Every year around one million people visit the Parthenon and wander around the ruins.

每年約有一百萬人參觀巴台農神廟（Parthenon）並圍著那些廢墟游蕩。

Because they're sure the place and the culture of which its supreme embodiment

因爲他們相信這地方以及它的文化上

has something important to say to them.

超級的例子有什麽重要的要對他們叙說。

But it's often not quite clear what.

但是這通常不那麽清楚是什麽。

What can ancient Greece do for us?

古希臘能為我們做些什麽呢

It's a big vulgar but central question.

這是一個很大的世俗的但是中心的問題。

There are perhaps five big ideas we can take away from ancient Greece.

也許有5個大的想法我們可以從古希臘那裏得到。

Tragedy

悲劇

The Greeks thought it was extremely important for everyone regularly to witness a certain

希臘人認爲這是特別重要的來讓每一個人來見證

sort of gory tail they called a tragedy.

某一類光榮的故事稱作一個悲劇。

Festivals existed to honor these tragedies and

有些來演這些悲劇的節日而

governments close civic buildings businesses and law courts to enable citizens to go and see them.

各政府關閉民事大樓商業和法院使公民出來看節目。

Some festivals such as the festival of Dionysus in Athens which began in 508 BC

在雅典的有些節日，像開始於508 BC的Dionysus（酒神）節

would last a week and involve up to 17 plays.

要持續一個星期並有多達17個悲劇。

Famous plays included Aeschylus' The Oresteia

著名的悲劇包括Aeschylus的Oresteia

Sophocles' Ajax, Oedipus' The king and Electra and Eurípedes' Medeia.

Sophocles的Ajax，Oedipus的國王和Electra以及Euripedes的Medeia。

In these tragedies people were seen to break a minor law or

在這些悲劇中的人物違反了一種次要的法或者

make a hasty decision or sleep with the wrong person and the result was ignominy and death.

作出匆忙的決定或者和睡錯了一個人其結果是在公衆前的羞辱和死亡。

Yet what happened was shown to be to a large extent in the hands of

而被看到所發生的在很大程度是落在

what the Greeks called fate or the gods.

希臘人稱為命運或者眾神的手中。

It was the Greeks poetic way of saying the things often work out in random ways

這是希臘人富有詩意地在說許多事情常常按照動力學隨機方式發生的

according to dynamics that simply don't reflect the merits of the individuals concerned.

而就是不反映有關的人的優點的。

In the Poetics, the philosopher Aristotle defined the key ingredients of tragedy:

在Poetics一書中，哲學家Aristotle定義了悲劇的一些關鍵成分：

The hero of the tragedy should be a decent person, better than average often

悲劇中的英雄應是一個正氣的人，比一般的更好一些

highborn but prone to making small mistakes as we all do.

通常是出身高貴但容易和我們大家一樣犯些小錯誤。

At the start it may not be obvious that it is an error they are making

一開始這可以很明顯它是一個他們犯的錯誤

but by an unfortunate chain of events for which they are not wholly to blame

但通過一連串不能完全怪他們的事情

this small mistake leads to a catastrophe.

這個小錯誤引到一個大災難。

Tragedy is the sympathetic morally complex account of

悲劇是富於同情心而在道德上非是很複雜的解釋

how good people can end up in disaster situations.

好人怎麽會落到各種災難情況中去的。

It's the very opposite of today's tabloid newspaper or social media sphere

它和今天花邊新聞小報或者社會媒體中

with a mob rushes to make judgments on those who slipped up.

用一批人冲出來對那些犯了錯誤的人作出一個判斷。

Aristotle thought it was extremely important that people see tragic works

Aristotle認爲人們定期看悲劇作品是非常重要的

on a regular basis to counter their otherwise strong inclinations to judge and moralize.

來對抗他們的否則很强烈的傾向來作判斷和道德說教。

Tragedy is meant to be a corrective too easy judgment.

悲劇的意思是作爲對輕易判斷的一種糾正。

Without the idea of tragedy we can make existence for everyone far crueler and far more

沒有悲劇的想法我們可以使每一個人的生存比起實際上所需要的要

judgmental than it really need be.

