The myth of Jason and the Argonauts - Iseult Gillespie

Translator: Klavdija Cernilogar Reviewer: Nika Kotnik

Hercules, the strongest man alive

Herkul, najmočnejši mož na svetu, pa še dobrosrčen za povrh.

with a mighty heart to match.

Orpheus, charmer of nature and master of music.

Orfej, očaral je vso naravo, pa še odličen muzikant je bil.

Castor and Pollux, the twin tricksters hatched from an egg.

Kastor in Poluks, goljufiva dvojčka, ki sta se izvalila iz jajca.

The Boreads, sons of the North Wind

Boreada, sinova severnega vetra, ki sta znala divjati po zraku.

who could hurtle through the air.

For untold times these heroes had roamed ancient Greece,

Neštetokrat so se ti junaki klatili po stari Grčiji

creating new legends wherever they went.

ter za sabo puščali vedno nove legende.

But none of their adventures was so great as when they joined forces

A največjo pustolovščino so doživeli, ko so združili moči

for the sake of a young man named Jason.

za mladeniča po imenu Jazon.

Years before,

Leta predtem je Jazonov stric Pelija brezobzirno prevzel oblast v Tesaliji

Jason’s uncle Pelias had ruthlessly usurped

the throne of Thessaly from Jason’s grandfather.

in izpodrinil Jazonovega dedka.

When Jason returned to his father’s stolen court,

Ko se je Jazon vrnil na ukraden očetov dvor,

the cowardly king set him a seemingly impossible task:

mu je strahopetni kralj dal na videz nemogočo nalogo:

cross the teeming seas to Colchis,

prečkati mora nevarno morje do Kolhide

and steal the golden fleece of a flying ram

in izpred nosa kralja Ejeta ukrasti zlato runo letečega ovna.

under King Aeetes’ nose.

If Jason retrieved the Fleece,

Če Jazon prinese runo,

Pelias promised to relinquish the throne.

je Pelij obljubil, da se odpove prestolu.

Touched by his heroic mission,

Junaški podvig je bogove ganil,

the Gods spread Jason’s call for help,

zato so razširili vest o Jazonovem klicu na pomoč

and soon he had assembled a not-so-motley crew.

in kmalu je imel ob sebi dokaj spodobno ekipo.

These heroes,

Junaki, številni mornarji, vedeži in uporniški polbogovi

alongside countless sailors, soothsayers, and rebel demigods,

named themselves the Argonauts after their sturdy ship.

so se po svoji trdni ladji poimenovali Argonavti.

But the path ahead was marked with untold terrors–

Toda pot je prinesla neštete grozote,

enough to test even the fiercest heroes.

hude celo za največje junake.

Their first stop was Lemnos,

Prva postaja je bil Lemnos, otok, kjer so ženske pobile vse moške.

an isle of women who had killed all the island’s men.

As punishment,

Za kazen jim je Afrodita zadala prekletstvo neznosnega smradu,

Aphrodite had cursed them with a sickening stench–

but that didn’t stop Jason fathering twins with the queen.

toda to Jazona ni ustavilo. S kraljico sta zaplodila dvojčke.

The rest of the crew also found themselves embroiled in new romances;

Tudi ostala posadka se je zapletla v nove romance,

until Hercules chastised them for not behaving like heroes.

dokler jih Herkul ni okaral, da se ne obnašajo kot junaki.

Eventually, they sailed on to the Mount of Bears,

Potem so odpluli na Medvedjo goro,

an island where a group of ancient, six-armed monsters

otok, na katerem so antične šestoroke pošasti

lived alongside the peaceful Doliones.

živele poleg miroljubnih Dolijonov.

While the clan welcomed the Argonauts with open arms,

Klan je Argonavte sprejel z odprtimi rokami,

the monsters surged down from the mountains

pošasti pa so pridrvele z gora

and hurled rocks at the docked ship.

in metale kamenje na zasidrano ladjo.

Hercules held them off single-handedly,

Herkul je z njimi opravil sam,

before his comrades joined the fray.

preden so se mu pridružili soborci.

