The Hanging Gardens of Babylon.doc

The Hanging Gardens of BabylonThe approach to the Garden sloped like a hillside and the several parts of the structure rose from one another tier on tier...On all this, the earth had been piled...and was thickly planted with trees of every kind that, by their great size and other charm, gave pleasure to the beholder...The water machines(raised) the water in great abundance from the river, although no one outside could see it. ——Diodorus Siculus通往花园的道路象山坡一样倾斜着，建筑物的几个部分一层一层地向上交错排列着……泥土在这些上面堆积着……并且浓密地种植着各种各样的树木，它们以其巨大的身躯和其他一些魅力，令观赏者赏心悦目……抽水的机器把大量的水从河中（提升到）上面，尽管没有人从外面能看到它。 ——Diodorus Siculus　　ruits and flowers... Waterfalls... Gardens hanging from the palace terraces... Exotic animals...This is the picture of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon in most peoples minds.It may be surprising to know that they might have never existed except in the minds of Greek poets and historians!通往花园的道路象山坡一样倾斜着，建筑物的几个部分一层一层地向上交错排列着……泥土在这些上面堆积着……并且浓密地种植着各种各样的树木，它们以其巨大的身躯和其他一些魅力，令观赏者赏心悦目……抽水的机器把大量的水从河中（提升到）上面，尽管没有人从外面能看到它。 ——Diodorus Siculus　　Location　　On the east bank of the River Euphrates, about 50 km south of Baghdad, Iraq.　位置：　　位于幼发拉底河的东岸，距伊拉克的首都巴格达南约50公里。　　History　　 The Babylonian kingdom flourished under the rule of the famous King, Hammurabi[2] (1792-1750 BC[3]).It was not until[4] the reign of the Neo-Babylonian dynasty that the Mesopotamian [5] civilization reached its ultimate glory.Nebuchadnezzar II[6] (604-562 BC) is credited for building the legendary Hanging Gardens.It is said that the Gardens were built by Nebuchadnezzar to please his wife or concubinewho had been brought up in Media[7] and had a passion for mountain surroundings.历史：　　古巴比伦王国在著名的国王汉谟拉比（公元前1792~1750）的统治下曾经繁荣一时。但是直到新巴比伦王朝，美索不达米亚文明才达到了它的鼎盛时期。人们相信传说中的空中花园是由尼布甲尼撒二世（公元前604年~562年）建造的。据传，尼布甲尼撒为了取悦于其在米底亚长大并对山景怀有深厚感情的王后或者是妃子而建造了空中花园。　　While the most descriptive accounts of the Gardens come from Greek historians such as Berossus and Diodorus Siculus,Babylonian records stay silent on the matter.Ta