A tour of the ancient Greek Underworld - Iseult Gillespie

Translator: Andrea Villamisar Naveira Reviewer: Mario Cal

Achilles, welcome!

Aquiles, benvido!

I’m the Sibyl of Cumae, prophetess and avid reader of leaves.

Eu son Sibila de Cumas, profetisa e ávida lectora de follas.

To clarify, you were just slain in the Trojan War.

Para a túa información, acaban de asasinarte na Guerra de Troia.

Sorry about that.

Síntoo.

It’s normal to feel mixed emotions right now.

É normal que agora teñas sentimentos atopados.

But you will be immortalized as one of the greatest warriors ever.

Pero serás inmortalizado como un dos mellores guerreiros da historia.

And you’ll have endless distractions down here.

E ademais, terás incontábeis distraccións aquí abaixo.

So, pros and cons.

Así que, vantaxes e desvantaxes.

It gets a bad rap, but the Underworld is actually a lovely place to “live.”

Aínda que ten unha mala reputación, o inframundo é un bo lugar para “vivir”.

It boasts historic charm and eccentric neighbors with eternal ties to the area.

Ten encanto histórico e veciños excéntricos con vínculos eternos coa zona.

The community even has its own guard dog, Cerberus.

Incluso teñen un can gardián no vecindario, o Cérbero.

Heel, boy! Oh.

Ao meu talón, neno! Digo carón!

Sorry, I know that’s a sensitive spot.

Perdón, xa sei que é unha parte delicada.

Anyway, with Cerberus, you get three for the price of one!

O caso é que co Cérbero, tes tres cans polo prezo dun!

He’s just not a big fan of anyone leaving.

Simplemente non lle gusta que marche ninguén.

And who would want to leave anyway?

De todos modos, quen querería saír de aquí?

This is the Styx— it’s like the subterranean riviera.

Isto é o Estixia, é como a Riviera subterránea.

But you’ve been here before;

Pero ti xa estiveras aquí antes,

it was the source of your almost complete invulnerability, of course!

Claro! É a fonte da túa invulnerabilidade case total!

The Underworld also features four other waterways:

O inframundo tamén conta con outras catro vías fluviais:

Acheron, the river of woe; Cocytus, river of wailing;

Aqueronte, o río da dor; Cocito, o río dos lamentos;

Lethe, river of oblivion;

Lete, o río do esquecemento;

and Phlegethon, river of fire, a great source of natural light.

e Flegetonte, o río do fogo. Gran fonte de luz natural.

Now, on your left, you’ll see the Mourning Fields,

Á túa esquerda, verás os campos do Loito,

inhabited by souls tormented by love.

poboados polas almas atormentadas polo amor.

Quite an attractive place, really,

De feito, é un lugar bastante atractivo

when you’re not in the throes of endless heartbreak.

cando un non está somerxido nun desamor sen fin.

And without further ado:

E sen máis arrodeos:

Elysium, the Underworld’s exclusive VIP section—

Elíseo, a sección VIP exclusiva do inframundo,

and your permanent home.

e o teu fogar permanente.

Here, you'll join the ranks of royalty and heroes.

Aquí, uniraste ás ligas dos heroes e da realeza.

Cadmus over there once slayed a dragon!

Cadmo matou un dragón unha vez!

And Patroclus is around here somewhere, along with lots of other friends and foes.

E Patroclo debe andar por aquí xunto con outros amigos e inimigos.

I'll let you two get reacquainted soon,

Deixarei que vos volvades ver pronto,

but our tour wouldn’t be complete without a quick whirl

pero o noso percorrido non estaría completo sen unha pequena volta

through the heart of Hades: Tartarus.

polo corazón do Hades: o Tártaro.

Tisiphone here guards the portal.

Aquí, Tisífone vixía o portal.

She's one of the legendary Furies

É unha das furias lexendarias

and is particularly passionate about avenging murder.

e profundamente apaixonada por vingar asasinatos.

She never sleeps.

Nunca durme.

So, if you need anything, just ask!

