History vs. Cleopatra - Alex Gendler

Istorija protiv Kleopatre - Aleks Džendler (Alex Gendler)

Prevodilac: Milenka Okuka Lektor: Mile Živković

"Order, order.

"Mir, mir.

So who do we have here?"

Dakle, koga imamo ovde?"

"Your Honor, this is Cleopatra,

"Časni sude, ovo je Kleopatra,

the Egyptian queen whose lurid affairs destroyed two of Rome's finest generals

egipatska kraljica čije su sumorne afere uništile dva najbolja rimska generala

and brought the end of the Republic."

i okončale Republiku."

"Your Honor, this is Cleopatra,

"Časni sude, ovo je Kleopatra,

one of the most powerful women in history

jedna od najmoćnijih žena u istoriji

whose reign brought Egypt nearly 22 years of stability and prosperity."

čija je vladavina donela Egiptu skoro 22 godine stabilnosti i prosperiteta."

"Uh, why don't we even know what she looked like?"

"Uh, zašto čak ni ne znamo kako je izgledala?"

"Most of the art and descriptions came long after her lifetime

"Većina umetničkih dela i opisa potiče dugo nakon njenog života

in the first century BCE,

u prvom veku p.n.e.

just like most of the things written about her."

baš kao i većina zapisa o njoj."

"So what do we actually know?

"Pa, šta zaista znamo?"

Cleopatra VII was the last of the Ptolemaic dynasty,

"Kleopatra VII je bila poslednja iz dinastije Ptolomejida,

a Macedonian Greek family that governed Egypt

makedonsko-grčke porodice koja je vladala Egiptom

after its conquest by Alexander the Great.

nakon što ga je osvojio Aleksandar Veliki.

She ruled jointly in Alexandria with her brother-

Vladala je Aleksandrijom zajedno s bratom -

to whom she was also married-

s kojim je takođe bila venčana -

until he had her exiled."

dok je nije prognao."

"But what does all this have to do with Rome?"

"Ali kakve sve ovo ima veze s Rimom?"

"Egypt had long been a Roman client state,

"Egipat je dugo bio rimska klijentska država

and Cleopatra's father incurred large debts to the Republic.

i Kleopatrin otac je napravio velike dugove Republici.

After being defeated by Julius Caesar in Rome's civil war,

Nakon što ga je Julije Cezar porazio u građanskom ratu,

the General Pompey sought refuge in Egypt

general Pompej je zatražio utočište u Egiptu,

but was executed by Cleopatra's brother instead."

ali ga je pogubio Kleopatrin brat."

"Caesar must have liked that."

"To mora da se svidelo Cezaru."

"Actually, he found the murder unseemly and demanded repayment of Egypt's debt.

"Zapravo, smatrao je ubistvo neprikladnim i zahtevao je od Egipta da plati dug.

He could have annexed Egypt,

Mogao je da aneksira Egipat,

but Cleopatra convinced him to restore her to the throne instead."

ali ga je Kleopatra ubedila da umesto toga nju vrati na presto."

"We hear she was quite convincing."

"Čujemo da je bila prilično ubedljiva."

"And why not? Cleopatra was a fascinating woman.

"Zašto ne? Kleopatra je bila fascinantna žena.

She commanded armies at 21,

Zapovedala je armijama s 21 godinu,

spoke several languages,

govorila nekoliko jezika

and was educated in a city with the world's finest library

i obrazovana je u gradu s najboljom bibliotekom na svetu

and some of the greatest scholars of the time."

i od strane najboljih učenjaka tog vremena."

"Hmm."

"Hm."

"She kept Caesar lounging in Egypt for months when Rome needed him."

"Zbog nje se Cezar izležavao u Egiptu mesecima dok je Rimu bio potreban."

"Caesar did more than lounge.

"Cezar se nije samo izležavao.

He was fascinated by Egypt's culture and knowledge,

Bio je fasciniran egipatskom kulturom i znanjem,

and he learned much during his time there.

i mnogo je naučio dok je bio tamo.

