SCIENCE REPORT - King Midas

SCIENCE REPORT
–
February 14, 2002: King Midas

By George Grow

This is the VOA Special English SCIENCE REPORT.

An American archeologist has a new theory about an ancient statue found in Greece. Keith DeVries of the
University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia says the statue may have once belonged to King Midas.

He believes the statue may have once been part of the special chair used by the king, called a throne. He says
ancient records and other evidence show the statue came from a throne that Midas is believed to have given as a
gift to the Greek god Apollo.

The small statue is known as “The Lion Tamer.
”
It shows a man and a lion. It is about
twenty-three centimeters tall. It is made of ivory¹, from the tusk² of an elephant. It was
discovered in Nineteen-Thirty-Nine in Delphi, Greece. It had been buried with other objects
near the ruins of the Corinthian Treasury³ building.

King Midas ruled an ancient country called Phrygia in what is now central Turkey. He lived
about two-thousand-seven-hundred years ago. King Midas was said to be extremely rich.
Stories said he could change anything he touched into gold.

The ancient Greek historian⁴ Herodotus claimed to have seen King
Midas’s throne in the Corinthian treasury at Delphi three-hundred
years after the king died. The throne itself has not been found. The
statue has cuttings in its back. This suggests it was once attached to
something, possibly a chair.

“The Lion Tamer”
statue is in a museum in Delphi, Greece. For years,
experts have debated the statue ’s history. Many experts thought it
came from Greece. However, others thought it came from somewhere
else.

Mister DeVries says the discovery of similar ivory statues in Turkey adds support to his
argument that the statue is Phrygian. Those objects were recovered from burial areas at the ancient Phrygian
capital of Gordion and at Elmali.

Scientists used a process known as radiocarbon dating to confirm that the statues date to the time of King Midas.
Radiocarbon dating shows the level of a radioactive⁵ form of carbon in a substance. This can tell scientists when
an object was made.

Mister DeVries works for the Museum of Archaeology⁶ and Anthropology⁷ at the University of Pennsylvania. He
reported his research at a meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America in Philadelphia.

This VOA Special English SCIENCE REPORT was written by George Grow.

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King Midas
(Pictures -University of
Pennsylvania)

1 ivory   

n.象牙，乳白色；adj.象牙制的，乳白色的

参考例句：

• My grandmother has some jewelry made of ivory.我祖母有一些象牙首饰。
• It is carved from ivory.它是用象牙雕成的。

2 tusk   

n.獠牙，长牙，象牙

参考例句：

• The wild boar had its tusk sunk deeply into a tree and howled desperately.野猪的獠牙陷在了树里，绝望地嗥叫着。
• A huge tusk decorated the wall of his study.他书房的墙上装饰着一支巨大的象牙。

3 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

4 historian   

n.历史学家，编史家

参考例句：

• As a historian,he was most typical of the times in which he lived.作为历史学家，他是他所处时代最有代表性的人物。
• He calls himself a historian,but his books are a mere journalism.他自称为历史学家，但是他的书都是些肤浅的通俗作品。

5 radioactive   

adj.放射性的

参考例句：

• People should keep away from the radioactive waste.人们应远离放射性废物。
• The radioactive material is stored in a special radiation-proof container.放射性材料储存在防辐射的特殊容器里。

6 archaeology   

n.考古学

参考例句：

• She teaches archaeology at the university.她在大学里教考古学。
• He displayed interest in archaeology.他对考古学有兴趣。

7 anthropology   

n.人类学

参考例句：

• I believe he has started reading up anthropology.我相信他已开始深入研究人类学。
• Social anthropology is centrally concerned with the diversity of culture.社会人类学主要关于文化多样性。