2015-06-17
【Aiden in English】
Today, I visited Rhodes, Greece's most easterly island in the Aegean Sea. You shouldn't be confused with Rhode Island on the east coast of the USA, or a "road," as in the strip of land cars travel on. They are entirely different. How much? Well, you'll know it after reading this. This sunny Aegean gem was once the site of the Colossus of Rhodes, a statue created to honor the sun god Helios. It was at least 110 feet/34 meters high and was built around the 3rd century BC as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Heat is hazardous, you know. Although it suits the olives, I prefer not to get heatstroke or dehydration. Heat, combined with the steps involved in Julius Caesar's death, is a force that not even lemons or olives can stop. These were approximately 300 slippery, significant, steep, and treacherous steps that could trap anyone standing on them. These weapons were used to protect the Acropolis of Lindos. The Acropolis is a standing structure built on a rocky hill as a fortress. To get to the Acropolis, over 320 steps stood in your way. I was going to reach it, too, no matter the cost. I left out two factors that could make a difference in today's outcome. First, the steps were as slippery as ice. They weren't wet or anything. It was just the type of cobblestone that gave it a sliding motion whenever I planted my feet. The second thing was that the temperature rose, and the sun grew more prominent, rather than being cooler from the sea breeze, since we were at a higher elevation. It seemed we were getting closer to the sun, which wasn't possible. Please tell me that hallucinations are a symptom of heatstroke because the sun is getting a little too big for what I call a "survival size." And I thought we still had 5 billion years before the sun imploded. Boy, meteorologists were as wrong as ever. Finally, we reached the Acropolis of Lindos, and it looked beautiful. The island of Rhodes was spread below. Rolling hills turned to mountains stretching into the distance. Olive trees dotted the landscape, and white, blocky, small buildings clumped together made up the towns on the hilly side. The coastal area looked quite different. A wave of turquoise blue reached the horizon, colliding on a line almost inseparably. The water faded into a light blue and seemed to flow into the sky. The Acropolis of Lindos was dedicated to Athena, the goddess of wisdom and war strategy, typically for defensive purposes. Therefore, having her as the host goddess was a logical idea. The Temple of Athena Lindia was built for her at the summit of the fortress, and below was a semi-circular arrangement of pillars and a corridor. The