The fall of the House of Cadmus - Iseult Gillespie

Translator: Carlos Damea Damea Reviewer: Mario Cal

When Cadmus walked the earth,

Nos tempos nos que Cadmo viviu,

just a few generations separated him from his divine ancestors.

só unhas poucas xeracións o separaban dos seus antepasados divinos.

From atop Mount Olympus, they scrutinized and meddled with mortals like himself.

Dende a cima do Monte Olimpo, escudriñaban e interferían nos asuntos dos mortais.

Cadmus was a skilled warrior and heir to the Phoenician throne.

Cadmo foi un hábil guerreiro e herdeiro do trono fenicio.

But he wouldn't stay in the gods' favor for long.

Pero non mantivo o favor dos deuses por moito tempo.

First, Zeus coveted Cadmus' sister, Europa.

Para empezar, Zeus desexaba a Europa, irmá de Cadmo.

So, he snuck into the palace garden in the form of a bull and stole her away.

Así que se infiltrou no xardín do palacio en forma de touro e secuestrouna.

Their father tasked Cadmus and his men with the impossible duty

O seu pai ordenou a Cadmo e os seus homes a tarefa imposible

of bringing Europa back.

de rescatar a Europa.

Cadmus journeyed to the sacred Oracle of Delphi to plead for help,

Para implorar axuda, Cadmo aventurouse ao sacro Oráculo de Delfos,

where he was told to find and follow a sacred, wild cow.

onde lle aconsellaron encontrar e seguir unha vaca salvaxe e sagrada.

At the spot where the cow rested, he was to found a new city.

No lugar no que a vaca descansase había de fundar unha nova cidade.

Cadmus and his men did as the oracle said,

Cadmo e os seus homes fixeron o que o oráculo decía,

then ventured into the nearby forest for supplies.

aventuráronse a procurar provisións no bosque próximo.

But a giant serpent soon appeared.

Pero apareceu unha serpe xigante.

It choked some of Cadmus' men and blasted others with venom.

Afogou a algúns homes de Cadmo e envelenou a outros.

Cadmus leapt into action, hurled his javelin,

Cadmo entrou en acción, lanzou a súa xavelina,

and pinned the snake to a tree.

e cravou a serpe nunha árbore.

Without knowing it, he had just slain Ares', the god of war's, precious serpent—

Sen sabelo, acababa de matar a prezada serpe de Ares, deus da guerra,

and sealed tragedy into his own fate along with it.

e selou con este acto a traxedia do seu propio destino.

Suddenly, a disembodied voice boomed:

De súpeto, unha voz incorpórea tronou:

"You too shall be a serpent to be gazed on."

“Ti tamén serás unha serpe que contemplar”

Taking pity on the prince,

Mostrando piedade polo príncipe,

the goddess Athena instructed Cadmus to till the earth

a deusa Atenea ordenou a Cadmo labrar a terra

using the serpent's teeth.

usando os dentes da serpe.

As he nestled its fangs into the soil,

Ao cravar os cabeiros na terra,

a band of warriors sprouted from the ground.

unha banda de guerreiros brotou do chan.

Together, they built the magnificent city of Thebes.

Xuntos, construíron a magnífica cidade de Tebas.

And eventually, Cadmus fell in love with Harmonia,

E finalmente, Cadmo namorouse de Harmonía,

daughter of Ares and Aphrodite, and the two married.

filla de Ares e Afrodita, e os dous casaron.

As years passed, and his city and family grew,

A medida que pasou o tempo, e a súa cidade e familia creceu,

hope that all strife might be forgotten between Cadmus and the gods

a esperanza de esquecer o conflito entre Cadmo e os deuses

glimmered briefly.

xurdiu por instantes.

But, soon enough, his family's luck began souring once more.

Pero, pronto, a sorte da súa familia comezou a estragarse de novo.

Tragedy struck when Cadmus' grandson, Actaeon,

A traxedia golpeou cando o neto de Cadmo, Acteón,

was tracking a stag in the forest with his hunting hounds.

rastreaba un cervo no bosque cos seus sabuxos de caza.