遠為殘酷和遠為評頭評足。

We should look back to the Greeks to recover an extremely important idea.

我們應該向后來看看希臘人來恢復一個特別重要的想法。

Philosophy

哲學

Athens was the cradle of philosophy.

雅典是哲學的搖籃。

Home of the three greatest philosophers:

這三個最偉大的哲學家的家鄉：

Socrates, Plato and Aristotle.

蘇格拉底，柏拉圖和亞里士多德

What unites the Greek philosophers is a search for what they termed eudaimonia.

把希臘哲學家聯合在一起的是一種探索他們稱之為eudaimonia。

Which translates happiness or fulfillment.

這翻譯作快樂或者滿足。

They saw philosophy as a hugely practical subject that could help people

他們把哲學看作一種非常實用的課題可以幫助人們穿過

find their way through the dilemmas of life.

生活中左右為難的問題中找到出路。

The approach was already contained in the word philosophy itself:

其方法已經包括在philosopy這個字裏了。

in Greek, Philo means love or devotion and Sophia means wisdom.

在希臘文中，Philo意思是愛或者專注而Sophia意思是智慧。

Philosophers were people devoted to wisdom.

哲學家是那些專注於智慧的人們。

That would be abstract the concept of wisdom isn't mysterious.

智慧的概念若不是神秘的話那會是抽象的。

Being wise means attempting to live and die well,

有著智慧意味著要來好好地活著和死去

leading as good a life as possible within the troubled conditions of existence.

來過著在生存的有麻煩的各種條件下盡可能好的一種生活。

What we call the history of Greek philosophy is made up of repeated

我們稱為的希臘哲學史是由几世紀來重復的

attempts over the centuries to address ways in which we are unwise.

嘗試來解決我們不夠智慧的一些方法

So for example Socrates paid special attention to the problem of how people get confused in their minds.

因此比方說蘇格拉底特別注意人們是怎樣在他們的心裏搞糊涂這個問題。

He was struck that people didn't quite know what they meant by key ideas like

他注意到人們並不知道一些關鍵的思想

courage or justice or success

像勇敢或者公正或者成功它們的意思是什麽

even though these were the main ideas they used when talking about their own lives.

即使在他們用來談到自己的生活時這些是主要的想法。

Socrates developed a method which still bears his name by which you can learn to

蘇格拉底發展出至今仍冠以他的名字的一種方法，通過對任何思想都假裝有一個人不同意並和你討論

get clearer about what you mean by playing devil's advocate with any idea.

以此你可以學會來澄清你的意思

The aim isn't necessarily to change your mind

其目的并不一定是要改變你的想法

it's to test whether the ideas guiding your life are sound.

它要來考驗這引導著你生活的想法是否是對的。

A few decades later, the philosopher Aristotle tried to make us more confident around big questions.

幾十年之後，哲學家亞里士多德試圖使我們對一些大問題更為自信。

He thought the best questions with those that ask what something is for.

他認爲最好的一些問題是你要問一件東西是做什麽的

He did this a lot and over many books asking

他這樣做了很多並在許多書裏問

what is government for?

政府是為什麽的？

What is the economy for?

經濟是為什麽的？

What's money for?

錢是為什麽的？

What's art for?

藝術是為什麽的？

Today he might be encouraging us to ask questions like:

今天他也許會鼓勵我們來問像這些問題：

What's the news media for?

新聞媒體是為什麽的？

What is marriage for?

婚姻是為什麽的？

What is pornography for?

春宮是為什麽的？

Also active in ancient Greece was the stoic philosophers who were interested in panic.

在古希臘也很活躍的是禁欲主義（stoic）哲學家他們對驚慌感興趣。

The Stoics noticed the really central feature of panic:

禁欲主義者注意到驚慌的主要特點：

We panic not just when something bad occurs but when it does so unexpectedly,

在我們正在假定事情都進行得很好的時候，

when we are assuming that everything was going to go rather well.

我們驚慌不只是因爲發生什麽壞事而是它出乎意料地發生了。

So they suggested that we should arm ourselves against panic by getting used to the idea that

因此他們建議我們應武裝我們自己不至於驚慌要習慣於這樣的想法

danger, trouble and difficulty are very likely to occur at every turn.