lowest floor was the support area, which was later converted into a storage area and had walls added. This Doric architecture was all ground, majestic, and… 2,300 years ago. The temple is gone, and only half of the pillars remain. It is one of the remaining ancient structures symbolizing the past. Strolling through the old town, the Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights transported us back to the 14th century, when the Knights Hospitaller controlled Rhodes. This citadel of the Early Byzantine fortress was pierced with Gothic portals, imposing towers, a square courtyard, and hundreds of vaulted rooms featuring recovered mosaics dating back to as early as the 2nd century BC. Mosaics are pictures made of tiny natural pebbles. You'll know when a masterful work is done because you can't tell the difference between a mosaic and a painting. These art images were all about Greek history and mythology, giving me my share of social studies today. One piece of work I found interesting was how Helios, the god of Rhodes, was the host. One day, Zeus split the world into sections for each god. Helios wasn't there, as he traveled east to west across the sky daily, serving as a charioteer. He didn't get a piece because Zeus forgot, and Zeus was frustrated that he had to redo the process. An island rose from the sea, and Helios saw a beautiful nymph. He asked Zeus for this island only, so that's why Rhodes has an average of 300 days of sunshine a year, regardless of how much sunscreen this country consumes yearly. However, many works were in Ottoman possession until the 1940s. Ancient structures carry many stories, both oral and scenic. A thousand years later, people will think, “Wow, where did the Acropolis of Lindos go?” It will be gone, and most likely, there will be more and new historic sites like Rhodes. 【紅霞譯】
今天我們去了希臘愛琴“波浪”海最東邊的羅得島““林中空地””，千萬別跟美國東海岸羅德島州混為一談，同時也不要誤以為這裡所指的是汽車道路，其實彼此之間完全不同，區別真的很大？你讀完本文介紹之後便會明白怎麼回事。這顆陽光明媚的愛琴海明珠曾因羅得斯島赫利俄斯“太陽神”巨像而聞名天下，該銅像建於公元前三世紀，高達110英尺／34米，被視為古代世界七大奇蹟之一。
你知道酷暑有多恐怖，儘管對橄欖百利而無一害，但此時此刻我唯恐避之不及，生怕中暑或者脫水，高溫外加足使尤利烏斯·凱撒“年輕·頭髮”大帝命歸西天的台階構成一股力量，連檸檬或橄欖甚感無奈，腳下三百來蹬又滑又大又陡又險的石梯，稍踩不慎就會人仰馬翻，堪稱林多斯“美村”衛城獨特的防禦手段。衛城巍然矗立在山包頂頭，曾被用作軍事堡壘，欲想身在其中，必須要邁過320多層台階，但無論付出多少代價，我定要勇往直前。
今天進展如何取決於下面兩個因素，第一：石階滑如冰塊，與潮濕毫無關係，踩上這種鵝卵石令人頓覺時光磨蝕歲月積澱；第二：隨着高度增加，撲面而來的陣陣海風絲毫沒有一點涼意，氣溫反而飆升，太陽似乎越來越大，我們之間的距離變得越來越近，簡直不可思議。莫非幻覺是中暑的標誌，因為太陽看上去的確有點超乎“生存尺寸”，可我誤以為太陽起碼還有50億年壽命，唉呀，氣象學家總是說話不算數。 我們好不容易登上林多斯衛城，羅得島風光盡收眼底，連綿起伏的海岸丘陵縱深朝群山方向蜿蜒而去；橄欖樹婀娜多姿，恰到好處地點綴海島的秀美；白色塊式小型建築群依山而建，自然形成社區規模的山鄉城鎮。傍海一側景色完全不同，翡翠一般的波紋拍打着地平線，歡快的浪花緊緊地擁抱在一起，海水逐漸變為淡藍色，宛若天空飄動的雲朵。 林多斯衛城專為女神雅典娜而設，顧名思義正是祭拜女神的地方，雅典娜·莉迪亞“智慧與戰爭女神”（通常重在保護城邦）神廟被造在城堡頂端，下面建有半方形石柱和走廊，底層地基部分後被改作儲藏室及防禦工事，這座2,300多年的多利安式建築堅實雄偉，目前其廟宇早已不復存在，僅有半成棟梁傲然挺立,不失為一處承載滄桑鐫刻歷史的古堡遺蹟。 