What really happened to Oedipus? - Stephen Esposito

翻译人员: Lexi Ding 校对人员: Shuhui Huang

Though Oedipus would dodge death, vanquish the monstrous Sphinx,

虽然俄狄浦斯 (Oedipus) 躲过了死亡， 战胜了可怕的狮身人面像，

and whether wrathful plagues,

也战胜了肆虐的瘟疫，

the truth would prove his greatest challenger.

真相将是他最大的挑战。

When Oedipus’ mother, Queen Jocasta of Thebes,

当底比斯 (Thebes) 王后约卡斯特 (Jocasta)

gave birth to him, a grim heir seized the occasion.

生下俄狄浦斯时， 整个场面阴森恐怖。

Her husband, King Laius, had received a prophecy from Apollo’s oracle

她的丈夫拉伊奥斯 (Laius) 国王 收到了阿波罗神谕，

foretelling that he would die at the hands of his own son.

预言他将死于自己儿子之手。

Determined to escape this fate, Laius had the newborn’s ankles pierced,

拉伊奥斯决心逃脱这种命运， 他刺穿了新生儿的脚踝，

and Jocasta ordered a shepherd to abandon him on Mount Cithaeron to perish.

王后约卡斯特命令一名牧羊人 将她儿子抛弃在西塞隆山 ( Mount Cithaeron) 自生自灭。

But divine prophecies can be quite stubborn.

但是神的预言难以破除。

The shepherd took pity on the baby and gave him to to another shepherd—

牧羊人怜悯这个孩子， 把他交给了另一个牧羊人，

this one from Corinth.

另一个牧羊人来自科林斯 (Corinth) 。

He decided to bring the baby to the childless Corinthian king and queen,

他决定把这个孩子送给 没有子女的科林斯国王和王后

Polybus and Merope.

波吕玻斯 (Polybus) 和墨洛珀 (Merope)

They called the boy Oedipus, or “swollen-foot,”

他们给这个男孩取名 为俄狄浦斯或“肿脚”，

and raised him as their own, never revealing his true origin.

并把他当作自己的孩子抚养长大， 从未透露过他的真实出身。

Years passed, till one night,

直到几年后的一天晚上，

a drunken reveler told Oedipus that he was not Polybus and Merope’s son by birth—

宴会上一个醉酒的人告诉俄狄浦斯， 他不是波吕玻斯和墨洛珀的亲生儿子，

an allegation they staunchly denied.

国王夫妇坚决否认了这个说法。

But the seeds of doubt burrowed into Oedipus’ mind.

但俄狄浦斯的心里 种下了怀疑的种子。

He left to seek counsel from Apollo’s oracle at Delphi,

他动身前往特尔斐 (Delphi)， 向阿波罗神谕寻求解答。

who instead delivered a deeply disturbing prophecy:

阿波罗神谕却给出了 一个令人深感不安的预言：

Oedipus would murder his father and have children with his mother.

俄狄浦斯将杀死自己的父亲 并和自己的母亲生下孩子。

Horrified, Oedipus determined to stay far from Corinth

惊恐之下，俄狄浦斯决定远离科林斯

and the only parents he’d ever known.

和科林斯国王与王后， 这是他认知里唯一的父母。

He ventured towards Thebes— and thus, unwittingly,

他冒险前往底比斯—— 于是，在不知不觉中，

towards the city where his birth parents reigned.

他来到了亲生父母统治的地方。

At a crossroads on the way,

在经过一个十字路口时，

a fancy carriage threatened to run Oedipus off the road,

一辆豪华的马车威胁 要将俄狄浦斯撞出道路，

and a lethal fight ensued.

一场致命的战斗随后发生。

Little did Oedipus know, one of the casualties was King Laius of Thebes,

俄狄浦斯根本不知道， 伤亡者之一是底比斯国王拉伊奥斯，

his own birth father.

他自己的亲生父亲。

In killing him, Oedipus had fulfilled the first half of Apollo’s prophecy.

俄狄浦斯杀死了他， 实现了阿波罗预言的前半部分。

When Oedipus reached the gates of Thebes, he was met by the treacherous Sphinx.

当俄狄浦斯到达底比斯城门时， 他遇到了阴险狡诈的斯芬克斯 (Sphinx)。

She’d ravaged the city,

她在这座城市肆虐，

posing a bewildering riddle to those she encountered

给遇到的人出难解的谜语，

and mercilessly devouring all who answered incorrectly.

所有回答错误的人 都会被她无情吞噬。

But when she fixed her keen, expectant gaze on Oedipus,

但是，当她将渴望的、 期待的目光投向俄狄浦斯时，

he gave the correct response.

