第2章　巨人和侏儒

古埃及的圓雕，往往要么是龐大無比，與房子一般高，要么便是小得很，只有一英寸左右高。歷代國王和要人的雕像，通常都是龐然大物。古埃及人認(rèn)為，一尊普通人大小的雕像，并不足以體現(xiàn)出國王和王后的重要性來。

世界上最大的雕像，就是位于三大金字塔附近的大斯芬克斯這座獅身人面像。那是一尊巨型獅子像，可獅子的腦袋，卻是一位國王的模樣。古埃及人很喜歡將人和動(dòng)物用這種方式聯(lián)結(jié)起來；而他們更常見的做法，還是將動(dòng)物的腦袋安到人的身體之上。

人的身體上安著一只貓或一只鳥兒的腦袋，樣子會(huì)非常奇特，就像怪物一樣，甚至可能會(huì)讓我們覺得毛骨悚然呢。可將動(dòng)物的身體安上人的腦袋，看上去卻只會(huì)具有神秘感，而不會(huì)讓我們覺得那么震驚了。

大斯芬克斯被古埃及人認(rèn)為是黎明之神，因此它朝著東方，并且數(shù)千年來，每天清晨都毫不眨眼地凝視著日出的方向。它的鼻子，就有一個(gè)人那么高哩。它的腦袋兩側(cè)那個(gè)三角形的東西，并不是頭發(fā)；它們其實(shí)是一種在慶典時(shí)所戴的奇特頭巾，就跟阿布辛貝神廟那位法老雕塑上的胡須一樣。埃及境內(nèi)還有許多其他的斯芬克斯雕像，但它們都要比大斯芬克斯小得多。這些較小的斯芬克斯雕像，通常都被安放在通往一座神廟的道路兩旁，排成兩行，并且其中有許多還是排成雙行呢。

Farther up the Nile, there are two colossal figures sitting on thrones side-by-side, gazing out over the plain. Because of their colossal size, they are called the Colossi, and each one is made out of a single stone.They are weather-beaten and broken but you do not need much imagination to see in your mind's eye what they once were.

They, of course, are Egyptian kings-or rather two statues of the same king. These two also face the Sun as it rises in the east.One of them is called Mennon, though Mennon was not the king's name.The king's name was Amenhotep.

We do not know the names of many of the sculptors who made ancient statues, but we do know the name of the sculptor who made these statues of Amenhotep, for he had the same name as the king. Perhaps he was a slave, as a slave was often given the name of his master.

It is believed that around 27 B. C.，an earthquake upset the

尼羅河上游更遠(yuǎn)之處，還有兩座巨型雕像。它們并排坐在寶座上，眺望著面前的平原。由于尺寸龐大，因此它們被稱為“巨像”，而且每一尊巨像都是用一整塊石頭雕刻而成的。如今，雖說它們因?yàn)闅v經(jīng)了數(shù)千年的日曬雨淋而破碎不堪，但你們不需要太多的想象力，便可以在腦海中想象出它們?cè)?jīng)的樣子來。

這兩尊雕像，自然也是古埃及國王的雕像，或者說，是同一位國王的兩尊雕像。這兩尊雕像，同樣是面向太陽升起的東方。其中一尊被稱為“門農(nóng)”，但那位國王的名字并不叫“門農(nóng)”。那位國王，名叫“阿蒙霍特普”。

雖說關(guān)于雕制這些古代雕塑的許多雕塑家，我們都不知道他們姓甚名誰，但我們的確知道制作阿蒙霍特普國王這兩尊雕像的那位雕刻家的名字，因?yàn)檫@位雕刻家與國王同名，也叫阿蒙霍特普。沒準(zhǔn)他是一名奴隸呢，因?yàn)槟菚r(shí)的奴隸經(jīng)常被賜予其主人的名字。

人們認(rèn)為，在公元前27年左右，一場地震掀翻了這兩尊巨像。結(jié)果，太陽升起的時(shí)候，其中的“門農(nóng)”發(fā)出了一種聲音，可能像是一架巨型風(fēng)琴的聲音，或者是

Colossi.As a result, the Mennon made sounds when the Sun rose, perhaps like the tones of a great organ or a hymn to a new day.The Mennon did not sing every morning or even every year, but when it did sing, it was thought to be a sign of something, or an omen.But an omen of what no one knows.

