The myth of Narcissus and Echo - Iseult Gillespie

Translator: Janice Budihartono Reviewer: Maria Nainggolan

Hera, queen of the gods, was on the edge of her throne.

Hera, ratu para dewa, turun dari tahtanya.

A mountain nymph named Echo, renowned for her charm and chatter,

Seorang bidadari gunung bernama Echo, terkenal oleh pesona dan kecakapan bicara,

was regaling her with a sensational story.

menyambutnya dengan cerita sensasional.

But what Hera didn’t know was that Echo was merely distracting her

Tapi Hera tidak tahu bahwa Echo hanya bermaksud mengalihkan perhatiannya

while her husband, Zeus,

sementara suaminya, Zeus,

was frolicking about with the other nymphs.

sedang bersenang-senang dengan para bidadari lainnya.

Unfortunately for Echo, Zeus got sloppy, and Hera realized what was going on.

Malang bagi Echo, Zeus ceroboh, dan Hera menyadari apa yang terjadi.

Enraged by Echo’s duplicity—

Geram dengan ketidakjujuran Echo—

and powerless to stop her husband’s adultery—

dan tak berdaya menghentikan perselingkuhan suaminya—

Hera decided to silence the nymph for good.

Hera memutuskan untuk membungkam bidadari itu selamanya.

From then on, Echo could no longer enrapture listeners with her stories;

Sejak saat itu, Echo tidak dapat memikat para pendengar dengan ceritanya lagi;

she could only repeat the last words another said.

Dia hanya dapat mengulang kata terakhir yang diucapkan orang lain.

As her conversations became dull and her company undesirable,

Percakapannya menjadi membosankan dan kehadirannya tidak diinginkan,

Echo grew dispirited.

Echo menjadi putus asa.

One day, while Echo was drifting through the woods,

Satu hari, ketika Echo melintasi hutan,

she spotted a young man hunting deer.

Ia menemukan seorang pemuda sedang berburu rusa.

It was Narcissus, the stunningly beautiful son of a river god and water nymph.

Itu adalah Narcissus, putra dewa sungai dan bidadari air yang sangat rupawan.

After his birth, a seer had given his mother a cryptic prophecy:

Setelah kelahirannya, seorang peramal memberikan ibunya sebuah nubuat misterius:

Narcissus would live a long life— but only if he never really knew himself.

Narcissus akan berumur panjang— hanya jika ia tidak pernah kenal dirinya.

No one was sure exactly what to make of this.

Tidak ada yang tahu pasti apa yang harus dilakukan.

And, in the meantime, Narcissus grew into a proud youth.

Dan, sementara waktu, Narcissus tumbuh jadi pemuda mengagumkan.

His good looks attracted many admirers.

Ketampanannya menarik banyak pengagum.

But he preferred to amble through life on his own

Tapi ia lebih suka menjalani hidup sendirian

and left a trail of broken hearts in his wake.

dan meninggalkan barisan patah hati di belakang.

Seeing Narcissus there, Echo was filled with longing.

Melihat Narcissus, Echo dipenuhi rasa harap.

Unable to initiate a conversation, she walked after him.

Tidak dapat memulai percakapan, dia berjalan mengikuti Narcissus.

Soon, Narcissus heard a rustle, and called out,

Tak lama, Narcissus mendengar gemeresik, dan berseru

“Who goes there? Who are you?”

“Siapa di sana? Siapa kamu?”

Echo revealed herself, but only repeated the word “you,”

Echo mengungkapkan dirinya, Namun hanya mengulang kata “kamu”,

making her tone as endearing as possible as she went to hold him.

membuat suaranya semenarik mungkin saat ia mencoba memegang Narcissus

Agitated, Narcissus said, “Let me go, I can’t stay.”

Dengan gelisah, Narcissus berkata, “Lepaskan aku, aku tidak bisa tinggal.”

Echo could only counter with a plea for him to do so.

Echo hanya bisa membalas dengan memohon Narcissus untuk tinggal.

Freeing himself from her embrace, Narcissus snapped,

Membebaskan dirinya dari pelukan Echo, Narcissus membentak,

“I’d rather die than have you love me!”

