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7. Persepolis
7. 波斯波利斯（Persepolis）
Built some 2500 years ago by King Darius the Great, Persepolis was known as “the richest city under the sun” and the capital of the Achaemenid Empire. Founded by a nomadic branch of the Indo-European family who settled the Iranian plateau, no empire before it had ever been as large. It stretched all the way from the borders of present day India to Greece, Egypt and Russia. Regarded as “the King of Kings,” Darius the Great ruled over 28 other kingdoms within his realm, and together with his successors were quite tolerant and accepting of different cultures and religions.
波斯波利斯，约2500年前由国王大流士(King Darius the Great)大帝建造，是阿契美尼德王朝的都城，被世人称为“天底下最富有的城市”。波斯波利斯是当时最大的王国,起源于定居伊朗高原的印欧语系的游牧民族分支，它从现今的印度一路延伸到希腊，埃及和俄罗斯的边界。大流士大帝，被称为“王中之王”，统治了28个王国，连同他的继任者也都是相当宽容，接受不同的文化和宗教。
The city of Persepolis currently lies in ruins, pillaged and burnt down by Alexander the Great in 330 BC, but back in its heyday this metropolis was like no other. The Apadana, the centerpiece of the entire palace complex, was the chamber in which the emperor received envoys and ambassadors from all corners of his realm. This structure alone had over 72 columns 82 feet high, which held together the beautifully adorned rooftop. Before entering this forest-like chamber, foreigners first had to pass the “Gate of All Nations” which was guarded on both sides by huge stone bull-bodied bearded men representing the might of the Empire.
波斯波利斯这座城市如今已成了一片废墟，公元前330年被亚历山大大帝掠夺并烧毁，但在其鼎盛时期这个大都市远比其他城市繁荣富足。阿婆陀那大殿（Apadana），是波斯波利斯的正殿，也是整个宫殿建筑群的核心，它是帝王用来接见朝贡团的地方。单这一座大殿里，82英尺高的石柱就不止72根，硕大的石柱撑起了华丽的屋顶。在进入这片森林般的宫殿之前，外国使者首先必须通过“万国之门”，此门由身壮如牛，胡子浓郁的侍卫把守两边，象征着帝国的巨大威力。
The majority of buildings we can still see at Persepolis are the work of Emperor Xerxes, the son of Darius, and his son Artaxerxes I. Some still argue that the defeat of the Persians in 490-480BC by the city-states of Greece wasn’t a good thing, since the Persians had a much more open society. They offered freedom of religion for all cultures within their domain, while their own religion, Zoroastrianism, forbid the practice of slavery. Not to mention the fact that women had many more rights and liberties than most world cultures at the time, especially compared to the Greeks.
我们今天能看到的波斯波利斯的多数残垣断壁，都是大流士大帝的儿子薛西斯国王（Emperor Xerxes）和薛西斯的儿子亚达薛西一世（Artaxerxes I.）建造的。有些人仍然认为，公元前490-480年波斯人在希腊城邦的失利不是一件好事，因为波斯人有一个更加开放的社会。他们在领域范围内提倡宗教自由，而且他们自己的宗教——琐罗亚斯德教（Zoroastrianism）一直禁止奴隶制。与此同时，当时的波斯妇女相较于其他大多数文明（尤其是希腊文明）来说，有更多的权利和自由。
