Venus de Milos

　　The Aphrodite of Melos is made of[1] marble and represents vivdly the goddess Aphrodite. This statue had earned it's name the Venus de Milo or Venus de Melos, because in 1820, a peasant had found it on the Greek island of Melos and it was named afte
r[2] the island where it was found.

　　The statue shows Aphrodite semi-nude and with a robe wrapped around her legs. For hundreds of years the statue had remained buried in an underground cavern. On account of[3] this, the statue had suffered significant damage and it was found in two parts. Later it was replaced together and sent to France, because the Marquis de Riviere had brought the statue and had given it to Louis XVIII of France[4]. Pieces of arms and a pedestal with an inscription, were also found in the cave, but these were later lost and never found again.

　　No one knows who created the statue of the Aphrodite of Melos. It is probably the work of the Greek artist Alexandros of Antioch. This name was inscribed on the block of stone on the pedestal that was later lost, but this is doubted from scholars because it may not have been the corrected block with the Venus de Milo, so this had erased the attribution to Alexandros. Some scholars had attributed the work of the statue to Praxiteles[5]. It is said that it was sculpted around the second century B.C.

　　米洛的维纳斯

　　“米洛的阿芙洛狄特”是由大理石制成的，惟妙惟肖地刻画了女神阿芙洛狄特。在1820年，一位农民在希腊的米洛岛上发现了这尊雕像，此后它就以这个岛而得名，被称为“米洛的维纳斯”。

　　雕像展示了阿芙洛狄特半裸的形象，一条长袍遮住了她的双腿。数百年来，这尊雕像被深埋于一个地下洞穴中。因此，雕像严重受损，当它被发现时已经断为两截。后来它被修复在一起，并送往了法国，因为马尔凯斯·德里维尔已购买了这尊雕像，把它送给法国国王路易十八。在洞中也发现了雕像胳膊和刻有铭文的底座的残片，但是后来这些东西均被丢失，而且从此再未找到过。

　　没有人知道谁创作了雕像“米洛的维纳斯”。它可能是希腊雕刻家，安屈克亚的亚历山德罗斯的作品。因为在那块后来丢失的雕像底座上刻着这个名字，但是学者们对此表示怀疑，因为这可能不是真正的“米洛的维纳斯”的底座，这就使亚历山德罗斯是否是雕像的作者产生置疑。一些学者认为这尊雕像是普拉克西特利斯的作品。它据说是作于公元前2世纪左右。

　　注释：

　　1． be made of：made 后接不同的介词短语，表示不同的意思。比如：a. A Stew can be made with vegetables. 这句表示蔬菜只是焖菜中的一种成分。 b. A stew can be made of vegetable. 这里表示蔬菜是焖菜中的主要成分。c. The wine is made from graps. Made from 指用……加工制成，经过加工，成品已非原来的样子。

　　2． be named after：name 除了作名词，也可作动词，表示“命名；以……名字命名（after）”，例如：They named their son John. 他们给婴儿取名为约翰。She was named after her grandmother. 她是根据她祖母的名字命名的。

　　3． on account of：是“因为，为……的缘故”。例如：I was absent from school on account of illness. 另外有关account的词组还有：on all accounts （无论如何，不管怎样）；on no accont （不管什么理由，决不）。

　　4． Louis XVIII：路易十八（1755~1824），法国国王。1795年路易十七死后，自立为路易十八。1814年4月跟随反法联军回到法国，恢复波旁王朝的统治。拿破仑百日王朝时又逃亡到国外。1815年滑铁卢战役后再次回到巴黎，重登王位。

　　5． Praxiteles：普拉克西特利斯（？前四世纪中叶）雅典雕刻家。希腊最有创造性的艺术家之一。以其大理石雕像闻明。其作品将神话人物纳如平凡的日常生活而加以抒情描写，风格柔和细腻，确立了当时希腊雕塑的特征。其著名作品现仅存大理石雕像《赫尔墨斯》。