The tragic myth of Orpheus and Eurydice - Brendan Pelsue

Translator: jennifer dwicahyani Reviewer: Ade Indarta

It was the perfect wedding, the guests thought.

Ini pernikahan yang sempurna, pikir semua tamu yang hadir.

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

Sang mempelai pria adalah Orpheus, penyair dan musisi terhebat.

The bride Eurydice, a wood nymph.

Sang mempelai wanita adalah Eurydice, peri hutan.

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

Siapapun bisa melihat kalau pasangan ini saling mencintai.

Suddenly, Eurydice stumbled, then fell to the ground.

Tiba-tiba. Eurydice tersandung, lalu terjatuh ke tanah.

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

Ketika Orpheus sampai di sisinya, dia sudah meninggal.

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

dan ular yang menggigitnya merayap pergi melalui semak-semak.

Following Eurydice’s funeral,

Di pemakaman Eurydice,

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

Orpheus diliputi oleh kesedihan yang tidak bisa ditahan oleh manusia.

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

Karena itulah, dia memutuskan untuk pergi ke Tanah Orang Mati,

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

tempat di mana makhluk hidup tidak pernah kembali, untuk menyelamatkan kekasihnya.

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

Saat Orpheus sampai di pintu gerbang alam baka, dia mulai memainkan harpanya.

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

Musiknya begitu indah sampai Cerberus, anjing berkepala tiga penjaga tempat itu.

lay down as Orpheus passed.

berbaring ketika Orpheus lewat.

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

Charon, kapten kapal yang meminta bayaran pada siapapun yang menyebrangi Sungai Styx

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

sangat tersentuh oleh musiknya sampai dia rela membantu Orpheus tanpa bayaran.

When Orpheus entered the palace of Hades and Persephone,

Ketika Orpheus masuk ke kediaman Hades dan Persephone.

the king and queen of the dead,

raja dan ratu Kematian,

he began to sing.

dia mulai bernyanyi.

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

Dia menyanyikan cintanya pada Eurydice, dan berkata dia terlalu cepat pergi,

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

Harinya akan tiba ketika dia, seperti semua makhluk hidup,

dwelled in the land of the dead for all eternity,

tinggal di Tanah Orang Mati untuk selamanya,

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

jadi tidak bisakah Hades memberikannya beberapa tahun lagi di bumi?

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

Saat Orpheus selesai bernyanyi, semua penghuni neraka bergeming.

Sisyphus no longer rolled his rock up the hill.

Sisyphus tidak lagi mendorong batunya ke atas gunung.

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

Tantalus tidak menggapai air yang dilarang untuk diminum.

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

Bahkan the Furies, para iblis yang penuh dendam, menangis.

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

Hades dan Persephone mengabulkan keinginan Orpheus tapi dengan satu syarat.

As he climbed back out of the underworld,

Saat dia berjalan keluar dari alam baka.

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

dia tidak boleh menoleh ke belakang untuk mengecek apa Eurydice mengikutinya.

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

Jika dia melakukannya, maka Eurydice akan kembali ke Dunia Orang Mati selamanya.

Orpheus began to climb.

Orpheus mulai mendaki.

With each step,

Dengan setiap langkah,

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

dia semakin khawatir apa benar Eurydice ada di belakangnya.

He heard nothing— where were her footsteps?

Dia tidak mendengar apapun- Di mana langkah kakinya?

Finally, just before he stepped out of the underworld

Akhirnya, satu langkah terakhir sebelum dia keluar dari alam baka

and into the bright light of day,

dan menuju cahaya terang.

he gave into temptation.

dia menyerah pada godaan.

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

Orpheus mencoba kembali ke alam baka, tapi dia dilarang untuk masuk.

Separated from Eurydice,

Berpisah dari Eurydice.

Orpheus swore never to love another woman again.

Orpheus bersumpah tidak akan pernah jatuh cinta pada wanita lain.

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

Dia duduk di bawah pepohonan dan bernyanyi lagu tentang sepasang kekasih.

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

Ada Ganymede, anak lelaki tampan yang Zeus jadikan penyaji minuman untuk dewa.

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

Ada Myrah, yang mencintai ayahnya sendiri dan dihukum karena hal itu,

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

dan Pygmalion, yang memahat wanita idamannya dari marmer,

then prayed to Venus until she came to life.

lalu berdoa kepada Venus, sampai patung itu menjadi hidup.

And there was Venus herself,

Dan Venus sendiri,

whose beautiful Adonis was killed by a wild boar.

yang kehilangan kekasih tampannya, Adonis, karena babi hutan.

It was as if Orpheus’s own love and loss

Rasa cinta dan kehilangan Orpheus seperti

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

membuatnya dapat melihat ke dalam hati para dewa dan manusia di manapun.

For some, however, poetry was not enough.

Tapi, untuk beberapa orang, puisi tidak cukup.

A group of wild women called the Maenads

Sekelompok perempuan liar bernama Maenads

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

tidak bisa menerima kenyataan seorang penyair yang bernyanyi tentang cinta

would not love them.

tidak mencintai mereka.

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

Kecemburuan mereka menyebabkan kekacauan dan mereka menghancurkan Orpheus.

The birds, nature’s singers, mourned Orpheus,

Burung-burung, penyanyi alami dari alam berduka karena Orpheus,

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

begitu juga dengan sungai, yang bernyanyi ketika mereka membuat buih.

The world had lost two great souls.

Dunia telah kehilangan dua jiwa yang hebat.

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

Orpheus dan Eurydice mencintai satu sama lain sampai ketika mereka berpisah,

Orpheus had understood the pain and joys of lovers everywhere,

Orpheus menjadi memahami kegembiraan dan sakit sepasang kekasih di manapun,

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

dan sebuah karya seni, puisi tentang cinta, terlahir.

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

Saat dunia menangis, Orpheus menemukan kedamaian dan kekasihnya di alam baka.

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

Sampai hari ini, dia berjalan bersama Eurydice di tepi sungai Styx.

Sometimes, they stroll side by side;

Terkadang, mereka berjalan berdampingan;

sometimes, she is in front;

terkadang, dia di depan;

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

dan terkadang, dia memimpin di depan, dan melihat ke belakang kapanpun dia suka.