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The Rosetta Stone is one of the most famous ancient artifacts in the world.
罗塞塔石碑是世界上最著名的古代文物之一。
Carved over 2,000 years ago and rediscovered in 1799, the stone is one of the modern world's most tangible links to ancient Egypt.
这块石头雕刻于2000多年前，1799年被重新发现，它是现代世界与古埃及最有形的联系之一。
The writing on the stone appears in both Greek and Egyptian in three different scripts.
石碑上用希腊文字、古埃及文字和当时的通俗体文字刻了同样的内容。
This parallel text helped modern scholars to unlock the secrets of Egyptian hieroglyphics.
这一平行文本帮助现代学者解开了埃及象形文字的秘密。
The earliest Egyptian hieroglyphics were developed over 5,000 years ago.
埃及最早的象形文字是在5000多年前发展起来的。
And they became the sacred script used by priests and scribes.
它们成了祭司和经学家使用的神圣经文。
Their use flourished in the time of the pharaohs and survived Egypt's rule by the Persians, the Greeks, and the Romans until the Christianization of Rome led to the closing of Egypt's remaining pagan temples in the sixth century CE.
它们的使用在法老时代很盛行，并在埃及被波斯人、希腊人和罗马人统治后幸存下来，直到公元6世纪罗马的基督教化导致埃及剩余的异教寺庙关闭。
The ability to read hieroglyphics was lost for centuries until members of an expedition to Egypt, ordered by Napoleon, discovered the granite block covered in writing in the town of Rashid, called Rosetta in the West.
阅读象形文字的能力消失了几个世纪，直到拿破仑下令前往埃及的探险队成员在拉希德镇（在西方被称为罗塞塔）发现了这块覆盖着文字的花岗岩块。
The Rosetta Stone proved the key to a mystery some 1,400 years old.
罗塞塔石碑揭开了一个大约1400年前的谜团。
But what other secrets does it contain?
但它还包含哪些其他秘密呢？
The stone was carved for Ptolemy V Epiphanes in 196 BCE.
这块石头是公元前196年为托勒密五世埃庇凡斯雕刻的。
Ptolemy V was part of the Greek speaking Ptolemaic dynasty that was begun after Alexander the Great wrested control of Egypt from Persia in 332 BCE.
托勒密五世是讲希腊语的托勒密王朝的一部分，这个王朝是在公元前332年亚历山大大帝从波斯手中夺取埃及控制权后开始的。
The first Ptolemy, Ptolemy I Soter, declared himself king in 305 BCE and began a dynasty of many men named Ptolemy and women named Cleopatra who are often married to each other despite the fact that they were blood relatives.
托勒密一世索特，在公元前305年宣布自己为国王，并创立了一个王朝，许多男人叫托勒密，女人叫克利奥帕特拉，尽管他们有血缘关系，但他们经常通婚。
Somehow that dynasty lasted until the last and most famous Cleopatra.
不知怎么的，这个王朝一直持续到最后也是最著名的克利奥帕特拉。
Cleopatra VII and her Roman lover and general named Mark Antony lost control of the empire to Mark Antony's rivals in Rome and committed suicide in 30 BCE.
公元前30年，克利奥帕特拉七世和她的罗马情人兼将军马克·安东尼失去了帝国的控制权，被马克·安东尼在罗马的对手夺走，并自杀身亡。
You may recognize them from Shakespeare's famous play.
你可以从莎士比亚的著名戏剧中认出它们。
But judging by the contents of the Rosetta Stone, there's a reason Shakespeare never wrote a play about Ptolemy the V.
但从罗塞塔石碑的内容来看，莎士比亚从未写过关于托勒密五世的戏剧是有原因的。
If you were hoping for the lost wisdom of the ancient world, a scrap of archaic poetry, or dramatic revelations about historical mysteries, I've got some bad news.
如果你期待着古代世界失去的智慧，一首古诗的碎片，或者关于历史奥秘的戏剧性揭示，我有一些坏消息。
The Rosetta Stone is something else.
罗塞塔石碑还有一些别的东西。
It's political propaganda.
这是政治宣传。
The stone was a decree issued by a council of Ptolemy V Epiphanes' priests to commemorate the anniversary of his reign.
这块石头是托勒密五世的牧师委员会为纪念他统治一周年而颁布的一项法令。
It starts by cataloging the king's accomplishments-- giving gifts to the temple, lowering some taxes, and ending a rebellion that had started under the previous Ptolemy.
它首先列出了国王的成就--向寺庙赠送礼物，降低一些税收，并结束了在前托勒密统治下开始的叛乱。
After listing these great deeds, the message declares that the council of priests will take actions to honor the king, construct some statues, celebrate his birthday, fix up some shrines, basically remind people of his grandeur.
在列出了这些伟大的事迹后，信息宣布，祭司会议将采取行动纪念国王，建造一些雕像，为他庆生，修缮一些神殿，都是为了提醒人们他的伟大。
The decree ends by stating that it should be inscribed in stone in Egyptian hieroglyphics, another Egyptian script called the demotic script, and in Greek.
法令最后规定，它应该用埃及象形文字和希腊文刻在石头上，埃及的另一种文字被称为通俗文字。
That decision, at least, was hugely important, as it was this parallel text that allowed scholars to eventually decipher Egyptian hieroglyphics.
至少，这一决定非常重要，因为正是这一平行文本让学者们最终能够破译埃及的象形文字。
Now none of this may be wisdom from the ancient world or lost art by forgotten masters, but, in a way, the contents of the Rosetta Stone do serve as another link between the modern world and the past.
这些可能都不是来自古代世界的智慧，也不是被遗忘的大师失传的艺术，但在某种程度上，罗塞塔石碑的内容确实是现代世界和过去之间的另一条纽带。
2,200 years ago, just like today, politicians love to brag.
和今天一样，2200年前的政客们也喜欢吹牛。
