The Lost City of Atlantis失落之城亚特兰蒂斯

侯冬意

◆Platos Atlantis

The mythical island of Atlantis has often been described in creative works such as films， books and paintings. Is it real？

The lost city of Atlantis is a fictional1 island mentioned in Platos works Timaeus and Critias. It represents the enemys naval2 power against “Ancient Athens”.

At the end of the story， there occur portentous3 earthquakes and floods， and their warriors are swallowed up by the earth， and the island of Atlantis in like manner is swallowed up by the sea and vanishes4. The ocean at that spot has become impassable and unsearchable.

Eventually， Atlantis famously falls out of favor with the gods and submerges5 into the Atlantic Ocean.

◆The lost city of Atlantis

Despite its minor6 importance in Platos work， the Atlantis story has had a considerable impact on literature7. The allegorical8 aspect of Atlantis was taken up in utopian9 works of several Renaissance10 writers， such as Bacons New Atlantis and Mores Utopia.

Platos vague11 indications12 of the time of the events—more than 9，000 years before his day， and the so-called location of Atlantis—beyond the Pillars of Hercules， an area at the entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar， has led to much speculation13. Atlantis has become a byword for all supposed advanced prehistoric lost civilizations14 and continues to inspire modern works， from comic books to films.

◆But is Atlantis real？

Many teams of scientist have tried to find the location of the lost city of Atlantis in vain. Many of the proposed15 sites share some of the characteristics of the Atlantis story （water， catastrophic16 end， time period）， but none has been proved to be a true Atlantis.

◆柏拉圖的亚特兰蒂斯

在电影、书籍和绘画等作品中，常常有对神话中的亚特兰蒂斯岛的描绘。它是真的吗？

失落之城亚特兰蒂斯是柏拉图的著作《蒂迈欧》和《克里底亚篇》中提到的一个虚构的岛屿，它代表了与“古雅典”敌对的海上力量。

在故事的结尾，发生了可怕的地震和洪水，他们的战士全都被大地吞没了，而亚特兰蒂斯岛同样也被大海吞没了，踪影全无。那个地方的海洋也变得不可逾越，神秘莫测。

最终，亚特兰蒂斯以失去了众神的青睐，并沉入大西洋而闻名。

◆失落之城亚特兰蒂斯

尽管亚特兰蒂斯的故事在柏拉图的作品中并不重要，但它对文学产生了相当大的影响。亚特兰蒂斯的寓言性在一些文艺复兴时期的作家的乌托邦式的作品中有所体现，如培根的《新亚特兰蒂斯》和莫尔的《乌托邦》。

柏拉图模糊地指出了事件发生的时间——在他所处时代的九千多年前，以及亚特兰蒂斯所谓的位置——赫拉克勒斯之柱外，即直布罗陀海峡入口处的一个区域，导致了许多猜测。亚特兰蒂斯已经成为所有先进史前失落文明的代名词，并继续给从漫画书到电影的当代作品带来灵感。

◆但亚特兰蒂斯是真的吗？

许多科学家小组试图找到亚特兰蒂斯这座失落的城市的位置，但却徒劳无功。人们提出的许多地点都有亚特兰蒂斯故事的一些特点（水，灾难性的结局，时间段），但没有一个被证明是真正的亚特兰蒂斯。

（英语原文选自：www.myenglishpages.com）

【Notes】

1. fictional [■] adj. 虚构的;小说的

2. naval [■] adj. 海军的

3. portentous [■] adj. 不祥的;令人惊讶的

4. vanish [■] vi. 消失;突然不见

5. submerge [■] vi. 淹没;湮没

6. minor [■] adj. 次要的;较小的

7. literature [■] n. 文学

8. allegorical [■] adj. 讽喻的;寓言的

9. utopian [■] adj. 乌托邦的;空想的

10. Renaissance [■] n. 文艺复兴

11. vague [■] adj. 模糊的;不明确的

12. indication [■] n. 指出;迹象

13. speculation [■] n. 推测;思索

14. civilization [■] n. 文明;文化

15. proposed [■] adj. 被提议的，建议的

16. catastrophic [■] adj. 悲惨的;灾难性的，毁灭性的