The tragic myth of Orpheus and Eurydice - Brendan Pelsue

Translator: Chien Yet Chong Reviewer: Nor Aliyyah Abd Gani

It was the perfect wedding, the guests thought.

Ia merupakan perkahwinan yang sempurna,

sangka para tetamu

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

Pengantin lelaki ialah Orfeus,

penyajak dan pemuzik yang terunggul.

The bride Eurydice, a wood nymph.

Pengantin perempuan ialah Euridice,

seorang nimfa hutan.

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

Sesiapa pun tahu bahawa pasangan itu

sedang dilamun cinta

Suddenly, Eurydice stumbled, then fell to the ground.

Tiba-tiba, Euridice tersungkur

lalu jatuh ke tanah.

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

Apabila Orfeus bergegas ke sisinya,

dia telah meninggal dunia

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

dan ular yang telah menggigitnya itu

lari menyelinap ke dalam semak.

Following Eurydice’s funeral,

Selepas upacara pengebumian Euridice,

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

Orfeus dirundung kesedihan

Sehingga dunia tidak dapat menghalangnya

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

oleh itu dia bertindak untuk pergi

ke alam maut,

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

tempat yang mana tiada makhluk hidup

pernah kembali, demi menyelamatkan kekasihnya.

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

Apabila Orfeus tiba di pintu gerbang

alam mati, dia mula memetik lyrenya.

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

irama itu begitu indah sehingga Cerberus,

anjing berkepala tiga yang menjaga orang mati,

lay down as Orpheus passed.

berbaring apabila Orfeus lalu dihadapannya.

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

Charon, nakhoda feri yang kenakan bayaran

terhadap roh mati untuk melintasi Sungai Styx,

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

begitu terharu oleh muzik itu sehingga dia

mengangkut Orfeus tanpa bayaran.

When Orpheus entered the palace of Hades and Persephone,

Sebaik sahaja Orfeus memasuki

istana Hades dan Persefone,

the king and queen of the dead,

raja dan ratu alam maut,

he began to sing.

dia mula menyanyi.

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

Nyanyiannya tentang cintanya kepada Euridice,

bahawa nyawanya diambil terlalu awal.

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

Harinya akan tiba juga apabila dia,

seperti semua makhluk hidup,

dwelled in the land of the dead for all eternity,

akan hidup di alam maut buat selama-lamanya,

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

jadi tidakkah dapat Hades memberikannya

beberapa tahun lagi di bumi?

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

Sejurus selepas Orfeus selesai,

seluruh neraka berhenti sejenak.

Sisyphus no longer rolled his rock up the hill.

Sisifus tidak lagi menggolek batunya

naik ke atas bukit,

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

Tantalus tidak lagi mencapai air

yang dia dilarang untuk minum.

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

Malah Furies,

dewi-dewi dendam yang jahat, pun menangis.

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

Hades dan Persefone memenuhi

rayuan Orfeus, dengan satu syarat.

As he climbed back out of the underworld,

Semasa dia mendaki kembali dari alam maut,

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

dia tidak boleh menoleh ke belakang

untuk tengok sama ada Euridice mengikutinya.

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

Jika dia berbuat demikian, dia akan kembali

ke alam maut buat selama-lamanya.

Orpheus began to climb.

Orfeus mula mendaki.

With each step,

Dengan setiap langkahnya,

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

dia semakin risau sama ada Euridice

berada di belakangnya.

He heard nothing— where were her footsteps?

Dia tidak dapat dengar apa-apa pun --

di manakah bunyi tapak kakinya?

Finally, just before he stepped out of the underworld

Akhirnya, apabila dia dekat pintu keluar

alam maut,

and into the bright light of day,

dan menuju ke cahaya terang siang hari,

he gave into temptation.

dia mengalah kepada godaan.

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

Orfeus cuba untuk kembali ke alam maut,

tetapi tidak dibenarkan masuk.

Separated from Eurydice,

Berpisah daripada Euridice,

Orpheus swore never to love another woman again.

Orfeus bersumpah tidak akan lagi

mencintai wanita yang lain.

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

Sebaliknya, dia duduk di kawasan pepohon

dan mendendangkan lagu kekasih.

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

Lagunya tentang Ganimede, jejaka yang tampan,

Zeus menjadikannya pembawa minuman dewa-dewi.

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

Terdapat juga tentang Mirah, dia dihukum kerana

mencintai ayahnya,

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

dan Pigmalion, yang mengukir

wanita idamanya daripada gading,

then prayed to Venus until she came to life.

lalu berdoa kepada Venus

sehingga patung tersebut hidup.

And there was Venus herself,

Dan juga tentang Venus,

whose beautiful Adonis was killed by a wild boar.

kekasihnya Adonis yang kacak

dibunuh oleh seekor babi hutan.

It was as if Orpheus’s own love and loss

Seolah-olah cinta dan kehilangan yang dialami Orfeus

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

membuatkannya dapat melihat ke dalam

hati dewa-dewi dan manusia di semua tempat.

For some, however, poetry was not enough.

Namun, bagi sesetengah orang, sajak tidak memadai.

A group of wild women called the Maenads

Sekumpulan wanita liar yang dipanggil Maenad

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

tidak dapat menerima hakikat bahawa

seorang penyajak yang lagu cintanya begitu merdu

would not love them.

tidak ingin mencintai mereka.

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

Perasaan cemburu mereka membuatkan

mereka gila lalu membunuh Orfeus.

The birds, nature’s singers, mourned Orpheus,

Burung-burung, penyanyi alam semula jadi,

berkabung demi Orfeus,

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

begitu juga sungai-sungai,

yang menghasilkan irama semasa mengalir.

The world had lost two great souls.

Dunia telah kehilangan dua jiwa yang agung.

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

Begitu dalamnya cinta antara Orfeus dan Euridice

sehingga apabila mereka terpisah,

Orpheus had understood the pain and joys of lovers everywhere,

Orfeus dapat memahami suka dan duka

kekasih di mana-mana sahaja.

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

dan sejenis bentuk seni baharu,

puisi cinta, pun lahirlah.

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

Semasa dunia bersedih, Orfeus mendapat

ketenangan dan kekasihnya, di alam maut.

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

Di sana, sehingga ke hari ini, dia bersama dengan Euridice

bersiar-siar di tebing Sungai Styx.

Sometimes, they stroll side by side;

Kadang-kadang mereka berdampingan;

sometimes, she is in front;

kadangkala, Euridici di depan;

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

dan sekali-sekala, Orfeus memimpinnya,

menoleh kebelakang sekerap yang dia ingini.