When a Roman emperor tried to have the Mennon repaired, it ceased its morning song. It has not sung for nearly two thousand years and some people doubt that it ever did, though people at the time used to travel long distances just to hear it sing and were disappointed if it didn't.

Many who did hear it, however, carved their names and the date on the base. So there seems to be little doubt that it did sing once upon a time.Some scientists think the Sun's rays striking the cold stone in the morning wrought some change that made the sound.It is one of the many mysteries of ancient Egypt.

It is also a bit of a mystery that one of the oldest pieces of sculpture in the world is made of wood because wood, of course, does not usually last as long as stone. It's a mystery, too, that this wood sculpture is not a statue of a king, queen, or god, for that is what the Egyptians usually made.What do you suppose it is?A schoolteacher！

The sculpture is the figure of a rather small, fat bald-

贊美新的一天到來的頌歌。“門農(nóng)”并不是每天早晨都鳴響，甚至也不是每年都鳴響；可一旦它鳴響起來，人們就認(rèn)為這是一種要發(fā)生某種大事的跡象，或者說是一種預(yù)兆。不過，這種預(yù)兆意味著什么，卻沒有人說得清。

而當(dāng)古羅馬帝國的一位皇帝試圖修復(fù)“門農(nóng)”之后，這尊雕像卻再也不在清晨發(fā)出鳴響了。至今它已經(jīng)有近兩千年沒有鳴響，因此有些人開始質(zhì)疑，它以前是不是真的鳴響過；可那時(shí)的人卻只是為了聽一聽“門農(nóng)”的鳴響，就不遠(yuǎn)千里地跑過去，而若是沒有聽到，就都失望得很哩。

然而，許多的確聽到過它鳴響的人，卻將自己的名字和日期刻在了這尊雕像的基座上。因此，它以前的確鳴響過，這一點(diǎn)似乎不容置疑。有些科學(xué)家認(rèn)為，是因?yàn)榍宄康年柟庹盏奖涞氖^上后，使石像產(chǎn)生了某種變化，從而使之發(fā)出了聲音。這可是古埃及諸多謎團(tuán)中的一個(gè)呢。

一座世界上歷史最悠久的雕塑作品，竟然是用木頭制作而成的，這也有點(diǎn)兒不可思議，因?yàn)槟绢^自然難以像石頭那樣長久保存下來。而令人覺得更加不可思議的是，這尊木制雕塑并非是某位國王、王后或者神靈的雕像，并非是古埃及人通常制作的那種雕像。你們覺得，那會(huì)是一尊什么樣的雕像呢？它雕刻的，竟然是一位老師！

這尊雕像，刻畫的是一個(gè)身材相當(dāng)矮小而肥胖、手持一根長手杖的禿頂男子。

headed man carrying a tall walking stick.The statue is smaller than a real man perhaps to show that he was not a king or any important person.

Some people call him The Schoolmaster of Boulac. So you can see what a teacher may have looked like thousands of years ago.But others say there were no regular schools or teachers then, and they believe he was the chief of a tribe.Still others believe he was the boss of a group of workers that worked on the Great Pyramid.So you can take your pick, for no one knows his name or what he was or who made him.

The statue is in a museum in Cairo, the capital of Egypt. Though it was made long ago, it looks much more natural and lifelike than later Egyptian sculpture.It is said that even the old Egyptians thought it so natural that they chained its feet to keep it from walking off！

Another sculpture made about the same time is of a man seated and holding a writing tablet on his lap. It is made of stone and it was painted-guess what color?Red！He was a professional writer-that is, he was one of the few men who knew how to write and made a business of writing for those who could not write, and most people at that time could not.Think of