他给出了正确的答案。

Thebes celebrated the Sphinx's defeat,

底比斯人庆祝斯芬克斯的失败，

and Oedipus married the city's recently widowed queen, Jocasta.

俄狄浦斯迎娶了这座城市 新近丧偶的女王约卡斯特。

They had four children, neither realizing they were, in fact, mother and son—

他们一共生了四个孩子， 既没有意识到他们实际上是母子，

or that they’d completed the second half of Apollo’s prophecy.

也没有意识到他们已经完成了 阿波罗预言的后半部分。

Eventually, a devastating plague descended on Thebes.

最终，一场毁灭性的瘟疫 降临到底比斯城。

To save the city, Oedipus sent his brother-in-law to consult Apollo’s oracle.

为了拯救这座城市，俄狄浦斯 派他的姐夫向阿波罗神谕求助。

She declared that the divine plague would only relent

神谕宣称，要解这场天降瘟疫，

if the killer of Thebes’ previous king, Laius,

只有找出杀害底比斯 前国王拉伊奥斯的凶手，

was finally revealed, then driven out or avenged with blood.

并将其赶出城去或血债血偿才行。

Oedipus hastily opened an investigation.

俄狄浦斯急忙展开了调查。

He interrogated Tiresias, a blind prophet,

他询问了盲人先知提瑞西阿斯 (Tiresias)，

who stayed silent before suggesting that Oedipus himself was the killer.

他一直保持沉默，之后暗示 俄狄浦斯本人就是凶手。

Oedipus denied and deflected the accusation.

俄狄浦斯否认并驳回了这一指控。

But it stuck with him.

但这件事一直困扰着他。

Jocasta likewise insisted that Laius’ killer couldn’t have been Oedipus,

约卡斯特同样坚持认为， 凶手不可能是俄狄浦斯，

for she'd heard that Laius was killed at a crossroads by robbers.

因为她听说拉伊奥斯 是在十字路口被强盗杀死的。

Yet, through conversations with a messenger from Corinth and, finally,

然而，通过与来自科林斯的信使，

the shepherd who’d rescued him as an infant,

以及在婴儿时期救他的 那个牧羊人的谈话，

the truth came bearing down upon Oedipus.

真相落到了俄狄浦斯身上。

In searching for Laius’ murderer, he’d been looking for himself,

一直寻找的 杀害拉伊奥斯的凶手就是他自己。

and Apollo’s prophecy had come to pass, in all its dreadful detail.

而阿波罗的预言最终成真了, 所有的可怖细节都对上了。

Full of fury, resentment, and shame, Oedipus rushed to kill Jocasta—

满心愤怒、怨恨和羞耻的俄狄浦斯 要冲去杀死约卡斯特，

but she too had realized the truth and taken her own life.

但她也意识到了真相， 已经自杀了。

Using brooches from her dress, Oedipus blinded himself in anguish,

俄狄浦斯用她裙子上的胸针， 痛苦地戳瞎了自己的双眼，

expunging his deceitful sense of sight,

抹去了他欺骗性的视觉，

which had kept him from truly seeing so much.

就是这双眼让他无法 真正看到这么多真相。

Oedipus begged for exile,

俄狄浦斯乞求流放，

but was led back into the castle to await word from Apollo’s oracle.

但被带回城堡等待阿波罗神谕。

Thus ends Sophocles’ first play centering Oedipus.

索福克勒斯 (Sophocles) 第一部以俄狄浦斯 为中心的剧本就此结束。

But it wouldn’t be his final word on the tragic hero.

但这并不是他给这位悲剧英雄 安排的最终结局。

Decades later, a roughly 89-year-old Sophocles wrote its sequel,

几十年后，大约 89 岁的 索福克勒斯写下了续集，

set in Colonus, his own birthplace.

背景设定在科洛诺斯 (Colonus) ， 这是他自己的出生地。

It finds Oedipus, now aged and exiled,

续集里的俄狄浦斯， 已经年迈且被流放，

confronted with accusations of incest and patricide.

面对乱伦和弑父的指控，

Oedipus, having accepted the truth and released himself from its shame,

他接受了真相并从耻辱中解脱出来，

proclaims his innocence and maintains that he committed these deeds unwittingly—

他宣称自己无罪， 并坚称自己是在不知情

and unwillingly.

和不情愿的情况下做出的这些事情。

Finally, Oedipus knows it’s time to go— and a divine voice urges him on.

最终，俄狄浦斯知道该走了—— 神圣的声音促使他继续前进。

Having said his loving farewells,

在说了深情的告别之后，

Oedipus then transcends— peacefully and marvelously— into death.

俄狄浦斯平静而奇妙地超脱了死亡。