Bolstered by their victory, the triumphant heroes sailed onward–

Opogumljeni z zmago, so junaki odjadrali naprej,

only to be blown back to the island several stormy nights later.

a so jih nevihtni vetrovi po več nočeh potisnili nazaj na otok.

In the tempest,

Zaradi nevihte so Dolijoni mislili, da so prišleki okupatorji.

the Doliones thought these new arrivals invaders.

The Argonauts were similarly unaware of their surroundings,

Tudi Argonavti niso vedeli, kje so,

and fought blunderingly in the dark, slaying wave after wave of foe.

zato so se v temi borili in opravili s trumami nasprotnikov.

But the morning light revealed a horrible truth:

Toda jutro je razkrilo grozno resnico:

their victims were none other than their previous hosts.

njihove žrtve so bili njihovi prejšnji gostitelji.

Yet again,

Jazon je bil spet dovolil posadki, da ni bila zbrana,

Jason had allowed the crew to be distracted,

this time at a terrible cost.

tokrat s hudimi posledicami.

Ashamed at his conduct,

Osramočen se je odločil, da se bo osredotočil le na runo,

he resolved to focus only on the Fleece,

but even this haste proved ruinous.

a celo to se je izkazalo za uničujoče.

When Hercules’ squire was abducted by a water nymph,

Ko je Herkulovega oprodo ugrabila vodna nimfa,

Jason sailed on–

je Jazon jadral naprej - ne vedoč, da je ostal brez najmočnejšega soborca.

oblivious to the absence of his most powerful crewmate.

The remaining Argonauts continued their quest,

Ostali Argonavti so nadaljevali svojo pot

until stopping at the sight

ter se ustavili ob starcu, ki so ga obkrožale harpije.

of an old man surrounded by a swirl of harpies.

This was Phineas, a seer cursed by Zeus

To je bil Finej, videc, ki ga je Zevs kaznoval s starostjo, slepoto

to endure old age, blindness, and endless torture

ter večnim mučenjem, zato ker je ljudem razkrival prihodnost.

for giving away his prophecies.

Moved by his plight, the wind brothers set upon the flock,

Pretresena nad videnim, sta brata vetrov napadla harpije

providing Phineas with a brief respite from his punishment.

ter Fineju začasno olajšala trpljenje.

In return,

V zahvalo

the seer told them how to overcome the terrifying trial that lay ahead:

jim je videc povedal, kako premagati najtežjo preizkušnjo pred njimi:

the Symplegades,

kako priti skozi dve ogromni skali, ki sta ladje drobili v trske.

a pair clashing rocks that reduced ships to splinters.

But first,

Toda najprej so Argonavti morali pluti mimo vrat v pekel,

the Argonauts would have to maneuver past the mouth of hell,

around the island of the bloodthirsty Amazons,

okoli otoka krvoločnih Amazonk ter pod psihedeličnim nebom.

and under psychedelic skies.

These adventures cost the crew both in men and morale–

Te pustolovščine so zahtevale življenja in moralo mož

and some feared they might be losing their minds.

in nekateri so se bali, da bodo ob pamet.

Upon reaching the clashing rocks, the exhausted crew quaked with fear.

Ko so utrujeni prišli do trkajočih skal, so bili vsi iz sebe od strahu.

But Phineas’ advice rang in their heads.

A spomnili so se Finejevega nasveta.

The Argonauts released a single dove

Argonavti so spustili golobico

and sped through in its wake to emerge unscathed.

in ji hitro sledili med skalama. Rešili so se.

With this narrow escape,

Po tem srečnem prehodu so pred seboj imeli Kolhido.

the Argonauts finally had Colchis in their sights.

Yet while Jason rested and celebrated with his crew,

A ko je Jazon počival in se veselil z ekipo,

he could feel his time among them was drawing to a close.

je čutil, da se njegov čas med njimi končuje.

As the fleece gleamed in his mind,

Jasno mu je bilo, da bo tako želeno runo moral dobiti sam.

he knew he would have to retrieve it alone.

But he could not guess that this final task

Vendar pa ni mogel vedeti,

da bo za to zadnjo nalogo plačal najbolj grozljivo ceno.

would have the most horrible price of all.