The 1)boldness and ambition of the Acropolis was funded by the 2)spoils of war, a war that determined the fate of GREece. In 480 BC, 3)Athens 4)lay in ruins conquered by the 5)seemingly 6)unstoppable Persian Empire. At sea the Persian 7)armada of 800 8)vessels 9)bore down on the retreating Greek fleet who were hopelessly outnumbered. On the night before the inevitable battle, an owl, symbol of their protective goddess Athena, was seen flying through the night sky. Inspired by this good 10)omen, the Greek navy daringly engaged and defeated the Persian fleet at the battle of Salamis. In one of the great 11)naval victories of history, the Greeks sank 200 enemy ships while losing only 40 of their own. The Persian threat had been overcome. The unexpected victory heralded a new period of stability for Athens and her allies. The Golden Age of Greece was born.
A permanent 12)alliance of Agean city-states was formed called the Delian League to defend GREece’s new found independence from the Persian 13)menace. One man, Heracles of Athens emerged as its 14)undisputed leader. His ambition was simple: to make Athens a political and cultural capital, effectively creating the Athenian Empire. The Acropolis was to be the master 15)stroke of Heracles’ power broking, a monumental declaration of Athens’ dominance in the New World order.
In 447 BC, he committed the new empire and its wealth to its construction. He brought together three unique artistic talents, Phidias the sculptor, and architects Ictinus and Callicrates. Together they imagined a 16)complex of temples and public places to be built along classical ideals but 17)exceeding them in scale and perfection. Amazingly they worked without architectural plans or drawings as we understand them today. Instead they were guided by a set of 18)codes and principles dictated by the art of 19)geometry. For the architects of Athens’ Golden Age, the mastery of geometry was a magical discovery that revealed the glories of nature. The Acropolis of Callicrates and Ictinus is a 20)startling celebration of their new intellectual power.
The Acropolis shows a maturity of GREek mathematics and also an appreciation of geometrical ideas. This is a work of 21)utmost importance in that it lays the foundations of logic into mathematics and enables us to use this as a tool to explore the unknown.
Every detail of the Acropolis, its 22)masonry, sculptures and painted decorations were to be the finest ever created.
雅典卫城
建造雅典卫城的大胆想法和雄图来自一场纷扰的战事，一场决定了希腊命运的战事。公元前480年，锐不可挡的波斯帝国大军攻克雅典，雅典夷为废墟。汪洋大海上，800艘波斯战舰穷追猛打希腊战船，数量远远落后的希腊战船步步后退。就在不可避免即将开战的前夜，象征着希腊人守护女神雅典娜的猫头鹰在夜空中飞翔出现。在此吉兆的鼓舞下，希腊海军军心大振，在撒拉米斯战役中一举击败波斯舰队。在历史上一次获得伟大胜利的海战中，希腊军队击沉200艘敌船，己方只损失40艘。击败了入侵的波斯军队。意想不到的胜利令雅典及其盟国得到新的安定。希腊进入了黄金时期。
爱琴海各城邦组成德利安联盟，携手永久保卫脱离波斯魔掌、新获独立的希腊。一个名叫赫拉克利斯的人众望所归成为雅典领袖。他的抱负很明确，就是令雅典成为政治文化中心，有效地创建起一个雅典人的王国。雅典卫城便是在赫拉克利斯的大力策划下兴建起来的，它具有非常的意义，宣告雅典在世界新秩序中的统治地位。
公元前447年，他全力建设新帝国，由聚敛财富到兴建土木。他请来了三位不同凡响的艺术天才-雕刻家斐迪亚斯，建筑师艾士提努、卡利克拉提斯。他们一起设想如何将神殿和公共场所组合到一起，并决定沿用古典设计，但将在规模和美学上进行突破。神奇的是，他们当时既没有诸如我们今天的建筑计划也没有蓝图，而是依据一套几何学的符号和法则来施工。雅典黄金时期的建筑师认为，掌握几何学是发掘自然美的魔法。卫城使卡利克拉提斯和艾士提努有机会一展杰出的智慧与身手。
雅典卫城显示了希腊人对数学的精通以及对几何学的推崇。这项工程至关重要，它奠定了将逻辑引入数学的基石，令后人得以借此途径探索未知世界。
雅典卫城在每一处细节上，无论石匠技术、雕刻艺术，还是绘画装饰，都是前无古人的精美绝伦。
1) boldness [bEuldnis] n. 大胆，勇敢
2) spoil [spCil] n. 摧毁，扰乱
3) Athens [5AWinz] n.雅典，希腊首都
4) lie in ruins 成为废墟
5) seemingly [5si:miNli] adv. 表面上地
6) unstoppable [5Qn5stCpEhEl] a.不可挡的
7) armada [a:5ma:dE] n.舰队
8) vessel [5vesEl] n.船
9) bear down on 逼近
10) omen [5Eumen] n.预示，征兆
11) naval [5neivEl] a. 海军的
12) alliance [E5laiEns] n. 联盟，联合
13) menace [5menEs] n. 威胁，恐吓
14) undisputed [Qndi5spju:tid] a. 无可置辩的
15) stroke [strEuk] n. 笔画，努力
16) complex [5kCmpleks] n. 综合体
17) exceed [ik5si:d] v. 超越，胜过
18) code [kEud] n. 代码，密码，编码
19) geometry [dVi5Cmitri] n. 几何
20) startling [5sta:tliN] a. 令人吃惊的
21) utmost [5QtmEust] a. 极度的，最远的
22) masonry [5meisnri] n. 石工术