The young man unwittingly infringed on the sacred grove of Artemis,

O rapaz invadiu sen querelo o sacro arboredo de Ártemis,

goddess of the hunt, as she was bathing.

deusa da caza, mentres ela se estaba a bañar.

Artemis punished Actaeon, transforming him into a skittish stag.

Ártemis castigou a Acteón, transformándoo nun espantadizo cervo.

And in this form Actaeon's own hounds could no longer distinguish him

E nesta forma, os sabuxos de Acteón non o conseguían distinguir

from the object of the hunt— and they went in for the kill.

da presa da caza— e atacaron a matar.

Then, Zeus visited again—

Despois, Zeus visitouno de novo—

this time taking advantage of Semele, one of Cadmus' four daughters.

esta vez aproveitándose de Sémele, unha das catro fillas de Cadmo.

When Zeus' wife Hera learned that he'd been unfaithful yet again

Cando Hera, esposa de Zeus, descubriu que este fora infiel de novo

and that Semele was pregnant,

e que Sémele estaba encinta,

she tricked Zeus into revealing himself to Semele in his divine form.

enganou a Zeus para que revelase a Sémele a súa forma divina.

But even the feeblest of his thunderstorms was too much for a mortal to witness,

Pero incluso a máis feble das tormentas era demasiado para a presenza dos mortais,

and Semele perished.

e Sémele pereceu.

Zeus managed to save their unborn child, who grew into Dionysus, god of wine.

Zeus conseguiu salvar a criatura, que chegaría a ser Dioniso, deus do viño.

His wild, revelrous rituals drew devoted followers.

Os seus rituais, salvaxes foliadas, atraeron devotos seguidores.

But they eventually got out of hand.

Pero finalmente fóronse das mans.

On one occasion, two of Cadmus' four daughters,

Nunha ocasión, dúas das catro fillas de Cadmo,

Agave and Autonoë— Dionysus' own aunts—

Ágave e Autónoe— tías do propio Dioniso—

had a hallucinatory fit and killed Agave's own son,

tiveron un ataque alucinatorio e mataron ao fillo de Ágave,

believing he was a lion.

crendo que era un león.

Next, Hera targeted the family again.

Despois, Hera volveu atacar a familia.

Alongside the Furies, the goddesses of vengeance,

Xunto ás Erinias, deusas da vinganza,

she cursed Cadmus' fourth daughter, Ino,

maldixo a Ino, cuarta filla de Cadmo,

with an intolerable madness that drove her into the sea.

cunha loucura intolerábel pola que se botou ao mar.

Besieged by bad luck and overcome with grief,

Asediados pola mala sorte e abrumados polo loito,

Cadmus and Harmonia wandered the wilderness.

Cadmo e Harmonía vagaron pola natureza.

They considered the many tragic turns their lives had taken—

Consideraban os tráxicos reveses das súas vidas—

which Cadmus traced back to the time he killed the serpent.

que, segundo Cadmo, se remontaban ao momento no que matou a serpe.

Realizing that the animal could have been sacred

Decatándose de que o animal podía ser sagrado

and that his act might have incited the unabating wrath of the gods,

e que o seu acto ben podía ter incitado a imparábel ira dos deuses,

Cadmus prayed to recompense his error.

Cadmo rezou para compensar o seu erro.

Suddenly, he felt his body change and he embraced Harmonia.

De súpeto, el sentiu o seu corpo cambiar e abrazou a Harmonía.

The two melted to the ground and shed their human skins,

Os dous derretéronse sobre a terra e mudaron as súas peles humans,

until finally, two snakes were left coiled in the field.

quedando finalmente dúas serpes enroladas no campo.

Cadmus' debt was at last repaid—

A débeda de Cadmo foi pagada—

to the snake he slayed in a desperate moment,

á serpe que asasinou nun momento de desesperación,

and to the gods, who guarded their grudges

e aos deuses, que gardaron rancor

and dispensed of their punishments liberally.

e dispensaron os seus castigos xenerosamente.