第2章　巨人和侏儒

古埃及的圆雕，往往要么是庞大无比，与房子一般高，要么便是小得很，只有一英寸左右高。历代国王和要人的雕像，通常都是庞然大物。古埃及人认为，一尊普通人大小的雕像，并不足以体现出国王和王后的重要性来。

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这座狮身人面像。那是一尊巨型狮子像，可狮子的脑袋，却是一位国王的模样。古埃及人很喜欢将人和动物用这种方式联结起来；而他们更常见的做法，还是将动物的脑袋安到人的身体之上。

人的身体上安着一只猫或一只鸟儿的脑袋，样子会非常奇特，就像怪物一样，甚至可能会让我们觉得毛骨悚然呢。可将动物的身体安上人的脑袋，看上去却只会具有神秘感，而不会让我们觉得那么震惊了。

大斯芬克斯被古埃及人认为是黎明之神，因此它朝着东方，并且数千年来，每天清晨都毫不眨眼地凝视着日出的方向。它的鼻子，就有一个人那么高哩。它的脑袋两侧那个三角形的东西，并不是头发；它们其实是一种在庆典时所戴的奇特头巾，就跟阿布辛贝神庙那位法老雕塑上的胡须一样。埃及境内还有许多其他的斯芬克斯雕像，但它们都要比大斯芬克斯小得多。这些较小的斯芬克斯雕像，通常都被安放在通往一座神庙的道路两旁，排成两行，并且其中有许多还是排成双行呢。

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

尼罗河上游更远之处，还有两座巨型雕像。它们并排坐在宝座上，眺望着面前的平原。由于尺寸庞大，因此它们被称为“巨像”，而且每一尊巨像都是用一整块石头雕刻而成的。如今，虽说它们因为历经了数千年的日晒雨淋而破碎不堪，但你们不需要太多的想象力，便可以在脑海中想象出它们曾经的样子来。

这两尊雕像，自然也是古埃及国王的雕像，或者说，是同一位国王的两尊雕像。这两尊雕像，同样是面向太阳升起的东方。其中一尊被称为“门农”，但那位国王的名字并不叫“门农”。那位国王，名叫“阿蒙霍特普”。

虽说关于雕制这些古代雕塑的许多雕塑家，我们都不知道他们姓甚名谁，但我们的确知道制作阿蒙霍特普国王这两尊雕像的那位雕刻家的名字，因为这位雕刻家与国王同名，也叫阿蒙霍特普。没准他是一名奴隶呢，因为那时的奴隶经常被赐予其主人的名字。

人们认为，在公元前27年左右，一场地震掀翻了这两尊巨像。结果，太阳升起的时候，其中的“门农”发出了一种声音，可能像是一架巨型风琴的声音，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-

赞美新的一天到来的颂歌。“门农”并不是每天早晨都鸣响，甚至也不是每年都鸣响；可一旦它鸣响起来，人们就认为这是一种要发生某种大事的迹象，或者说是一种预兆。不过，这种预兆意味着什么，却没有人说得清。

而当古罗马帝国的一位皇帝试图修复“门农”之后，这尊雕像却再也不在清晨发出鸣响了。至今它已经有近两千年没有鸣响，因此有些人开始质疑，它以前是不是真的鸣响过；可那时的人却只是为了听一听“门农”的鸣响，就不远千里地跑过去，而若是没有听到，就都失望得很哩。

然而，许多的确听到过它鸣响的人，却将自己的名字和日期刻在了这尊雕像的基座上。因此，它以前的确鸣响过，这一点似乎不容置疑。有些科学家认为，是因为清晨的阳光照到冰冷的石头上后，使石像产生了某种变化，从而使之发出了声音。这可是古埃及诸多谜团中的一个呢。

一座世界上历史最悠久的雕塑作品，竟然是用木头制作而成的，这也有点儿不可思议，因为木头自然难以像石头那样长久保存下来。而令人觉得更加不可思议的是，这尊木制雕塑并非是某位国王、王后或者神灵的雕像，并非是古埃及人通常制作的那种雕像。你们觉得，那会是一尊什么样的雕像呢？它雕刻的，竟然是一位老师！

这尊雕像，刻画的是一个身材相当矮小而肥胖、手持一根长手杖的秃顶男子。

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，或许是为了表明他既不是国王，也不是什么重要人物吧。

有些人将这尊雕像称为“布拉克校长”。这样，你们就可以看出，几千年前的老师是个什么样子了。不过，还有一些人则说，那个时候世界上并没有正规的学校或者老师，因此他们觉得，这个人应当是某个部落的酋长。还有一些人则认为，这人是一个工头，领着一群工人在大金字塔干活。所以，你们完全可以自己来判定，因为他究竟叫什么、是干什么的、是谁制作了这尊雕像，世界上根本无人知晓。

这尊塑像，如今保存在埃及首都开罗的一座博物馆里。虽说是很久以前制作的，可它却比后来的埃及雕塑显得要自然、逼真得多。据说，连古埃及人也觉得这尊雕像太过栩栩如生，因此还用链子将雕像的双脚拴住，以防它跑掉呢！

差不多同一时期制作出来的另一尊雕像，则是一个坐着的男子，膝头放着一块写字所用的板子。它是一尊石制雕像，并且还上了油漆。你们猜一猜，漆的是什么颜色呢？红色！这个男子，是一位职业文书；也就是说，他是当时为数不多的会写字的人之一，工作就是替那些不会写字的人写东西，因为当时绝大多数人都不会写字。想一想，竟然要雇一个陌生人来替你们写信！这样的人，叫作“书吏”。书吏其实就是一种负责记录口授内容的秘书。当时，

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！

连国王和王后也不会写字，只得让书吏替他们代写呢。这尊雕像，如今保存在巴黎的卢浮宫博物馆里。

古埃及的雕塑家们常常还会走向另一个极端，那就是为古埃及的国王和王后、众神和圣兽制作出一些微型的小雕像，有些甚至只有几英寸高呢。这些微型雕像，绝大部分都是用质地最为坚硬的石头制作而成的；这种石头，甚至用我们现代的工具，可能也难以进行雕刻。我们猜想，它们一定是用极为坚硬的燧石工具，而不是用铁制工具雕刻出来的；正如石头中质地最为坚硬的钻石，只能用另一种钻石（金刚石）来切割，或者用钻石的粉末才能打磨成形一样。

甲虫在古埃及是一种圣物，被称为“圣甲虫”。无数的人都在脖子上佩戴着用陶土或者石头制成的圣甲虫，把它们当成一种护身符。由于这种护身符大受欢迎，因此如今的人还大批量地生产出这种东西，并把它们当成真正的古董卖给游客哩。

你们有没有保存着什么护身符和特别珍惜的物品，或者保存着可能给你们带来好运的东西呢？要是有的话，我敢打赌，绝对不会是像甲虫这样的昆虫吧！