【Athena and Poseidon】

 

【Athena and Poseidon】

Athena and Poseidon were two of the twelve Olympians.

 

Athena was the goddess of wisdom and war.

Poseidon was the god of the sea.

as the story goes every town in ancient Greece hoped a God would choose to look after the townspeople

 

towns rarely had more than one God to keep an eye on their best interests because most gods did not share well

 

at this time in history not every village had a God

things were just getting started in ancient Greece

 

Poseidon loved watching over towns he usually  picked coastal towns since he was the lord of the sea

 

Poseidon was a very powerful God he was a moody fellow too

 

he liked having people build temples in his honor and bring him gifts they were not very useful gifts for a god of the sea

 

but he enjoyed getting them anyway

 

as Greece grew and developed new towns sprang up all the time

 

Poseidon was always on  the lookout for new coastal towns

 

he was not the only God who loved to be in charge

 

Athena along with other gods enjoyed that role as well

 

one day on the same day both Athena and Poseidon noticed a new coastal village they both claimed this village as their own

 

most of the time humans were grateful when they were selected to be under the care of a God

but two gods that was one  too many

Poseidon wanted the townspeople to choose which God they wanted

himself or his niece  Athena

 

but the people did not want to choose

 

they could only see trouble ahead if they did

 

Athena  goddess of wisdom daughter of Zeus understood their worry

she challenged her uncle Poseidon to a contest both gods would give the town a gift

the townspeople could decide which gift was the  more useful Poseidon laughed in his mighty laugh

 

and accepted her challenge

 

he slapped his spectre against the side of the mountain a stream appeared

 

the people were excited a source of fresh water  was so important

 

but when they tried to drink the water

 

 

they discovered it was not fresh at all it was salt water

 

Athena waved her arm

 

and an olive tree appeared

 

the people nibbled at the olives 

they were delicious

the people were excited

 

the olive tree would provide wood for building homes 

 

branches would provide kindling for kitchen stoves and fireplaces

the olives could be used for food the fruit could be pressed to release cooking oil

 

it was wonderful

 

but theirs was a coastal  village the people could not risk angering the Lord of the sea fill mighty Poseidon

 

as it turned out they did not have to choose Poseidon

 

Poseidon proclaimed his niece the winner

that's how a small village  gained a most powerful and wise Guardian

 

the goddess Athena a guardian who helped them rise to fame in her honor

 

they named their village Athens

 Q1, Poseidon 

      ➊波塞冬  ➋波羅蜜  ➌波士頓

Q2, salt water 

      ➊淡水  ➋鹹水  ➌茶水

Q3, the lord of the sea

      ➊天王  ➋地王  ➌海王

Q4, olive ➊松子  ➋橄欖  ➌桃子

Q5, gifts  

      ➊玩具  ➋食物  ➌禮物

Q6, Athens 

       ➊紐約市  ➋雅典城  ➌北京城

【雅典娜和波賽頓】

 

雅典娜和波賽頓是十二位奧林匹斯神中的兩位。雅典娜是智慧與戰爭女神，波賽頓是海洋之神。

 

據說，古希臘的每個城鎮都希望有一位神明能夠庇佑鎮民。

 

城鎮很少有多位神明守護，因為大多數神明都不願意分享。

 

在古希臘歷史的早期，並非每個村莊都有神明。

 

波塞冬喜愛守護城鎮，他通常選擇沿海城鎮，因為他是海洋之神。

 

波塞冬是一位非常強大的神，但他的脾氣也十分陰晴不定。

 

他喜歡人們為他建造神廟，並向他獻上禮物。對一位海神來說，這些禮物並不實用。

 

但他仍然樂於接受。

 

隨著希臘的擴張和發展，新的城鎮不斷湧現。

 

波塞冬始終在尋找新的沿海城鎮。

 

他並非唯一喜歡掌控一切的神明，雅典娜和其他一些神明也同樣樂於如此。

 

有一天，雅典娜和波賽頓在同一天發現了一個新的沿海村莊，他們都宣稱這個村莊是自己的。

 

大多數情況下，人類……當他們被選中接受神明的庇護時，他們感激不盡。

 

但兩位神明，這太多了。

 

波塞冬想讓鎮民選擇他們想要哪位神：

 

他自己還是他的姪女雅典娜？但人們不願做出選擇。

 

他們預感到，如果做出選擇，只會帶來麻煩。智慧女神雅典娜，宙斯的女兒，理解他們的擔憂。

 

她向叔叔波賽頓發起挑戰，兩位神明都將賜予小鎮一份禮物。

 

鎮民可以決定哪一份禮物比較有用。波塞頓發出他那威嚴的笑聲。

 

他接受了挑戰，將自己的三叉戟拍打在山腰上，一條溪流出現了。

 

人們興奮不已，淡水資源如此重要。但當他們嘗試飲用時，

 

他們發現這根本不是淡水，而是鹹水。

 

雅典娜揮了揮手臂。

 

一棵橄欖樹出現了。人們品嚐著橄欖，味道鮮美。人們欣喜若狂。

 

橄欖樹可以提供木材建造房屋，樹枝可以提供引火物。廚房爐灶

 

還有壁爐，橄欖可以用來做食物，果實可以榨油，真是太棒了！

 

但他們的村莊位於海邊，村民不敢冒犯

 

海神波塞冬，這位強大的海神，最終他們不必做出選擇，波塞冬替他們做出了選擇。

 

他的笑聲掀起巨浪，拍打著海岸。波塞頓宣布他的侄女獲勝。

 

就這樣，一個小村莊獲得了一位強大而睿智的守護神。

 

女神雅典娜，一位幫助他們揚名立萬的守護神。為了紀念她，他們將村莊命名為雅典娜。