雕像的尺寸比真人要小，或許是為了表明他既不是國王，也不是什么重要人物吧。

有些人將這尊雕像稱為“布拉克校長”。這樣，你們就可以看出，幾千年前的老師是個(gè)什么樣子了。不過，還有一些人則說，那個(gè)時(shí)候世界上并沒有正規(guī)的學(xué)校或者老師，因此他們覺得，這個(gè)人應(yīng)當(dāng)是某個(gè)部落的酋長。還有一些人則認(rèn)為，這人是一個(gè)工頭，領(lǐng)著一群工人在大金字塔干活。所以，你們完全可以自己來判定，因?yàn)樗烤菇惺裁础⑹歉墒裁吹摹⑹钦l制作了這尊雕像，世界上根本無人知曉。

這尊塑像，如今保存在埃及首都開羅的一座博物館里。雖說是很久以前制作的，可它卻比后來的埃及雕塑顯得要自然、逼真得多。據(jù)說，連古埃及人也覺得這尊雕像太過栩栩如生，因此還用鏈子將雕像的雙腳拴住，以防它跑掉呢！

差不多同一時(shí)期制作出來的另一尊雕像，則是一個(gè)坐著的男子，膝頭放著一塊寫字所用的板子。它是一尊石制雕像，并且還上了油漆。你們猜一猜，漆的是什么顏色呢？紅色！這個(gè)男子，是一位職業(yè)文書；也就是說，他是當(dāng)時(shí)為數(shù)不多的會(huì)寫字的人之一，工作就是替那些不會(huì)寫字的人寫東西，因?yàn)楫?dāng)時(shí)絕大多數(shù)人都不會(huì)寫字。想一想，竟然要雇一個(gè)陌生人來替你們寫信！這樣的人，叫作“書吏”。書吏其實(shí)就是一種負(fù)責(zé)記錄口授內(nèi)容的秘書。當(dāng)時(shí)，

hiring a stranger to write your letters！Such a person was called a scribe.He was a kind of secretary who took dictation.Even kings and queens could not write and had to have scribes write for them.This figure is now in the Louvre Museum in Paris.

Often Egyptian sculptors went to the other extreme and made tiny statuettes-some only a few inches high-of their kings and queens, gods and goddesses, and sacred animals. Most of these miniature statues were cut out of the hardest kinds of stone-stone that would resist even our modem tools.We suspect that they must have been cut with flint tools instead of steel tools just as a diamond, the very hardest of all stones, has to be cut with another diamond or be shaped by rubbing it with diamond dust.

The beetle was sacred in Egypt and was called a scarab. Numerous scarabs made of clay and stone were worn suspended from the neck as a charm.So popular are these charms that they are manufactured today in great quantities and sold to travelers as real antiques.

Are there any charms or special treasures you have that you keep or maybe carry with you for good luck?If so, I'll bet it is not an insect such as a beetle！

連國王和王后也不會(huì)寫字，只得讓書吏替他們代寫呢。這尊雕像，如今保存在巴黎的盧浮宮博物館里。

古埃及的雕塑家們常常還會(huì)走向另一個(gè)極端，那就是為古埃及的國王和王后、眾神和圣獸制作出一些微型的小雕像，有些甚至只有幾英寸高呢。這些微型雕像，絕大部分都是用質(zhì)地最為堅(jiān)硬的石頭制作而成的；這種石頭，甚至用我們現(xiàn)代的工具，可能也難以進(jìn)行雕刻。我們猜想，它們一定是用極為堅(jiān)硬的燧石工具，而不是用鐵制工具雕刻出來的；正如石頭中質(zhì)地最為堅(jiān)硬的鉆石，只能用另一種鉆石（金剛石）來切割，或者用鉆石的粉末才能打磨成形一樣。

甲蟲在古埃及是一種圣物，被稱為“圣甲蟲”。無數(shù)的人都在脖子上佩戴著用陶土或者石頭制成的圣甲蟲，把它們當(dāng)成一種護(hù)身符。由于這種護(hù)身符大受歡迎，因此如今的人還大批量地生產(chǎn)出這種東西，并把它們當(dāng)成真正的古董賣給游客哩。

你們有沒有保存著什么護(hù)身符和特別珍惜的物品，或者保存著可能給你們帶來好運(yùn)的東西呢？要是有的話，我敢打賭，絕對(duì)不會(huì)是像甲蟲這樣的昆蟲吧！