The myth of King Midas and his golden touch - Iseult Gillespie

Prevodilac: Milenka Okuka Lektor: Mile Živković

With his harebrained schemes and asinine dealings with the gods,

Svojim nepromišlejnim shemama i budalastim odnosom prema bogovima,

King Midas ruled the ancient kingdom of Phrygia with an uneven hand.

kralj Mida je vladao antičkim kraljevstvom Frigija nepravednom rukom.

He was known in Greek mythology as a rogue ruler

Bio je čuven u grčkoj mitologiji kao podao vladar

whose antics bemused his people and distracted the gods.

čije su ludorije zabavljale njegov narod i zbunjivale bogove.

Midas spent his days in a stupor of splendor,

Mida je provodio svoje dane uljuljkan u sjaju,

spoiling himself and his beloved daughter and gorging himself on feasts and wine.

udovoljavajući sebi i svojoj dragoj kćerki i prežderavajući se gozbama i vinom.

Unsurprisingly, he felt an affinity with Dionysus,

Ne iznenađuje da je osećao naklonost prema Dionisu,

god of wine, carnival, and performance.

bogu vina, karnevala i predstava.

One day, Midas discovered a satyr

Jednog dana Mida je zatekao satira

dozing in his rose garden and drunk on more than the scent of flowers.

kako drema u njegovom ružiku, opijen nečim jačim od mirisa ruža.

Midas recognized the satyr as one of Dionysus’s followers

Mida je prepoznao satira kao jednog od Dionisovih sledbenika

and let him nurse his hangover at the palace.

i dozvolio mu je da zaleči mamurluk u njegovoj palati.

Pleased with the king’s hospitality, Dionysus offered to grant him one wish.

Zadovoljan kraljevim gostoprimstvom, Dionis je ponudio da mu ispuni želju.

Midas cast a greedy eye over his surroundings.

Mida je bacio pohlepan pogled na svoje okruženje.

Despite the luxury in which he lived,

Uprkos luksuzu u kom je živeo,

no amount of precious jewels, finest silk or splendid decor felt like enough.

nikakva količina dragulja, najfinije svile ili sjajnog dekora nije bila dovoljna.

His life, he thought, was lacking luster; what he needed was more gold.

Njegovom životu, mislio je, falio je sjaj; bilo mu je potrebno još zlata.

The god sent the power to turn anything the king touched to gold

Bog je poslao moć kroz Midino telo da se sve što on dotakne pretvori u zlato.

surging through Midas.

Ecstatic, he turned to his possessions.

U ekstazi, okrenuo se svojim nepokretnostima.

At his lightest touch, the palace walls transformed,

Najovlašnijim dodirom zidovi palate bi se preobratili,

stone statues shone,

kameni kipovi su sijali,

and goblets glittered.

a pehari su bleštali.

He galloped through his home in a frenzy,

Hrlio je pomamno kroz svoj dom,

handling each item until it took on a lustrous sheen.

rukujući svakim predmetom dok se ne pretvori u bleštavi sjaj.

Soon the palace heaved with gold,

Uskoro je palata bila krcata zlatom,

and Midas’s delirious laughter echoed off the walls.

a Midin delirični smeh je odjekivao zidovima.

Exhausted and hungry from his rampage,

Iscrpljen i gladan od džumbusa,

Midas picked up a bunch of grapes from his newly gilded fruit bowl.

Mida je podigao grozd sa tek pozlaćene činije za voće.

But he nearly shattered his teeth,

No, skoro da je polomio zube

for the fruit had turned to metal in his mouth.

jer se voće pretvorilo u metal u njegovim ustima.

When he picked up a loaf of bread, the crumbs hardened in his hand.

Kada je podigao veknu hleba, mrve su se stvrdnjavale u njegovoj ruci.

Flinging himself onto his bed in frustration,

Kada se isfrustriran bacio na krevet,

Midas discovered his plush pillows had morphed into solid gold.

