不知道这10个典故，你就读不懂英文名著

英语专业的童鞋们，刚入门时，老师推荐必读的两本名著无非就是《圣经》、《古希腊神话故事》。

为此，英大特地为你们整理十个耳熟能详的英语典故。想看英文名著，一定要先看它们！

01

诺亚方舟（Noah's Ark）

来源：《希伯来圣经·创世纪》

寓意：灾难时期的救星

故事详情：

《创世纪》第6到9章中，上帝对人类犯下的罪孽失望透顶，决定用洪水毁灭人类。但同时也发现诺亚是仅有的好人。

因此，上帝指示诺亚建造一艘方舟。在洪水来袭的7天前，上帝告诉诺亚带着家人和动物进入船中。

船只在洪水上漂浮了150天，最后停止在亚拉腊山上，随后洪水慢慢退去，只有方舟中的生命得以存活。

Noah's Ark is the vessel in the Genesis flood narrative (Genesis chapters 6–9) by which God spares Noah, his family, and a remnant of all the world's animals from a world-engulfing flood.

02

潘多拉的盒子（Pandora's box）

来源：《古希腊神话故事》

寓意：灾祸之源

故事详情：

先觉之神普罗米修斯因造人、为人类偷取火种，招致宙斯的怨恨。为了报复人类，宙斯命令火神用黏土制作一个女人——潘多拉，送给普罗米修斯的弟弟伊皮米修斯，一同带来的还有一个魔盒。

好奇心极重的潘多拉打开了这个魔盒，随后死亡、痛苦、邪恶、贪婪等等不好的因素散落至人间。之后，潘多拉匆忙的关上盒子，只留下唯一美好的东西——希望在盒子中。

Pandora opens a jar containing death and many other evils which were released into the world. She hastens to close the container, but the whole contents had escaped except for one thing that lay at the bottom – Elpis (usually translated "Hope", though it could also mean "Expectation").

03

三姆大叔（Uncle Sam）

来源：美国的绰号拟人化形象

寓意：诚实可靠、吃苦耐劳及爱国主义精神

故事情节：

“山姆大叔”的形象来自1812的美英战争中塞缪尔·威尔逊的美国人。据了解，这名美国人因向美国供应牛肉而著名。

另外，US既是美国（United States）的缩写，也是Uncle Sam的缩写。也因此20世纪早期，山姆大叔在美国文化中已经成为政府的代表以及一种爱国情感的展示。

Uncle Sam (initials U.S.) is a common national personification of the United States came into use during the War of 1812 and was supposedly named for Samuel Wilson.

04

特洛伊木马（Trojan Horse）

来源：《古希腊神话故事》

寓意：在敌方营垒里埋下伏兵里应外合的活动、也指计算机木马程序。

故事情节：

希腊联军攻打阿特洛伊城十年，却毫无进展。于是，希腊联军佯装撤退，留下一只巨大的木马，里面躲藏着伏兵。当特洛伊人将其当成战利品，希腊联军里应外合，一举攻下特洛伊城。

In the canonical version, after a fruitless 10-year siege, the Greeks constructed a huge wooden horse, and hid a select force of men inside. The Greeks pretended to sail away, and the Trojans pulled the horse into their city as a victory trophy. That night the Greek force crept out of the horse and opened the gates for the rest of the Greek army, which had sailed back under cover of night. The Greeks entered and destroyed the city of Troy, ending the war.

05

俄狄浦斯情结（Oedipus complex）

来源：《古希腊神话故事》

寓意：恋母情结

故事情节：

底必斯的国王年轻时受到诅咒，自己的亲儿子俄狄浦斯会弑父娶母。为了逃避命运，国王丢弃了儿子。没想到，辗转之后，俄狄浦斯被邻国收养。

长大成人后的俄狄浦斯年轻有为，却偶然得知自己将会“弑父娶母”，不知真相的他离开养父养母，并发誓永不回去。

流浪到底比斯的他，失手杀害了自己的亲生父亲，拯救了受困的底比斯城，最后赢得了王位，娶了自己的亲生母亲，应验了寓言。

Several years (and several children) later Oedipus and Jocasta figure out the truth of everything with the unwilling help of Tiresias, the seer. Jocasta hangs herself, and Oedipus stabs out his own eyes. The blind king then goes into exile with only his daughter, Antigone, to guide him, and eventually dies in the town of Colonus.

06

Scapegoat（替罪羔羊）

来源：《圣经利未记》

寓意：指代替犯错者承受责任、受罚的无辜人

故事情节：

《圣经利未记》第16章的赎罪日仪式中，大祭司会把手放在一只阳的羊头上，说道：“承认以色列人诸般的罪孽、过犯，就是他们一切的罪愆，”意思就是把人类的罪都归在羊身上，再把这只替罪羔羊带到无人之地。

07

象牙塔（Ivory tower）

来源：圣经《旧约·雅歌》

寓意：超脱现实的隐居之地

故事情节：

象牙塔一词虽起源于《圣经》，用来形容新娘美丽的脖颈，但实际上这一词“象牙塔”在《致维尔曼》书中出名，指的是作家应该摆脱物质财富的束缚，从而进入一片艺术之地，也就是象牙塔。

In the Judeo-Christian tradition, the term ivory tower is used as a symbol for noble purity. It originates with the Song of Solomon (7:4)  and was included in the epithets for Mary in the sixteenth century Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary ("tower of ivory", turris eburnea in Latin), though the title and image was in use long before that, since the 12th century Marian revival at least.

08

伊甸园（Garden of Eden）

来源：圣经

寓意：人间天堂、理想境界

故事情节：

伊甸园在圣经中又指“上帝的花园”，上帝让亚当看守园子。为排解他的寂寞，上帝从亚当的身上取出一根肋骨，造成一个女人——夏娃来陪伴他。

生活简单快乐、无忧无虑。

The Garden of Eden is the biblical "garden of God", described most notably in the Book of Genesis chapters 2 and 3, and also in the Book of Ezekiel. The "garden of God", not called Eden, is mentioned in Genesis 13, and the "trees of the garden" are mentioned in Ezekiel 31. The Book of Zechariah and the Book of Psalms also refer to trees and water in relation to the temple without explicitly mentioning Eden.

09

斯芬克斯之谜（Riddle of Sphinx）

来源：古希腊神话故事

寓意：复杂、神秘、难以理解的问题

故事情节：

在古希腊神话中，一只狮身人面的怪兽占领了底比斯国。它有一个天下最难解的谜语：“早晨用四只脚走路，中午用两只脚走路，傍晚用三只脚走路”，被称为斯芬克斯之谜。

10

犹大的亲吻（Kiss of Judas）

来源：《圣经》

寓意：可耻的背叛行为

故事情节：

犹大是耶稣的12门徒之一，耶稣因为传播新教，深受百姓的拥护，但是却引起了犹太教长老的仇恨。

犹大因为30个银币背叛了耶稣，当他们在橄榄山麓客西尼亚园停留时，由于犹太兵并不认识耶稣，于是犹大就告诉他们一个暗号：我见面后亲吻的第一个人就是耶稣。

The kiss of Judas, also known (especially in art) as the Betrayal of Christ, is how Judas identified Jesus to the multitude with swords and clubs who had come from the chief priests and elders of the people to arrest him, according to the Synoptic Gospels. The kiss is given by Judas in the Garden of Gethsemane after the Last Supper and leads directly to the arrest of Jesus by the police force of the Sanhedrin.