Atlantis: The Antedeluvian World — Page 5
About the greatest action which the Athenians ever did, and which ought to have been most famous, but which, through the lapse of time and the destruction of the actors, has not come down to us."
Sobre la mayor hazaña que los atenienses jamás realizaron, y que debería haber sido la más famosa, pero que, debido al paso del tiempo y a la desaparición de sus protagonistas, no ha llegado hasta nosotros."
"Tell us," said the other, "the whole story, and how and from whom Solon heard this veritable tradition."
"Cuéntanos", dijo el otro, "toda la historia, y cómo y de quién oyó Solón esta verdadera tradición."
He replied: "At the head of the Egyptian Delta, where the river Nile divides, there is a certain district which is called the district of Sais, and the great city of the district is also called Sais, and is the city from which Amasis the king was sprung.
Él respondió: "En la cabecera del Delta egipcio, donde el río Nilo se divide, hay un cierto distrito que se llama el distrito de Sais, y la gran ciudad del distrito también se llama Sais, y es la ciudad de la que procedía el rey Amasis.
And the citizens have a deity who is their foundress: she is called in the Egyptian tongue Neith, which is asserted by them to be the same whom the Hellenes called Athene.
Y los ciudadanos tienen una deidad que es su fundadora: se la llama en lengua egipcia Neith, y ellos afirman que es la misma a quien los helenos llamaban Atenea.
Now, the citizens of this city are great lovers of the Athenians, and say that they are in some way related to them.
Ahora bien, los ciudadanos de esta ciudad son grandes admiradores de los atenienses, y dicen que están emparentados con ellos de alguna manera.
Thither came Solon, who was received by them with great honor; and he asked the priests, who were most skilful in such matters, about antiquity, and made the discovery that neither he nor any other Hellene knew anything worth mentioning about the times of old.
Allí llegó Solón, quien fue recibido por ellos con gran honor; y preguntó a los sacerdotes, que eran los más versados en tales asuntos, acerca de la antigüedad, y descubrió que ni él ni ningún otro heleno sabía nada que mereciera la pena mencionar sobre los tiempos antiguos.
Vocabulary
- Sobre
- Preposition meaning 'about' or 'on top of'
- mayor
- Greatest, largest, or oldest in comparison
- hazaña
- A great feat, deed, or heroic achievement
- atenienses
- People from Athens; Athenians of ancient Greece
- jamás
- Never or ever; strong negative adverb of time
- realizaron
- They accomplished or carried out a task or action
- debería
- Should; conditional form expressing obligation or expectation
- haber
- Auxiliary verb meaning 'to have' in compound tenses
- sido
- Past participle of 'ser'; meaning 'been'
- más
- More; comparative adverb indicating greater degree
- famosa
- Famous, well-known, or celebrated by many people
- pero
- Conjunction meaning 'but', introducing a contrast
- debido
- Due to; owing to a cause or reason
- paso
- Passage or passing, often referring to time elapsed
- tiempo
- Time or weather; fundamental concept of duration
- desaparición
- Disappearance; the act of vanishing or ceasing to exist
- protagonistas
- Main characters or leading figures in an event or story
- llegado
- Arrived; past participle of 'llegar', to arrive
- hasta
- Until or up to a point in time or space
- Cuéntanos
- Tell us; imperative form of 'contar' with 'nos'
- dijo
- Said; third-person singular preterite of 'decir'
- otro
- Other or another; refers to a different person or thing
- toda
- All or entire; feminine form of 'todo'
- historia
- Story or history; a narrative of events
- cómo
- How; interrogative or exclamatory adverb of manner
- quién
- Who; interrogative pronoun referring to a person
- oyó
- Heard; third-person singular preterite of 'oír'
- verdadera
- True or genuine; feminine form of 'verdadero'
- tradición
- Tradition; a custom or belief passed through generations
- respondió
- Responded or answered; preterite of 'responder'
- cabecera
- Head or top; headwaters or head of a region
- egipcio
- Egyptian; relating to Egypt or its people
- donde
- Where; relative adverb indicating a place or location
- río
- River; a large natural flowing body of water
- divide
- Divides or splits; third-person singular of 'dividir'
- hay
- There is or there are; impersonal form of 'haber'
- cierto
- Certain or a certain; refers to something specific
- distrito
- District; an administrative or geographical subdivision
- llama
- Is called or calls; third-person singular of 'llamar'
- gran
- Great or large; adjective before a noun
- ciudad
- City; an urban settlement of significant size
- también
- Also or too; additive adverb indicating inclusion
- procedía
- Came from or originated; imperfect of 'proceder'
- rey
- King; a male monarch or ruler of a kingdom
- ciudadanos
- Citizens; people who are members of a community or state
- tienen
- They have; third-person plural present of 'tener'
- deidad
- Deity; a god or goddess worshipped by a people
- fundadora
- Founder; feminine form referring to one who establishes something
- lengua
- Language or tongue; means of communication of a people
- egipcia
- Egyptian; feminine adjective relating to Egypt
- afirman
- They affirm or claim; third-person plural of 'afirmar'
- misma
- Same; feminine form emphasizing identity or sameness
- quien
- Who or whom; relative pronoun referring to a person
- helenos
- Hellenes; ancient Greeks referring to themselves collectively
- llamaban
- They used to call; imperfect of 'llamar'
- Ahora
- Now; adverb indicating the present moment
- bien
- Well or good; adverb indicating manner or quality
- grandes
- Great or large; plural adjective of size or importance
- admiradores
- Admirers; people who greatly respect or appreciate someone
- dicen
- They say; third-person plural present of 'decir'
- emparentados
- Related by family; having a familial connection
- alguna
- Some or any; feminine indefinite adjective
- manera
- Manner or way; how something is done
- Allí
- There; adverb indicating a distant place
- llegó
- Arrived; third-person singular preterite of 'llegar'
- fue
- Was or went; preterite of 'ser' or 'ir'
- recibido
- Received or welcomed; past participle of 'recibir'
- por
- By, for, or through; versatile Spanish preposition
- honor
- Honor; high respect or esteem given to someone
- preguntó
- Asked; third-person singular preterite of 'preguntar'
- sacerdotes
- Priests; religious leaders who perform sacred duties
- versados
- Versed or knowledgeable; skilled or experienced in a subject
- tales
- Such or such things; plural demonstrative adjective
- asuntos
- Matters or affairs; topics or issues under discussion
- acerca
- About or regarding; preposition used with 'de'
- antigüedad
- Antiquity; the ancient past or age of something
- descubrió
- Discovered; third-person singular preterite of 'descubrir'
- ni
- Nor or neither; negative conjunction linking alternatives
- ningún
- No or none; masculine singular negative adjective
- heleno
- Hellene; a Greek person from ancient Greece
- sabía
- Knew; third-person singular imperfect of 'saber'
- nada
- Nothing; indefinite pronoun indicating absence of anything
- mereciera
- Deserved or merited; imperfect subjunctive of 'merecer'
- pena
- Worth or pity; effort worth making or sadness
- mencionar
- To mention; to refer to briefly in speech or writing
- sobre
- About or on; preposition indicating topic or position
- tiempos
- Times; plural of 'tiempo', referring to historical periods
- antiguos
- Ancient or old; adjective describing very old times
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