“Aku lebih baik mati daripada kamu mencintai aku!”

To which Echo could only cry, “Love me... love me.”

Hingga Echo hanya bisa menangis, “Cintai aku... cintai aku.”

Narcissus told Echo once more to leave him alone,

Narcissus berkata pada Echo lagi agar tinggalkan dirinya,

then faded from her gaze.

kemudian menghilang dari pandangannya.

Echo wandered to a cave.

Echo mengembara ke sebuah gua.

And gradually, her heart grew heavy and her body frail

Bertahap, perasaannya menjadi berat dan tubuhnya melemah

until all that was left of her was her voice,

sampai yang tersisanya darinya hanyalah suaranya,

which the wind carried to vast, empty places.

yang terbawa angin menyebar luas, ke ruang-ruang kosong.

Forever after, it could be heard reverberating through hollow caves

Selamanya, terdengar menggema melalui gua-gua berlubang

and rebounding across lonely clearings.

dan memantul di antara ruang hampa terpencil.

But this wasn’t even the first time heartbreak over Narcissus

Tapi ini bukan pertama kalinya patah hati terhadap Narcissus

had proven fatal.

berakibat fatal.

A young man named Ameinias had also been cruelly rejected by Narcissus.

Seorang pemuda bernama Ameinias juga ditolak secara kejam oleh Narcissus.

Before his death, he prayed to Nemesis, the goddess of revenge,

Sebelum ia meninggal, ia berdoa kepada Nemesis, sang Dewi Pembalasan,

that Narcissus would also one day know the pain of love.

agar Narcissus suatu hari akan merasakan sakitnya cinta juga.

She heard Ameinias’ pleas and, upon witnessing Echo’s fate,

Dewi mendengar permohonan Ameinias, dan setelah menyaksikan takdir Echo

decided that it would be the final affront.

memutuskan itu akan menjadi kekejaman terakhir kalinya.

It was time for retribution.

Waktunya untuk pembalasan.

So, Nemesis set Narcissus towards a clear, glassy pool.

Jadi, Nemesis mengarahkan Narcissus menuju kolam yang jernih seperti kaca.

As he bent towards the water to drink,

Ketika ia membungkuk ke air untuk minum,

he caught sight of a hauntingly beautiful young man.

ia melihat seorang pemuda yang luar biasa tampan.

Never before had Narcissus seen himself with such clarity.

Narcissus belum pernah sebelumnya melihat dirinya sendiri dengan begitu jelas,

He spent the day acquainting himself with every glinting angle and glowing curl

Ia menghabiskan hari mengenal dirinya dari setiap sudut kilauan yang bersinar

then passed the evening gazing at his reflection by moonlight

kemudian melewati malam memandangi pantulan wajahnya di bawah sinar rembulan

and sleeping with his fingers grazing the water.

dan tertidur dengan jemarinya menyibak air.

Days wore on, and Narcissus never parted from his one true love.

Hari-hari terlewati, Narcissus tak pernah terpisah dari cinta sejatinya.

When he reached out, his double reached for him;

Ketika ia mengulurkan tangan, kembarannya menggapainya;

and when he leaned in to bestow a kiss, he also tilted his face.

saat ia membungkuk untuk memberi ciuman, kembarannya juga memiringkan wajahnya.

But when he tried to hold the bewitching figure, it disappeared.

Tapi saat ia mencoba untuk memegang sosok yang menyihir itu, ia menghilang.

At last, Narcissus knew the agony of unrequited love.

Akhirnya, Narcissus tahu deritanya cinta yang tak terbalaskan.

Eating and drinking nothing, Narcissus too wasted away.

Tidak makan dan minum, Narcissus semakin lemah.

His neck ached from bending over the lake, and his legs became rooted to the grass.

Lehernya kesakitan akibat membungkuk ke danau, dan kakinya berakar pada rumput.

When the wood nymphs finally passed by,

Ketika bidadari hutan melintas,

all that was left of him was a white and yellow flower

yang tertinggal darinya hanyalah bunga putih dan kuning

bending towards its reflection.

membungkuk ke arah pantulannya.

From then on, it was known as narcissus.

Sejak saat itu, dikenal sebagai bunga Narcissus (Dafodil).