危險，麻煩和困難每個變化是都很可能要發生。

The overall task of studying Greek philosophy is to absorb

學習希臘哲學縂體是任務是要吸收這些

these and many other lessons and put them to work in the world today.

和許多其它的教訓並把它們放到今天的世界來用。

The point isn't just to know what this all that philosopher happened to say but

主要的不只是知道哲學家偶然說過這些和那些

to aim to exercise wisdom at an individual and societal level starting now.

而是致力在個人和社會的一級上從現在就開始來運用智慧。

Democracy

民主

Athens is known as the home of democracy.

雅典以民主之家鄉而著稱。

Democracy was developed in the fifth century BC first under Solon then Cleisthenes and Ephialtes.

民主首次在公元前5世紀在Solon然後是Cleisthenes 和 Ephialtes發展出來的。

However, democracy came under threat in the later stages of the fifth century BC,

然而，民主在公元前5世紀後期

When Athene was in the midst of fighting a lengthy war with its nemesis Sparta,

在雅典和它的強敵Sparta

the Peloponnesian War.

正在打一場長期戰爭，Peloponnesian戰爭的時候受到威脅。

So to remind Athenians of their importance within a democracy, the great general Pericles

因此來提醒雅典人在一個民主社會中他們的重要性，大將軍Pericles

delivered a rousing speech at the annual Funeral Oration to mark the dead of the war in 430 BC.

在公元前430年為紀念陣亡將士的一個年度葬禮是作了一個動人的演講。

What makes Pericles's famous speech so striking is that

使Pericles的著名演説那麽驚人是

he isn't defending democracy just as a way of running the state.

他不是捍衛民主只是把它作爲管理國家的一種方法。

He's defending what we might call the democratic spirit,

他在捍衛我們也許會稱作民主精神的東西，

a spirit of equality, community and comradeship

一種平等的，社會和同志般的精神

that can develop in societies where members more or less feel themselves to be equal to one another.

在一些社會中可以發展出來，在那裏成員們多少感受互相平等。

The voting system is a root to something much deeper that we might term "fellow feeling".

選舉制度是一個根源于我們可以稱為“同伴感”的更深的一個東西裏。

An emotion the Greeks discovered for Humanity.

希臘人為人類所發現的一種感情。

Pericles declared: the administration of Athens favors the many instead of the few;

Pericles宣佈：雅典的行政注重這多數而不是這少數；

this is why it's called a democracy. If we look to the laws, they afford equal

這就是為什麽它稱爲民主。如果我們看一下一些法律，它們為所有的人

justice to all in their private differences; if there is no social

以他們私下的不同來提供公正；如果沒有社會永久性的安排，

standing, advancement in public life falls to reputation for capacity, class

公衆生活中的進步就掉下到這樣的聲譽為了地位，級別的一些考慮

considerations not being allowed to interfere with merit nor again does

既不允許以事情本身的優點來干預

poverty bar the way if a man is able to serve the state,

也一定讓貧困堵住了路；如果一個人可以來為國家服務的話，

he has never hindered by the obscurity of his condition.

他決不會受到他不出名的境遇而受到阻礙。

Against the brutality of the Spartans, Pericles celebrates the generosity, erudition, openness,

在反對斯巴達人的野蠻中，

public spiritedness and dignity of Athenian democratic life.

Pericles贊揚雅典民主生活中的慷慨，公衆精神和尊嚴。

These values Pericles says enables Athens to provide a shining beacon of

Pericles說這些道德價值能使雅典人為希臘世界以及也為現在我們這時代提供

freedom and decency to the Greek world and now to our own times too.

自由和道德高尚的一束光亮的指路標

Architecture

建築

The Greeks were architects par excellence.

希臘人列于最優秀的建築師。

They were involved in the construction of five of the seven wonders of the ancient world:

他在古代世界7個奇跡中們參與了5個：

The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus,

在 Ephesus的The Temple of Artemis（月亮和狩獵女神廟）

The Statue of Zeus at Olympia,

在 Olympia 的The Statue of Zeus （宙斯廟）

The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus,

在 Halicarnassus的紀念碑

The Colossus of Rhodes,

在Rhodes的Colossus（巨像）

and the Lighthouse of Alexandria.

