帶你了解埃及的神秘文化.

　　習(xí)主席19日至23日將對沙特阿拉伯、埃及、伊朗進行國事訪問。這是中國最高領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人時隔12年后再次踏上尼羅河畔的這片肥沃土地。古埃及一直以人類最先進文明的姿態(tài)屹立于世幾近3000年。但是，這個以金字塔聞名全球的國度，仍隱藏著一些不為人知的故事。

　　1. Cleopatra was not Egyptian.

　　埃及艷后克里歐佩特拉竟不是埃及人

　　Along with King Tut, perhaps no figure is more famously associated with ancient Egypt than Cleopatra VII. But while she was born in Alexandria, Cleopatra was actually part of a long line of Greek Macedonians originally descended from Ptolemy I, one of Alexander the Great’s most trusted lieutenants.

　　說起古埃及，除了圖特王(King Tut)，最有名的人物大概就是克里歐佩特拉七世了。盡管她出身于埃及亞歷山大，但她實際上是希臘馬其頓人的后裔，而馬其頓人則是亞歷山大大帝麾下最受信任的將軍托勒密一世的后代。

　　The Ptolemaic Dynasty ruled Egypt from 323 to 30 B.C., and most of its leaders remained largely Greek in their culture and sensibilities. In fact, Cleopatra was famous for being one of the first members of the Ptolemaic dynasty to actually speak the Egyptian language.

　　從公元前323年到公元前30年，托勒密王朝統(tǒng)治了埃及，并且大部分君主在文化和情感上都延續(xù)著希臘人的傳統(tǒng)。事實上，克里歐佩特拉聞名于世的原因卻在于她是托勒密王朝第一批會說埃及語的王室成員。

　　2. Egyptians of both sexes wore makeup.

　　古埃及人不論男女都化妝

　　Vanity is as old as civilization, and the ancient Egyptians were no exception. Both men and women were known to wear copious amounts of makeup, which they believed gave them the protection of the gods Horus and Ra.

　　有文明存在就有虛榮，古埃及也并不例外。男女都會畫濃妝，他們認(rèn)為這樣會得到鷹神與太陽神的庇護。

　　These cosmetics were made by grinding ores like malachite and galena into a substance called kohl. It was then liberally applied around the eyes with utensils made out of wood, bone and ivory.

　　他們所使用的化妝品都是磨碎的礦石，如孔雀石、方鉛礦均能制成一種稱為眼影粉的東西。接著用木、骨頭或象牙做的用具來將其涂在眼睛周圍。

　　Women would also stain their cheeks with red paint and use henna to color their hands and fingernails, and both sexes wore perfumes made from oil, myrrh and cinnamon.

　　女人們還會將自己的臉頰涂成紅色，并用指甲花給手或指甲染色。埃及男女都要噴香水，這種香水是由油、沒藥、肉桂混合制成。

　　The Egyptians believed their makeup had magical healing powers, and they weren’t entirely wrong: Research has shown that the lead-based cosmetics worn along the Nile actually helped stave off eye infections.

　　埃及人認(rèn)為化妝有著神奇的治愈功能，這種想法并非無稽之談：研究表明，在尼羅河畔勞作時畫著以鉛為原料的化妝品確實可以抑制眼部感染。

　　3. Ancient Egyptians loved board games.

　　古埃及人熱愛棋盤游戲

　　After a long day’s work along the Nile River, Egyptians often relaxed by playing board games. Several different games were played, including “Mehen” and “Dogs and Jackals,” but perhaps the most popular was a game of chance known as “Senet.”

　　在尼羅河畔辛勤勞作了一天后，古埃及人通常會玩玩棋類游戲來放松一下。他們會玩各種各樣的棋類游戲，例如“盤蛇圖”、“狗和豺”等。但其中最受歡迎的當(dāng)屬“賽尼特”(Senet)，這個游戲全靠運氣取勝。

　　This pastime dates back as far as 3500 B.C. and was played on a long board painted with 30 squares. Each player had a set of pieces that were moved along the board according to rolls of dice or the throwing sticks.

　　關(guān)于這一游戲，歷史可追溯到公元前3500年。棋盤是一個畫有30個方格的長桌，每個玩家各執(zhí)一套棋子，通過擲骰子或拋木棍來決定步數(shù)，按規(guī)定將棋子沿著桌面移動。

　　4. Egyptian women had a wide range of rights and freedoms.

　　古埃及女性具有廣泛的權(quán)利和自由

　　While they may have been publicly and socially viewed as inferior to men, Egyptian women enjoyed a great deal of legal and financial independence. They could buy and sell property, serve on juries, make wills and even enter into legal contracts.

　　人們普遍認(rèn)為古埃及女性地位不如男性，盡管如此，但她們?nèi)韵碛袕V泛的法定權(quán)利，并且經(jīng)濟相對獨立。她們可以自由買賣財產(chǎn)，參與陪審，訂立遺囑，甚至簽訂合同。

　　Egyptian women did not typically work outside the home, but those who did usually received equal pay for doing the same jobs as men.

　　在古埃及，一般女性并不會在外勞作，但在外勞作的女性通常能獲得和男性相等的報酬。

　　Unlike the women of ancient Greece, who were fectively owned by their husbands, Egyptian women also had the right to divorce and remarry.

　　古希臘的女性實際上是丈夫的所有物，而與之不同的是，古埃及女性同樣有權(quán)利選擇離婚或再婚。

　　Egyptian couples were even known to negotiate an ancient prenuptial agreement. These contracts listed all the property and wealth the woman had brought into the marriage and guaranteed that she would be compensated for it in the event of a divorce.

　　這里的夫妻甚至還會簽訂婚前協(xié)議。在婚前協(xié)議上會清楚列出女性結(jié)婚時所攜帶的嫁妝，并且，一旦離婚，將確保女性能得到一定的賠償。

　　5. Egyptian pharaohs were often overweight.

　　古埃及法老大都是胖子

　　Egyptian art commonly depicts pharaohs as being trim and statuesque, but this was most likely not the case. The Egyptian diet of beer, wine, bread and honey was high in sugar, and studies show that it may have done a number on royal waistlines.

　　在古埃及藝術(shù)中，法老畫像通常是通過精挑細琢的，法老個個身材健美挺拔，但事實并非如此。埃及人愛喝的啤酒、葡萄酒，愛吃的面包、蜂蜜大都是高糖分的，研究表明，這些食物的過度飲食是古埃及人身圓體胖的一大幫手。

　　Examinations of mummies have indicated that many Egyptian rulers were unhealthy and overweight, and even suffered from diabetes.

　　通過對埃及人木乃伊的檢測發(fā)現(xiàn)，大部分埃及上層人士的身體健康狀況并不樂觀，并且體重超標(biāo)，甚至有些還患有糖尿病。

　　A notable example is the legendary Queen Hatshepsut, who lived in the 15th century B.C. While her sarcophagus depicts her as slender and athletic, historians believe she was actually obese and balding.

　　哈特謝普蘇特王后(Queen Hatshepsut)就是一個典型的例子。她生活在公元前15世紀(jì)，可謂是埃及一個傳奇人物。她石棺上的畫像身材苗條，看上去體格健康，但歷史學(xué)家們認(rèn)為，她實際上是個禿頂?shù)呐峙恕?/p>