The Myths 神话故事
Some ancient Greeks denied the creation of men by Prometheus. Instead, they thought that Gaea, Mother Earth, bore them spontaneously（自然地） as the best of her fruits, especially in the soil of Attica.
有一些古希腊人否认普罗米修斯造人的传说，认为在混沌之初，地母盖亚便自然而然地诞下了人类，作为其最佳的果腹之物，尤其是在阿提卡地区。
The first man, Alalcomeneus by name, came to this world even before the birth of the Moon, whose descendants（后代） became the so-called golden race. Hence there were the myths about the Ages of Man, or the stages or races of human existence on the earth.
而第一位人类名叫阿勒克美尼斯，其出生甚至要早于月亮女神，而他的后代便构成了所谓的黄金一族。于是，也便有了关于人类时代的神话，说的是人类在地球上存在的不同时期或种族变化。
Two slightly-different accounts survive from ancient Greece and Roman on the degeneration（堕落） of humanity over time, which is symbolically indicated with metals of successively decreasing value：the Golden Age, the Silver Age, the Bronze Age and the Iron Age.
关于人类的演变和堕落，从古希腊罗马流传下来的有两个略微不同的版本，它们的共同之处是都象征性地采用了质地迥异的金属来表示不同的时代：黄金时代、白银时代、青铜时代和铁器时代。
Gold was the metal of the sun, so the Golden Age was the best of all ages. It was an age when Cronus sat on the throne. People lived in peace and harmony with nature, who, in turn, satisfied all the wants of man in abundance（丰富的）.
黄金代表了太阳，因此，黄金时代是最好的时代。这是克罗诺斯在位时期，人类和大自然和谐相处，大自然用丰富的资源满足着人类的一切需求
There was no evil, no fear, no greed or mistrust（怀疑）. People lived to a very old age but with a youthful appearance and eventually died peacefully. At that time, men had no knowledge of navigation and therefore did not explore the larger world.
没有邪恶、没有恐惧、没有贪婪、没有怀疑。人类不仅寿命很长，还能容颜不老，死亡也异常安详。在那时，人类还不懂航行，对外部世界一无所知。
The Silver Age fell within the rule of Zeus, who broke the eternal spring into four seasons. Consequently, human race began to learn agriculture and architecture（建筑学）, but they no longer worshipped（敬拜） the gods and offered no sacrifices（供奉）.
白银时代是宙斯统治时期，他将永久的春天划分成了四季，人类开始学习耕作和建筑，然而，他们不再崇拜诸神，也不再向诸神献祭。
With a life span of one hundred years, they lived only a short time as grown adults and spent that time in strife（冲突） with one another. As the metal of the moon, silver has a dimmer luster（光泽） than gold. However, the race of the Silver Age was not entirely devoid of virtue.
尽管有百年的寿命，他们的成年期却异常短暂，并且都在彼此的倾轧中度过。作为月亮的象征，白银没有黄金那么耀眼。但是，白银时代的人类也并非一无是处。
In the Bronze Age, Zeus created human beings out of the ash trees, a hard wood used in spears.
青铜时代的人类是宙斯从用来制造长矛的梣树上造出来的。
Bronze was a metal connected to weapons, so the mankind in this age were hardened and tough, prone（易发） to warfare.They dressed up in bronze, armed with weapons of bronze, and lived in houses of bronze.
青铜是让人联想到武器的金属，所以这个时期的人类粗暴、凶狠、好战，他们身着青铜衣裤、手拿青铜武器、住着青铜房屋。
Towards the end of the Bronze Age, human beings became so wicked（邪恶的） and lawless（无法无天） that the gods resolved to destroy them all by means of a flood.
到了青铜时代的后期，人类变得邪恶而不驯，以致诸神决定用一场洪水来将他们全部清除。
Deucalion, son of Prometheus, and his wife Pyrrha, on account of their piety, were the only mortals（人类） saved.
普罗米修斯的儿子丢卡利翁和他的妻子皮拉因为对神的虔敬，成为唯一活下来的人类。
Iron is the hardest and most troublesome metal to work. The Iron Age was described as one of endless care and grief.
铁是最硬、也是最难加工的金属。这是一个充满忧愁痛苦的时代。
All modern men were created by Zeus as evil and selfish without any faith, truth and justice. It was a race of men deserted by the gods, and presumably（推测起来） Zeus would destroy this race one day.
宙斯赋予所有现代人的是邪恶和自私，没有信仰、没有真理、没有正义，这个时代的人类已经被诸神所抛弃，并且总有一天会被宙斯所灭亡。
The Ages of Man is a long passage of continuous degeneration（堕落）, tracing the lives of men as descending from a state of primitive innocence to evil and corruption. Hesiod wove（编织） the mystic and the realistic together, creating a blended（混合的） story based on the ancient tale, which we could learn from and reflect on.
人类的时代是一段漫长的、不断堕落的过程，从最初原始的天真烂漫到后期的邪恶腐化，赫西奥德将古代神话与现实世界巧妙结合，创作出了一个混合的故事，以警醒世人不断反思。