The tragic myth of Orpheus and Eurydice - Brendan Pelsue

Prevodilac: Milenka Okuka Lektor: Mile Živković

It was the perfect wedding, the guests thought.

Venčanje je bilo savršeno, mislili su gosti.

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

Mladoženja je bio Orfej, najveći od svih pesnika i muzičara.

The bride Eurydice, a wood nymph.

Mlada je bila Euridika, šumska nimfa.

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

Svima je bilo jasno da je par istinski i duboko zaljubljen.

Suddenly, Eurydice stumbled, then fell to the ground.

Iznenada, Euridika se zateturala, a potom pala na zemlju.

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

Dok je Orfej stigao do nje, bila je mrtva,

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

a zmija koja je ugrizla gmizala je dalje kroz travu.

Following Eurydice’s funeral,

Nakon Euridikine sahrane,

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

Orfej je bio ophrvan bolom koga svet ljudi nije mogao da obuzda,

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

pa je odlučio da otputuje u zemlju mrtvih,

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

u mesto iz kojeg se nijedno živo biće nije vratilo ikada, kako bi spasio voljenu.

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

Kada je Orfej stigao do kapija Podzemlja, počeo je da svira na liri.

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

Muzika je bila toliko lepa da je Kerber, troglavi pas koji je stražario mrtvima,

lay down as Orpheus passed.

prilegao dok je Orfej prolazio.

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

Haron, lađar koji je naplaćivao mrtvim dušama da pređu reku Stiks,

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

bio je toliko dirnut muzikom da je prevezao Orfeja bez naknade.

When Orpheus entered the palace of Hades and Persephone,

Kada je Orfej ušao u dvorac Hada i Persefone,

the king and queen of the dead,

kralja i kraljice mrtvih,

he began to sing.

počeo je da peva.

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

Pevao je o svojoj ljubavi prema Euridiki i rekao kako je otrgnuta suviše rano.

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

Stigao bi dan kada će, kao i sva živa bića,

dwelled in the land of the dead for all eternity,

počivati u zemlji mrtvih za čitavu večnost,

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

pa zar joj Had nije mogao udeliti bar još nekoliko godina na Zemlji?

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

U trenutku kada je Orfej završio, čitav pakao je stajao mirno.

Sisyphus no longer rolled his rock up the hill.

Sizif više nije kotrljao svoju stenu uz brdo.

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

Tantal nije posezao za vodom, koja će mu zauvek biti zabranjena za piće.

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

Čak su i Furije, demonske boginje osvete, plakale.

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

Had i Persefona su uslišili Orfejevu molbu, ali pod jednim uslovom.

As he climbed back out of the underworld,

Dok bude izlazio iz podzemnog sveta,

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

ne sme da se osvrne unazad da vidi da li ga Euridika prati.

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

Ako se osvrne, ona će se vratiti u zemlju mrtvih zauvek.

Orpheus began to climb.

Orfej je počeo da se penje.

With each step,

Svakim korakom,

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

bio je sve više zabrinut da li je Euridika iza njega.

He heard nothing— where were her footsteps?

Nije čuo bilo šta - gde je zvuk njenih stopa?

Finally, just before he stepped out of the underworld

Konačno, baš pre nego što je iskoračio iz podzemnog sveta

and into the bright light of day,

na svetlost dana,

he gave into temptation.

popustio je pred iskušenjem.

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

Orfej je pokušao da se vrati u podzemlje, ali mu nije dozvoljen ulazak.

Separated from Eurydice,

Razdvojen od Euridike,

Orpheus swore never to love another woman again.

Orfej se zakleo da neće voleti drugu ženu nikad više.

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

Umesto toga, sedeo je među drvećem i pevao pesme o ljubavnicima.

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

Pevao je o Ganimedu, prelepom dečaku koga je Zevs pretvorio u slugu za bogove.

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

Pevao je o Mirni, koja je volela svog oca i bila kažnjena zbog toga

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

i Pigmalionu, koji je isklesao sebi idealnu ženu od slonovače,

then prayed to Venus until she came to life.

potom se molio Veneri sve dok nije oživela.

And there was Venus herself,

A pevao je i o samoj Veneri,

whose beautiful Adonis was killed by a wild boar.

čijeg je prelepog Adonisa ubio vepar.

It was as if Orpheus’s own love and loss

Činilo se da Orfejeva lična ljubav i gubitak

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

mu dozvoljavaju da prozre u srca bogova i ljudi svuda.

For some, however, poetry was not enough.

Nekima, međutim, poezija nije bila dovoljna.

A group of wild women called the Maenads

Grupa divljih žena, po imenu Menade,

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

nije mogla da podnese misao na to da pesnik koji tako divno peva o ljubavi

would not love them.

ne voli njih.

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

Mahnite od ljubomore uništile su jadnog Orfeja.

The birds, nature’s singers, mourned Orpheus,

Ptice, pevači prirode, oplakivale su Orfeja,

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

kao i reke, koje su žuborenjem stvarale muziku.

The world had lost two great souls.

Svet je izgubio dve velike duše.

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

Orfej i Euridika su se toliko voleli da kada su rastavljeni,

Orpheus had understood the pain and joys of lovers everywhere,

Orfej je razumeo bol i užitke ljubavnika odasvuda,

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

i novi umetnički oblik, ljubavna pesma, je rođen.

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

Dok je svet plakao, Orfej je našao mir i svoju drugu polovinu u podzemlju.

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

Tu i dan-danas on šeta s Euridikom duž obala reke Stiks.

Sometimes, they stroll side by side;

Ponekad šetaju bok uz bok;

sometimes, she is in front;

ponekad je ona ispred njega;

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

a ponekad on ide ispred, osvrćući se nazad na nju koliko mu je volja.