When he returned to Rome, he reformed the calendar,

Kada se vratio u Rim reformisao je kalendar,

commissioned a census,

naručio je popis,

made plans for a public library,

napravio planove za javnu biblioteku,

and proposed many new infrastructure projects."

i predložio je mnoge nove infrastrukturne projekte."

"Yes, all very ambitious, exactly what got him assassinated."

"Da, sve je to veoma ambiciozno, upravo je zbog toga ubijen."

"Don't blame the Queen for Rome's strange politics.

"Ne krivi kraljicu zbog rimske čudne politike.

Her job was ruling Egypt, and she did it well.

Njen posao je bio da vlada Egiptom i dobro ga je obavljala.

She stabilized the economy,

Stabilizovala je ekonomiju,

managed the vast bureaucracy,

upravljala je ogromnom birokratijom

and curbed corruption by priests and officials.

i obuzdala je korupciju među sveštenstvom i zvaničnicima.

When drought hit, she opened the granaries to the public

Kada je došlo do suše, otvorila je žitnice za javnost

and passed a tax amnesty,

i usvojila oproštaj poreza,

all while preserving her kingdom's stability and independence

uz to čuvajući stabilnost i nezavisnost svog kraljevstva

with no revolts during the rest of her reign."

bez pobuna tokom ostatka njene vladavine."

"So what went wrong?"

"Pa, šta je krenulo po zlu?"

"After Caesar's death, this foreign Queen couldn't stop meddling in Roman matters."

"Nakon Cezarove smrti, ova strana kraljica se neprestano mešala u rimska pitanja."

"Actually, it was the Roman factions who came demanding her aid.

"Zapravo su rimske frakcije prišle njoj, zahtevajući pomoć.

And of course she had no choice but to support Octavian and Marc Antony

I, naravno, nije imala izbora već da podrži Oktavijana i Marka Antonija

in avenging Caesar, if only for the sake of their son."

da bi osvetili Cezara, barem zbog njihovog sina."

"And again, she provided her particular kind of support to Marc Antony."

"I opet, pružila je naročit vid pomoći Marku Antoniju."

"Why does that matter?

"Zašto je to važno?

Why doesn't anyone seem to care about

Zašto se čini da niko ne mari

Caesar or Antony's countless other affairs?

za Cezarove i Antonijeve brojne druge afere?

Why do we assume she instigated the relationships?

Zašto pretpostavljamo da je ona podsticala te veze?

And why are only powerful women defined by their sexuality?"

I zašto jedino moćne žene definišu po njihovoj seksualnosti?"

"Order."

"Mir."

"Cleopatra and Antony were a disaster.

"Kleopatra i Antonije su bili katastrofa.

They offended the Republic with their ridiculous celebrations

Uvredili su Republiku svojim smešnim proslavama,

sitting on golden thrones

sedeli su na zlatnim prestolima

and dressing up as gods

i oblačili se kao bogovi,

until Octavian had all of Rome convinced of their megalomania."

dok Oktavijan nije čitav Rim ubedio u njihovu megalomaniju."

"And yet Octavian was the one who attacked Antony,

"Pa ipak, Oktavijan je taj koji je napao Antonija,

annexed Egypt,

aneksirao Egipat

and declared himself Emperor.

i proglasio se za cara.

It was the Roman's fear of a woman in power that ended their Republic,

Rimski strah od ženske vladavine je okončao njihovu republiku,

not the woman herself."

ne žena lično."

"How ironic."

"Kakva ironija."

Cleopatra's story survived mainly in the accounts of her enemies in Rome,

Kleopatrina priča je preživela uglavnom u zapisima njenih neprijatelja iz Rima,

and later writers filled the gaps with rumors and stereotypes.

a kasniji pisci su popunjavali praznine tračevima i stereotipima.

We may never know the full truth of her life and her reign,

Možda nikad nećemo znati punu istinu o njenom životu i njenoj vladavini,

but we can separate fact from rumor by putting history on trial.

ali možemo da odvojimo činjenice od tračeva, stavljajući istoriju na sud.