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The Many Myth of March 三月的故事

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The Romans named the month of March – the beginning of spring – after Mars, their god of war. The Romans seemed particularly devoted to this god, not just because they also loved battle, but because they believed they were his descendants.

罗马人以战神命名初春三月。罗马人对这位神祉似乎特别虔诚，不只是因为他们热爱战斗，也是因为他们相信自己是战神后裔。

According to mythology, Mars became involved in a clandestine relationship with Ilia, a mortal temple priestess. The two eventually married and had offspring. Upon discovery of the forbidden liaison, Ilia’s parents condemned her, along with the demigod twins, Remus and Romulus, to death. While Ilia was buried alive, a servant tasked with executing the twins took pity on the babies and sent them downriver on a raft.

根据神话记载，战神与神庙里的凡人女祭司伊利亚有一段秘密恋情。两人最后结了婚并产下后代。这项被视为禁忌的私通被发现时，伊利亚的父母判她及其半神半人的双胞胎儿子雷穆斯与罗缪勒斯死罪。伊利亚被活埋了，而被任命处决那对双胞胎的仆人很同情这两名婴孩，所以把他们放在木筏上沿着河往下漂。

The twins would surely have perished had not a kindly river god intercepted the raft and spirited the boys to a she-wolf. The she-wolf reared the two, and they eventually grew to become the founders of Rome – hence the Roman’s belief that they were the “sons of Mars.”

要不是这名仁慈的河神拦截了木筏，并把他们带去给一匹母狼，这对双胞胎想必早就没命了。母狼将那对双胞胎兄弟扶养长大，而他们最后则成了罗马的建城人—也因此才会有罗马人视自己为「战神之子」的传说。

Isn’t it odd, though, that the name of a warrior god would be used for the month that heralds the arrival of spring? Not necessarily, for Mars was also regarded as the god of agriculture, which of course is resumed every spring. In addition, the arrival of spring meant that wars, interrupted by winter cold and snow, could begin again with all their fury. In March, Mars marched in both for the good and evil of mankind.

然而，战神会被用来表示春天到来的月份不是很奇怪吗?不见得。因为战神也被视为农耕之神，想当然尔，每个春天都是恢复农耕之时。此外，春天的到来意味着因寒冬及酷雪而中断的战争能再度狂烈的展开。在三月，为人之善也为人之恶的战神风光降临。

−By Trudy Barnes

Vocabulary

mortal [ˋmɔrt!] adj. 人的，凡人的

offspring [ˋɔf͵sprɪŋ] n. 子女；后代

forbidden [fɚˋbɪdn] adj. 被禁止的，禁止的

perish [ˋpɛrɪʃ] v. 死去

rear [rɪr] v. 抚养，培养

warrior [ˋwɔrɪɚ] n. 战士，勇士

herald [ˋhɛrəld] v. 预示……的来临

fury [ˋfjʊrɪ] n. 狂怒，暴怒

More Information

devoted [dɪˋvotɪd] adj. 献身的；虔诚的

clandestine [klænˋdɛstɪn] adj. 秘密的；暗中的

priestess [ˋpristɪs] n. 女祭司

liaison [͵lɪeˋzɑn] n. 私通

condemn [kənˋdɛm] v. 宣告……有罪，判……刑[（+to）]; 责难，责备

demigod [ˋdɛmə͵gɑd] n. 半神半人

task [tæsk] v. 派给……（特别）任务

take pity on: 同情, 怜悯  to do something because you feel sympathy for someone

raft [ræft] n. 木筏；筏子

intercept [͵ɪntɚˋsɛpt] v. 拦截

spirit [ˋspɪrɪt] v. 迅速而神秘地带走；拐走；偷走

she-wolf 母狼

resume [rɪˋzjum] v. 重新开始