和在亞歷山大的燈塔。

But the most common and inspiring buildings were their ordinary temples.

但是最普通和激勵人們的建築物是他們平常的廟堂。

Magnificent structures typically made of limestone and scattered all across Greece and its islands.

那些雄偉的結構典型地用石灰石做的而分散在整個希臘和它的一下島嶼上。

Aside from the temples on the Acropolis, other great structures include

00:07:17,329 --> 00:07:18,800

the Temple of Apollo at Corinth,

00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:20,380

the Temple of Zeus at Olympia,

00:07:20,540 --> 00:07:22,380

and the Temple of Poseidon at Sounion.

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The architectural language of these temples has spread around the world

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even when their specific religious uses are fallen by the wayside.

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Because they suggest values which humanity will always find impressive:

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harmony, dignity, calm, reason.

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The Greeks taught the West how to build in such a way that would

00:07:39,700 --> 00:07:43,360

externalize some of the noblest ideals of human beings.

00:07:43,360 --> 00:07:45,360

Sport

00:07:45,580 --> 00:07:51,300

Where earlier civilizations such as the Egyptians, Persians, Assyrians found nakedness shameful,

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The Greeks celebrated the naked body of both gods and citizens.

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Works such as Zeus or Poseidon of Artemision shows the statue, power and physical prowess of a nude Greek god.

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Discobolus shows the action of a naked discus throw mid motion

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again the sculpture celebrates the poise and physical beauty of an athlete.

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His muscles perfectly toned.

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The Greeks loved physical exercise.

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There was at least one major national athletic competition every year.

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The most famous sporting event was the Olympic Games held every four years from 776 BC.

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But what's distinctive in the Greek approach is that they didn't want athletes merely to be athletes.

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The idea was that everyone should train both mind and body.

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It's a telling that Milo of Croton, a celebrated wrestler of the sixth century BC

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was also an associate of a great mathematician Pythagoras.

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One of the important Greek ?

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was that a healthy mind could only dwell in a healthy body.

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The Greeks thought exercise condition discipline in people which would enable

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them to be diligent and virtuous democratic citizens in Athens or

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devoted and controlled warriors in Sparta.

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Ancient Greek gyms were nothing like the mindless body pumping places of our own times.

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They were both public centers for physical training and intellectual hubs.

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Gymnasia and schools were simply the same thing.

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A great number of Socrates's dialogues about ideas around justice and truth unfold tellingly at the gym.

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We owe to the Greeks the remarkable now often forgotten idea that

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our bodies should be looked after just as our minds are and

00:09:22,700 --> 00:09:27,160

that for someone to be merely an intellectual or merely a body builder is obscene.

00:09:27,440 --> 00:09:31,060

True virtue means a balance between the physical and the mental.

00:09:31,660 --> 00:09:35,960

There is a sad morality tale about the end of ancient Greek civilization.

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They had much nicer ideas than their enemies, but they weren't as well organized .

00:09:41,400 --> 00:09:45,420

So they got defeated and the ideas got lost for centuries.

00:09:45,580 --> 00:09:50,100

The Greek city-states fought among themselves endlessly over the course of the fifth and fourth centuries BC,

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and were eventually stripped of their independence under Alexander the Great.

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The Greeks failed to add political stability to their virtues.

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The ideas of Greece no longer survive in the country in which they first originated but it

00:10:02,680 --> 00:10:08,740

should be a tribute to ancient Greece that the best of these ideas remain of complete relevance to our own times.

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With the help of the Greaks

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we need to remember the role of tragedy,

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emphasize the practice of philosophy,

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honor the spirit of democracy,

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build with harmony and dignity,

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and exercise both mind and body in equal measure.

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For all this we can be grateful to the now absent Greeks as we wander among the rubble of the Parthenon.

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If you like our films, take a look at our shop:

00:10:31,780 --> 00:10:34,260

the school of life.com/shop

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