世界的开始

How did the world begin? Every people has its own ideas. These ideas tell us a lot about the people.

　　The Greeks did not believe in a single great god who made the world. They believed that the earth, the sea and the air were always there. But in the beginning they were all mixed up together in a great mass. This mass the Greeks called Chaos. Inside the Chaos were the seeds of things to be. They slept there peacefully. The earth, the sea and the air were all there; but the earth was not hard, the sea was not watery and the air was not clear.
　　Finally, nature began to put the shapeless mass in order. It separated the earth from the sea, and the sky from the earth and the sea. The lightest part burned like fire and sprang up and became the skies. The air was next in lightness, so it was placed under the sky. The earth was heavier than the air, so it was put below. The water had the lowest place, and the earth didn't sink in the water.

　　After the sky and the earth had separated, they united again as husband and wife. Their children were powerful beings called titans. This is the origin of our word" titanic." One of the titans was called "Chronos," which means "time." His wife gave birth to the gods who ruled the world. The Greeks believed in many gods. The chief of the gods was called Zeus.
　　世界是怎么开始的呢？每个民族都有自己的想法。这些想法使我们对各民族有了很多的了解。

　　希腊人并不相信有一个创造世界的万能上帝。他们相信大地、海洋和空气本来一直就存在着。但起初它们都混合在一起结成一个巨块。这个巨块希腊人称之为『混沌』。在它里面有着万物的种子。它们安静地沈睡在其中。大地、海洋和空气都在那里，但大地并不坚硬，海洋不呈水状，而空气也不清新。
　　最后，大自然开始整理这个没有形状的巨块。它把大地和海洋和天空都分开来。最轻的部份像火一样燃烧，飞升成为天空。空气第二轻，所以被放在天空下面。大地比空气重，所以被放在下面。水则处于最低的地方，而大地并没有沈入水里。

　　天空和大地分开后，再次结合成夫妻。他们的子女是叫做『泰坦』的强大生物。这就是英文中『巨大的』这个形容词的出处。泰坦人中有一个叫克鲁诺斯，即『时间』之意。他的太太生下统治世界的众神。希腊人相信很多神祇，而这些神的首领叫『宙斯』。