Mida je otkrio kako su se njegovi plišani jastuci pretvorili u čisto zlato.

Hearing his cries of frustration, his daughter entered the room.

Čuvši njegove očajne krike, njegova kćerka je ušla u prostoriju.

But when Midas reached out to her,

Međutim, kada je Mida posegao za njom,

he saw with horror that he had frozen her into a golden statue.

sa užasom je uvideo da ju je zamrznuo u zlatni kip.

Horrified at what he had done,

Užasnut onim što je učinio,

Midas begged the gods to rid him of his power.

Mida je preklinjao bogove da ga oslobode njegove moći.

Taking pity on the foolish king,

Sažalivši se na budalastog kralja,

Dionysus told Midas to wash his hands in the River Pactolus.

Dionis je rekao Midi da opere ruke u reci Paktol.

When Midas reached into the river, the gold drained from his fingertips.

Kada je Mida ušao u reku, zlato mu se iscedilo sa prstiju.

Midas returned home to find his daughter alive

Mida se vratio kući da bi zatekao živu kćerku

and his palace back to normal, and he rejoiced.

i njegovu palatu u normalnom stanju te je likovao.

You’d think he would’ve learned his lesson,

Pomislili biste da je izvukao pouku,

but just a few weeks later, Midas blundered again,

no svega nekoliko nedelja kasnije, Mida je ponovo zgrešio,

insulting the music and sun god Apollo when he declared Pan a greater musician.

vređajući muziku i boga sunca Apolona, proglasivši Pana boljim muzičarem.

Apollo scornfully declared that the king must have the ears of an ass

Apolon je uvređeno izjavio kako kralj mora da ima uši magarca

to make such a misjudgment, and transformed Midas accordingly.

čim je napravio tako lošu procenu, te je Midu preobrazio u skladu s tim.

Once again regretting his behavior,

Ponovo, kajući se zbog svog ponašanja,

Midas kept his hairy ears hidden in public.

Mida je skrivao svoje dlakave uši od javnosti.

They were seen only by his barber,

Jedino ih je video njegov berberin,

who was sworn to secrecy during a very awkward grooming session.

koji se zakleo na ćutanje tokom jedne veoma neprijatne seanse brijanja.

The barber stifled his laughter and fought the desire to tell someone,

Berberin je prigušivao smeh i borio se protiv poriva da nekome kaže,

yet the secret consumed him.

međutim, tajna ga je obuzela.

One day, he walked outside the city and dug a hole in the ground.

Jednog dana šetao je van grada i iskopao rupu u zemlji.

Plunging his head into the earth,

Zabivši glavu u zemlju,

the desperate barber whispered, “Midas has ass’s ears.”

očajni berberin je šaputao: "Mida ima magareće uši."

Soon after, a clump of reeds sprang up

Nedugo potom, iznikao je žbun trske

in the spot where the barber had buried his words.

na mestu na kom je berberin zakopao svoje reči.

When the wind blew, they carried the echoes of his whisper through the breeze:

Kada bi duvao vetar, nosio bi eho njegovog šapata na povetarcu:

"Midas has ass’s ears."

"Mida ima magareće uši."

At the sound, donkeys in the fields raised their heads in recognition

Na taj zvuk, magarci u polju bi podizali glave u znak prepoznavanja,

and people chuckled to themselves at the follies of their king.

a ljudi su se u sebi kikotali budalaštinama njihovog kralja.

With his golden touch and ass’s ears, Midas was not the most respected ruler.

Zbog zlatnog dodira i magarećih ušiju, Mida nije bio nacenjeniji vladar.

And where other leaders were honored through statues and temples,

I dok su drugim vođama odavali poštu putem kipova i hramova,

his people remembered him a little differently:

njegov narod ga je upamtio malo drugačije:

in the depths of the glittering river and the rustle of the Phrygian wind.

u dubinama svetlucave reke i na žagoru frigijskog vetra.