The myth of Icarus and Daedalus - Amy Adkins

翻译人员: Heran Zhao 校对人员: Lipeng Chen

In mythological ancient Greece,

在古希腊神话中,

soaring above Crete on wings made from wax and feathers,

代达罗斯之子伊卡洛斯，

用蜡与羽毛做的翅膀飞越克里特岛,

Icarus, the son of Daedalus, defied the laws of both man and nature.

藐视了人类与自然法则。

Ignoring the warnings of his father, he rose higher and higher.

他无视父亲的警告，飞向高空，

To witnesses on the ground, he looked like a god,

在看到他的人的眼中，他像神一样，

and as he peered down from above, he felt like one, too.

他向下俯视的时候，也觉得自己如神一般。

But, in mythological ancient Greece,

但是，在古希腊神话中,

the line that separated god from man was absolute

人与神之间界线分明，

and the punishment for mortals who attempted to cross it was severe.

试图越界的凡人会受到严厉的惩罚。

Such was the case for Icarus and Daedalus.

伊卡洛斯和代达罗斯就是一个例子。

Years before Icarus was born,

在伊卡洛斯出生前多年，

his father Daedalus was highly regarded as a genius inventor,

他的父亲代达罗斯在他的家乡雅典，

craftsman,

被尊为天才创造家，工匠，

and sculptor in his homeland of Athens.

和雕刻家。

He invented carpentry and all the tools used for it.

他发明了木工手艺和其需要的工具。

He designed the first bathhouse

他设计了世界上第一个浴室，和第一个舞池。

and the first dance floor.

He made sculptures so lifelike that Hercules mistook them for actual men.

他雕刻的雕塑让人栩栩如生，

让大力神误以为那是个真人。

Though skilled and celebrated, Daedalus was egotistical and jealous.

尽管代达罗斯技术高明且声誉卓著，

但是他却是一个自我主义又善妒的人。

Worried that his nephew was a more skillful craftsman,

代达罗斯担心他的外甥比他更出色，

Daedalus murdered him.

于是代达罗斯杀害了他。

As punishment, Daedalus was banished from Athens and made his way to Crete.

作为惩罚，代达罗斯被驱逐出雅典， 前往克里特岛。

Preceded by his storied reputation,

出于他以前显著的名声，

Daedalus was welcomed with open arms by Crete's King Minos.

代达罗斯受到了国王米诺斯的欢迎。

There, acting as the palace technical advisor,

在那里，他成为了宫廷技术顾问，

Daedalus continued to push the boundaries.

代达罗斯做着不断地突破。

For the king's children,

他为国王的孩子们制造了 一个个活灵活现的机械玩具。

he made mechanically animated toys that seemed alive.

He invented the ship's sail and mast, which gave humans control over the wind.

他发明了船帆和桅杆，使人们能够操纵风。

With every creation, Daedalus challenged human limitations

他的每一个发明都缩短了人与神之间的距离，

that had so far kept mortals separate from gods,

until finally, he broke right through.

直到最后，他直接穿过了那条界线。

King Minos's wife, Pasiphaë, had been cursed by the god Poseidon

米诺斯国王的妻子帕西淮，

被海神波塞冬诅咒，

to fall in love with the king's prized bull.

与国王的公牛坠入爱河。

Under this spell, she asked Daedalus to help her seduce it.

在法术的影响下， 她请求代达罗斯帮助她勾引公牛。

With characteristic audacity, he agreed.

出于代达罗斯大胆的性格，他应允了。

Daedalus constructed a hollow wooden cow

他造了一个空心的木牛以假乱真，

so realistic that it fooled the bull.

公牛被他造的木牛所愚弄。

With Pasiphaë hiding inside Daedalus's creation,

帕西淮藏在木牛里，

she conceived and gave birth to the half-human half-bull minotaur.

她怀孕并生下了一个人身牛头怪。

This, of course, enraged the king

这显然激怒了国王，

who blamed Daedalus for enabling such a horrible perversion of natural law.

他指责代达罗斯扭曲了自然法则。

As punishment, Daedalus was forced to construct an inescapable labyrinth

代达罗斯被迫在牛头人身怪的宫殿下

beneath the palace for the minotaur.

建造一个无法逃脱的迷宫作为惩罚。

When it was finished, Minos then imprisoned Daedalus

完工之后，米诺斯国王关押了代达罗斯

and his only son Icarus

和他的独子伊卡洛斯

within the top of the tallest tower on the island

在岛上最高的塔里，

where they were to remain for the rest of their lives.

并打算让他们在那度过余生。

But Daedalus was still a genius inventor.

但是代达罗斯依旧还是一个天才发明家。

While observing the birds that circled his prison,

他在囚牢里观察周围的鸟的时候，

the means for escape became clear.

他找到了逃脱的办法。

He and Icarus would fly away from their prison

他和伊卡洛斯能够飞出监狱，

像只有鸟和神能做到的那样。

as only birds or gods could do.

Using feathers from the flocks that perched on the tower,

他用在塔上栖息的鸟群的羽毛

and the wax from candles,

和蜡烛的蜡，

Daedalus constructed two pairs of giant wings.

他造了两对巨大的羽翼。

As he strapped the wings to his son Icarus,

在他给他的儿子伊卡洛斯绑上翅膀的时候，

代达罗斯警告了他：

he gave a warning:

flying too near the ocean would dampen the wings

你如果飞得太低，羽翼会碰到海水，

and make them too heavy to use.

羽翼沾湿了就会变得过于沉重。

Flying too near the sun,

要是飞得太高，

the heat would melt the wax and the wings would disintegrate.

翅膀上的蜡就会融化，翅膀就会碎裂。

In either case, they surely would die.

不论是在哪种情况下，他们都会死。

Therefore, the key to their escape would be in keeping to the middle.

因此，逃脱的关键在于保持在半空中飞行。

With the instructions clear, both men leapt from the tower.

在指令清晰以后，二人从塔上跃下。

They were the first mortals ever to fly.

他们是世上首个能够飞翔的凡人。

While Daedalus stayed carefully to the midway course,

当代达罗斯小心翼翼在半空中飞行的时候，

Icarus was overwhelmed with the ecstasy of flight

伊卡洛斯因为能够飞行而感到狂喜，

and overcome with the feeling of divine power that came with it.

且被自己有如上帝一般的力量的感觉所压倒。

Daedalus could only watch in horror as Icarus ascended higher and higher,

代达罗斯只能恐惧地看着伊卡洛斯越飞越高，

powerless to change his son's dire fate.

却无法改变他可悲的命运。

When the heat from the sun melted the wax on his wings,

当太阳的热量融化他翅膀上的蜡时，

Icarus fell from the sky.

伊卡洛斯从高空坠落。

Just as Daedalus had many times ignored

就像代达罗斯屡次无视

the consequences of defying the natural laws of mortal men

违抗自然法则的后果，

in the service of his ego,

Icarus was also carried away by his own hubris.

伊卡洛斯也被他的傲慢自大而冲昏头脑。

In the end,

最后，

both men paid for their departure from the path of moderation dearly,

二人都为自己的行为付出了代价，

Icarus with his life

伊卡洛斯的代价是他的生命，

and Daedalus with his regret.

而代达罗斯的代价是永恒的懊悔。