漫步於羅德城老城區，另一個哥特式建築“大教長宮”把我們帶入十四世紀醫院騎士團統治年代，它為早期拜占庭的要塞堡壘，貫串哥特式的入門、高大挺拔的樓塔、方形寬敞的庭院以及數以百計的拱頂廳堂等建築特徵，室內保留不少包括公元前二世紀流傳下來的鑲嵌藝術。這裡的馬賽克均由天然細小的鵝卵石拼制而成，單憑你無法辨認馬賽克與繪畫之間的差異，足以說明其裝飾作品已達到登峰造極的水平。大教長宮內所展示的圖案全部都與希臘歷史與希臘神話相關，恰巧強化了我在社會常識課上學到的知識，有一件關於赫利俄斯的藝術珍品引起了我極大興趣。故事說的是，有一天，宙斯正在給諸神分配世界格局，身為車夫的赫利俄斯因忙於從東到西遨遊太空而缺席現場，此時此刻宙斯偏偏忘記了他，因而赫利俄斯什麼地盤也沒有得到，正在宙斯糾結之際，不料一個島嶼從海面騰騰升起，赫利俄斯看到上面有位美麗的仙女，隨即要求神王賜給自己這個寶地，這也是為什麼羅德島每年平均三百天艷陽高照，暫且不說全國為此要耗掉多少防曬霜。然而在奧斯曼“幼鴇”占領期間，不少文化瑰寶遭到破壞，直到廿世紀四十年代才開始逐一修復。 古代建築記載了許許多多可歌可泣的故事，再過千年之後，人們肯定在想：“哇，林多斯衛城怎麼沒了？”一切終將完結，將來世上極有可能湧現出更多其它的歷史遺蹟，像羅德島一樣值得回味。
Today in History(歷史上的今天): 2015: Rhodes, Grand Master of the Knights(希臘羅得島·大教長宮) 2015: Rhodes, Acropolis of Lindos in Greece(希臘羅得島·美都衛城)
2012: 摘草莓(Shady Brook Farm)  St Paul's Bay, the spot where the Apostle Paul landed when he arrived in Rhodes during his missionary journey in the 1st century AD
(聖保羅“謙卑”灣·據說公元1世紀使徒保羅在傳教之旅中抵達羅得島時登陸的地方 06-17-2015)
 Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights
(羅德騎士團大團長宮殿)
Tongue of Auvergne (法國奧弗涅“高盧部落”騎士區 06-17-2015) 
Avenue of the Knights (騎士大道 06-17-2015)  Albergo di Francia @ French Knights' Quarters
(法國騎士區·法國客棧“高級住所”) 
Inn of Provence, Dated from 1518 w/ a Frame Enclosing the Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of France, Those of Grand Master of the Order Fabrizio dell Carretto, & the Coats of Arms of Knights Jean Cheron (羅旺斯“羅馬統治下的省”客棧·可追溯至1518年，大門頂飾含有法蘭西王國的紋章、法布里齊奧·德爾·卡雷托勳章騎士團總指揮的紋章以及讓·謝隆騎士的紋章) 
Medieval Crest & Gate on Avenue of the Knights (騎士大道·中世紀頂飾和大門 06-17-2015)
 Medieval Fountain @ Ippokratous Square
(主廣場·中世紀噴泉 06-17-2015)  Ancient Agora (古集市 06-17-2015)
 Apollonion Street in the Old Town
(老城阿波羅“光明之神”街 06-17-2015)
 Archodiko Dimitris Tavern (大地之母豪宅酒館)
Sokratous Street toward Suleiman Mosque (通往蘇萊曼“和平使者”清真寺的蘇格拉底“智慧”街)
Suleiman Mosque (蘇萊曼清真寺) 
Minaret of Suleiman Mosque (蘇萊曼清真寺·宣禮塔) 
Mehmet Agha Mosque (穆罕默德·阿迦“先知大師”清真寺 06-17-2015)  Tsambika Beach (察姆比卡“火花”海灘 06-17-2015)
 The Tongue of Castile
(西班牙卡斯提“城堡之地”騎士區 06-17-2015)  Mandraki Harbor (曼德拉基“圍欄”海港)
 Kolona Harbor (科洛納“防波堤”海港)
 Gate of The Virgin across Kolona Harbour
(科洛納港對面的聖母門) 
Naillac Tower, the Terminal of the Wall Belt Facing the Harbour & Used as a Watch Tower (奈拉克塔·面向港口的城牆帶末端，被用作瞭望塔)  Naillac Pier (奈拉克碼頭)
 Panorama of Walled Old Town (老寨城全景 06-17-2015)
 Close-up of Walled Old Town (老寨城近景)
 Mandraki Windmills (曼德拉基風車)
 Sunset @ Aegean Sea (愛琴海日落 06-17-2015)
 Boticelli Dining Rm of Emerald Princess
(“公主·翡翠”號遊輪——波提切利“小桶”餐廳 06-17-2015)  晚餐：法式洋蔥湯、熏鱒魚配奶油奶酪蛋白凍、尼斯料理·烤海扇貝蔬菜雜燴、小羊排小牛排沙嗲雞串三部曲
 三色冰激凌(巧克力軟糖咖啡酒白色軟乾酪糖霜和芒果酸豆冰沙)、三角戀愛、希臘蛋糕、雙重烤山羊奶酪蛋奶酥
Orange Sorbet (香橙雪葩)  Fruit Punch (水果混合飲料)
Crosslinks(相關博文): Greece(出遊希臘)
Europe(歐洲掠影) 6th Grade(初中一年級)
|
