The tragic myth of Orpheus and Eurydice - Brendan Pelsue

Prevoditelj: Ivan Stamenković Recezent: Senzos Osijek

It was the perfect wedding, the guests thought.

Bilo je to savršeno vjenčanje, tako su mislili gosti.

The groom was Orpheus, the greatest of all poets and musicians.

Mladoženja je bio Orfej, najveći od svih pjesnika i glazbenika.

The bride Eurydice, a wood nymph.

Mlada Euridika, šumska nimfa.

Anyone could tell the couple was truly and deeply in love.

Svi su mogli reći da je par zaista zaljubljen.

Suddenly, Eurydice stumbled, then fell to the ground.

Iznenada, Euridika se spotakla, i pala je na tlo.

By the time Orpheus reached her side, she was dead,

Dok je Orfej došao do nje, bila je mrtva

and the snake that had bitten her was slithering away through the grass.

i zmija koja ju je ugrizla puzala je u travi.

Following Eurydice’s funeral,

Nakon Euridikinog pogreba,

Orpheus was overcome with a grief the human world could not contain,

Orfej je bio svladan tugom koju ljudski svijet nije mogao izdržati,

and so he decided he would journey to the land of the dead,

i odlučio je otputovati u zemlju mrtvih,

a place from which no living creature had ever returned, to rescue his beloved.

mjesto s kojeg se nijedno živo biće nikad nije vratilo, kako bi spasio voljenu.

When Orpheus reached the gates of the underworld, he began to strum his lyre.

Kada je Orfej došao do vrata podzemlja, počeo je svirati na svojoj liri.

The music was so beautiful that Cerberus, the three-headed dog who guards the dead,

Glazba je bila tako prekrasna da je Kerber, troglavi pas čuvar mrtvih,

lay down as Orpheus passed.

legao dok je Orfej prolazio.

Charon, the ferry captain who charged dead souls to cross the River Styx,

Haron, kapetan vila koji je naplaćivao dušama mrtvih prelazak preko rijeke Stiks,

was so moved by the music that he brought Orpheus across free of charge.

bio je toliko ganut glazbom da je prevezao Orfeja i nije mu naplatio.

When Orpheus entered the palace of Hades and Persephone,

Kada je Orfej ušao u palaču Hada i Perzefone,

the king and queen of the dead,

kralja i kraljice smrti,

he began to sing.

počeo je pjevati.

He sang of his love for Eurydice, and said she had been taken away too soon.

Pjevao je o svojoj ljubavi za Euridiku, koja je prerano uzeta.

The day would come when she, like all living creatures,

Dan će doći kada će ona, kao i sva živa bića,

dwelled in the land of the dead for all eternity,

živjeti u zemlji mrtvih svu vječnost,

so couldn’t Hades grant her just a few more years on Earth?

pa ne bi li Had mogao dati joj još par godina na Zemlji.

In the moment after Orpheus finished, all hell stood still.

U trenutku kada je Orfej završio, pakao je stao.

Sisyphus no longer rolled his rock up the hill.

Sizif nije više gurao svoj kamen uzbrdo.

Tantalus did not reach for the water he would never be allowed to drink.

Tantal nije posegnuo za vodom koju neće nikada moći piti.

Even the Furies, the demonic goddesses of vengeance, wept.

Čak su i Furije, božice osvete, plakale.

Hades and Persephone granted Orpheus’s plea, but on one condition.

Had i Perzefona uslišali su mu želju, ali pod jednim uvjetom.

As he climbed back out of the underworld,

Dok se bude penjao iz podzemlja,

he must not turn around to see if Eurydice was following behind him.

ne smije se okrenuti da provjeri je li Euridika iza njega.

If he did, she would return to the land of the dead forever.

Ako to učini, zauvijek će se vratiti natrag u zemlju mrtvih.

Orpheus began to climb.

Orfej se počeo penjati.

With each step,

Svakim korakom,

he worried more and more about whether Eurydice was behind him.

sve više se brinuo slijedi li ga Euridika.

He heard nothing— where were her footsteps?

Nije ništa čuo -- gdje su joj koraci?

Finally, just before he stepped out of the underworld

Napokon, prije nego je iskoračio iz podzemlja

and into the bright light of day,

i na svjetlo dana,

he gave into temptation.

pokleknuo je.

Orpheus tried to return to the underworld, but was refused entry.

Orfej se pokušao vratiti u podzemlje ali više nije mogao ući.

Separated from Eurydice,

Odvojen od Euridike,

Orpheus swore never to love another woman again.

Orfej se zakleo da nikad više neće voljeti ženu.

Instead, he sat in a grove of trees and sang songs of lovers.

Umjesto toga, sjedio je u šumarku i pjevao pjesme o ljubavnicima.

There was Ganymede, the beautiful boy who Zeus made drink-bearer to the gods.

Bio je tu Ganimed, prekrasni dječak kojeg je Zeus učinio nosačem pića bogovima.

There was Myrrah, who loved her father and was punished for it,

Bila je tu Mirna, koja je voljela svog oca i bila kažnjena zbog toga,

and Pygmalion, who sculpted his ideal woman out of ivory,

i Pigmalion, koji je izradio idealnu ženu od slonovače,

then prayed to Venus until she came to life.

a onda se molio Veneri dok nije oživjela.

And there was Venus herself,

A tu je bila i Venera,

whose beautiful Adonis was killed by a wild boar.

čijeg je prekrasnog Adonisa ubio vepar.

It was as if Orpheus’s own love and loss

Kao da su Orfejeva vlastita ljubav i njegov gubitak

had allowed him to see into the hearts of gods and people everywhere.

mu podarili mogućnost da vidi u srca bogova i ljudi posvuda.

For some, however, poetry was not enough.

Za neke, ipak, poezija nije bila dovoljna.

A group of wild women called the Maenads

Grupa divljih žena, imena Menade

could not bear the thought that a poet who sang so beautifully of love

nije mogla podnijeti da pjesnik koji tako prekrasno pjeva o ljubavi

would not love them.

ne voli njih.

Their jealousy drove them to a frenzy and they destroyed poor Orpheus.

Njihova ljubomora ih je izludjela i uništile su jadnog Orfeja.

The birds, nature’s singers, mourned Orpheus,

Ptice, pjevači prirode, oplakivale su Orfeja,

as did the rivers, who made music as they babbled.

kao i rijeke, koje su radile glazbu dok su tekle.

The world had lost two great souls.

Svijet je izgubio dvije velike duše.

Orpheus and Eurydice had loved each other so deeply that when they were separated,

Orfej i Euridika voljeli su jedno drugo toliko snažno da kada su razdvojeni,

Orpheus had understood the pain and joys of lovers everywhere,

Orfej je shvatio bol i radosti ljubavnika posvuda,

and a new art form, the love poem, was born.

i novi oblik umjetnosti, ljubavna pjesma, je rođen.

While the world wept, Orpheus found peace, and his other half, in the underworld.

Dok je svijet plakao, Orfej je našao mir, i svoju drugu polovicu, u podzemlju.

There, to this day, he walks with Eurydice along the banks of the River Styx.

Ondje, do danas šeta s Euridikom, uz obale rijeke Stiks.

Sometimes, they stroll side by side;

Nekad šetaju jedno pored drugog,

sometimes, she is in front;

nekad je ona naprijed,

and sometimes, he takes the lead, turning to look back at her as often as he likes.

a nekad on, i okreće se i gleda ju koliko god želi.