Así que, se queres algo, só tes que pedilo!

Tartarus is reserved for a select few who some might call

O Tártaro está reservado para uns poucos afortunados coñecidos como:

the greatest sinners of all time.

“Os maiores pecadores de tódolos tempos”.

Take Ixion.

Como Ixión, por exemplo.

He was once a king.

Él foi rei unha vez.

When he didn’t pay his wedding dowry,

Ao non pagar a dote da súa voda,

his father-in-law, Deioneus, stole his horses to get even.

o seu sogro, Deione, rouboulle os cabalos por vinganza.

In retaliation, Ixion pitched Deioneus into a pit of fire.

En represalia, Ixión empurrou a Deione nun burato de fogo.

Ixion was banished, but Zeus miraculously took pity on him,

Ixión foi desterrado, pero Zeus, apiadouse milagrosamente del,

and invited him to a Mount Olympian feast.

e invitouno a un banquete no Monte Olimpo.

There, however, it soon became clear that the disgraced king

Así e todo, pronto quedou claro que este desvergoñado rei

was trying to seduce Zeus’s wife, Hera.

estaba intentando seducir a esposa de Zeus, Hera.

So, Zeus contrived a trap:

Entón, Zeus ideou una trampa:

a fluffy cloud that resembled Hera exactly.

unha nube esponxosa que se asemellaba a Hera.

When Zeus had proof of Ixion having his way with the cumulus,

Cando Zeus tivo probas de que Ixión quería seducir ao cúmulo,

well, you could say it was all nimbus from there.

bueno, digamos que dende entón todo foi un “nimbo” para el.

That landed Ixion on the flaming wheel.

Isto levou a Ixión á roda en chamas.

Poor thing.

Coitadiño.

Oh, and don’t mind Tantalus here.

Oh, e a Tántalo, nin caso.

He was part of the first generation of mortals,

Pertenceu á primeira xeración de mortais

enjoying privileges like dining with the gods.

e gozou de privilexios como cear cos deuses.

Some say Tantalus stole ambrosia from Zeus,

Uns din que Tántalo roubou a ambrosía de Zeus,

others that he doubted the omniscience of the gods

outros que dudaba da omnisciencia dos deuses

and cooked his own son into a stew to see if they would notice.

e que cociñou o seu propio fillo nun guiso para ver se se decataban.

Naturally, they did.

Naturalmente, decatáronse.

And as eternal punishment, when Tantalus reaches for food,

E como castigo eterno, cando Tántalo busca comida,

the branches grow taller.

as ramas medran máis altas.

And when he stoops to quench his thirst, the water recedes.

E cando agacha para saciar a sede, a auga recúa.

And here we have the Danaids.

E aquí temos as Danaides.

At their father’s order, they beheaded their husbands on their wedding night.

Por orde do pai, decapitaron os seus maridos na noite de vodas.

They must fill this basin with water.

Agora enchen esta ánfora de auga.

But, the trick is, their jars are cracked, so it always... just... leaks away.

Pero, a cousa é que teñen grietas, así que a auga como vén, vaise.

Oh, but don’t worry! No leaky appliances for you.

Pero non te preocupes! O teu vai sen fugas.

Finally, our last stop on the tour is one of our loveliest vistas.

Por fin, a última parada do percorrido e una das nosas mellores vistas.

From here, you can see the hill where Sisyphus pushes his boulder

Dende aquí, pódese ver o outeiro onde Sísifo empurra a súa rocha

day after day,

día tras día,

only for it to roll back down again—

para que logo a rocha baixe outra vez,

all for trying to cheat death.

e todo porque quixo enganar a morte.

As you can see, Achilles, the Underworld is full of exciting amenities.

Como podes ver, Aquiles, o inframundo está cheíño de entretementos.

Here, you don’t have to worry about brutal wars or painful cycles of revenge.

Aquí, non tes que preocuparte por guerras brutais ou horribles ciclos de vinganza.

You can finally just put your feet up and relax.

Por fin podes poñer os pés en alto e relaxarte.