizes. One person was covering his mouth, trying to block out the stench of the gas. There wasn't anything anyone could do. It seems like going to the beach for a week, and a hurricane kills you. Pompeii was that situation. Nature just decided at a particular time at a specific place to say: "Hey! I don't like the clothes these people are wearing! Let's make the volcano erupt and kill them!" Or something like this: "I feel like destroying something today. Eeny-meeny-miny-Moe! Pompeii it is!" Pompeii had no chance to survive. Life was just meant to be this way. Everything that starts has an ending. For Pompeii, it was just a little earlier. The people were thriving, and if it weren't for a particularly active and destructive volcano, there would be an enormous city built there today, for all we know. It's just that the finish line appeared closer than it seemed. In 1997, the Archaeological Area of Pompei was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 【紅霞譯】 沒準哪天清早醒來，周圍所有一切全部煙灰餘燼，倘若你稍有靈犀，即刻便會領悟到我所指的是意大利龐貝“五”城，它讓我重新認識自然界永恆的力量，公元七九年間維蘇威“煙霧”火山的爆發給整個地區帶來了滅頂之災。 龐貝曾經紅極一時，是古羅馬帝王將相權貴階層的度假勝地，擁有先進的技術工藝，城區廣廈萬間，社會等級森嚴，集權統治者積極推行文明建設，人口數量超大幅度地增長；城中建有自來水系統，物產資源豐富，不僅成為全球開發市區地下水管系統及石街污水排放體系的先驅，而且還掌握傳聲要素，挑頭發展環形露天劇場天然揚聲器的功效。當然，所有成就終究付之一炬，不過龐貝不是因黑暗時期庸君無能被軍變顛覆，而是葬身於維蘇威火山之下。如果後人對之心存不滿，那麼就把矛頭指向其祖先好了，誰叫他們把古城建在距離活火山10英里/16公里的地方！即使再有回天之力，也休想阻擋火山爆發。有趣的是，當地人並非喪命於滾滾熔岩，相反卻被從天而降的煙灰粉片活埋窒息，火山釋放的氣流令人無法呼吸。
我們一邊參觀古城，一邊聆聽導遊解說。龐貝上城現為修復區，考古學家根據粉塵之下的遺物推理而建，科學工作者依照殭屍姿勢塑造了幾個模型，你也許會問，他們怎麼知道？是這麼回事，如今科學發展到可以幫我們把屍體整合至原有形貌大小，其中有的人正用手捂着嘴巴防止異味進入口中。天災人禍世事難料，好比去海邊度假一周，颶風會將你置於死地，龐貝恰巧如此。大自然隨時隨地掰活：“嘿！我不喜歡人類這身打扮！讓火山給他們點顏色瞧瞧！”或者換種口吻任性：“今天我想折騰一下，不是它就是它！來吧，龐貝！”龐貝無處躲無處藏，命中注定。 凡事有始有終。對於龐貝而言，滅亡來的稍微早了一點，人們正躊躇滿志，要不是趕上特別活躍並且極富殺傷力的火山發威，大家都認為龐貝定會大放異彩，可惜好景不長。 1997年，龐貝考古區被聯合國教科文組織納入《世界遺產名錄》。 Today in History(歷史上的今天):
2015: Lemons in Capri, Italy(意大利卡普里島的檸檬) 2012: Descriptive─Fables(想象文─童話故事)  View from the Port of Naples on Castle Nouvo
(從那不勒斯港口俯瞰新堡 06-14-2015)  Mt Vesuvius Viewed from the Port of Naples
(從那不勒斯港遠望維蘇威火山)  Mt Vesuvius's Caldera in Plinian Eruption of Powerful Explosions & the Ejection of Ash & Pumice into the Atmosphere
(維蘇威火山口·採用普林尼式噴發，爆發力強勁，並向大氣中噴出火山灰和浮石)  Explore Pompeii's Ancient Ruins
(探索龐貝古城遺址 06-14-2015)
 Pompeii & Vesuvius Viewed from Pompeii Forum，the Only Volcano Eruption on Europe's Mainland in the Last Hundred Years
(從龐貝古城廣場背望維蘇威“煙霧”火山景色·歐洲大陸上唯一一座近百年來噴發過的火山 06-14-2015)  Pompeii Forum, the Central Hub of Ancient Public Life
(古城廣場·古代公共生活的中心樞紐 12-28-1995)
 2nd Visit to Pompeii Forum after Nearly 20 Years
(將近20年後回訪古城廣場·背景為維蘇威火山 06-14-2015)
 Pompeii Forum Serving as the City's Civic, Commercial, Political, & Religious Center
(古城廣場·全城民眾商業、政治和宗教的中心 12-28-1995)
 Temple of Apollo in the 120-BC Roman, Dedicated to the Greek and Roman God Apollo
(阿波羅神廟·公元前120年羅馬式，獻給希臘和羅馬阿波羅“太陽”神 06-14-2015)
 Temple of Jupiter, the City's Capitolium Dedicated to the Capitoline Triad of Jupiter, Juno, & Minerva
(朱庇特神殿·供奉朱庇特“眾神之王”、朱諾“眾神女王”和密涅瓦“智慧女神”的卡皮托利歐山三聯神)
 House of the Vestals, the Home of the Priestesses of the Cult of Vesta Responsible for Maintaining the Sacred Fire in the Temple of Vesta, Believed to Represent the Eternal Life Force of Rome
(維斯塔“貞女”之家·維斯塔教女祭司的住所，她們負責維護維斯塔神廟中代表羅馬永恒生命力量的聖火)  Amphitheater of Pompeii, the Oldest Surviving Stone Amphitheater in the Roman World Built around 70 BC for Hosting Gladiatorial Contests & Other Spectacles Like Animal Hunts & Executions
(古羅馬劇場·建於公元前70年左右、羅馬世界現存最古老的石頭圓形劇場，以舉辦角鬥士比賽和動物狩獵及處決等其它表演 06-14-2015)  Gladiators Barracks (角鬥士營房)
 House of the Gladiators, a Living Quarters & Training Area
(角鬥士之家·居住區和訓練場地 06-14-2015) 
Odeon, Theatrum Tectum (歌唱場所·有頂蓋的劇場)
 Via dell'Abbondanza, the City's Longest & Most Bustling
(阿邦丹扎“富足”大街·全城最長、最繁華的主要街道 06-14-2015)  Via dell'Abbondanza (阿邦丹扎大街 06-14-2015)
Running Water in about 20 BC (公元前20年左右開始使用自來水)  Villa of the Mysteries, Ancient Roman Villa on the Outskirts of Pompeii
(神秘別墅·古羅馬郊區別墅)  Erotic Art Showing the Initiation of a Bride into a Greco-Roman Mystery Cult
(色情藝術·新娘加入希臘羅馬神秘教派的入會儀式)  Frescoe from Brothels (妓院裡的壁畫)
 Common Wall Lizard (普通壁蜥)
 Emerald Princess (“公主·翡翠”號遊輪 06-14-2015)
 焗扇貝大蝦、米蘭小牛肉片、博羅梅安“好朝聖者”湖鱒魚片、三色冰激凌
Crosslinks(相關博文): Italy(出遊意大利) Europe(歐洲掠影) 6th Grade(初中一年級)
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