Who were the Vestal Virgins, and what was their job? - Peta Greenfield

翻译人员: Cherry Zhou 校对人员: Lipeng Chen

A lone priestess walks towards an underground chamber.

这名孤独的女祭司正走向一间地下室。

People line the streets to watch as she proclaims her innocence.

当她宣称自己是无罪时， 人们站在街边看着她。

It doesn't matter.

但无济于事。

She's already been judged and found guilty.

她已经被判有罪。

The sentence?

判决结果是？

Live burial.

活葬。

The underground chamber contains a portion of bread, water, milk, and oil.

地下室里有一些面包、水、牛奶和油。

She will have a lamp, a bed, and a blanket,

她还有一盏灯、一张床和一张毛毯，

but she won't emerge alive.

但她并不会因此而存活下来。

At the threshold, the priestess pauses,

来到入口时 她停了下来，

claims her innocence one last time,

最后一次辩解自己是无罪的，

then enters the chamber never to be seen again by the Roman people.

然后就走进地下室， 再也没有罗马人看到过她了。

The priestess is one of Rome's six Vestal Virgins,

女祭司是六位罗马维斯塔贞女中的一名，

each carefully selected as children from Rome's most aristocratic families.

每一位都是在孩提时代从 罗马最有贵族气派的家庭中精心挑选出来。

But now with her death, there are only five,

但她死了以后，就只剩下五名，

and a new priestess must be chosen.

人们需要挑选一名新的女祭司。

The six-year-old Licinia witnessed the spectacle,

六岁大的莱姬尼娅目睹了这一情景，

never suspecting that a few days later, she'd be chosen as the next Vestal Virgin.

万万没想到几天后，她会被选中 成为下一名维斯塔贞女。

Her age, her patrician family lineage,

她的年龄，她的贵族家庭血统，

and her apparent good health

还有她良好的健康状况，

makes her the best candidate to serve the goddess Vesta in the eyes of the Romans.

让她成为罗马人眼中维斯塔贞女的最佳人选。

Her parents are proud that their daughter's been chosen.

她的父母都为女儿被选中一事感到自豪。

Licinia is afraid, but she has no choice in the matter.

莱姬尼娅感到害怕，但她别无选择。

She must serve the goddess for at least the next 30 years.

在接下来至少30年的时间里，她将为女神效劳。

For the first ten years of Licinia's service,

莱姬尼娅服务期的前十年，

she's considered in training, learning how to be a Vestal Virgin.

她需要接受训练， 学习怎样成为一名维斯塔贞女。

Her most important duty is keeping vigil over the flame of Vesta,

最重要的职责就是为维斯塔的焰火

the virgin goddess of the hearth.

和贞洁女神的火炉守夜。

Vesta doesn't have a statue like other Roman gods and goddesses.

维斯塔不像其他罗马诸神那样有一个雕像，

Instead, she's represented by the flame which burns day and night in her temple

而是用火焰作为象征， 火焰需要在她的神殿里没日没夜地燃烧着，

located next to the Forum in the center of the city.

神殿位于城中心古罗马广场的旁边。

Like all Vestal priestesses, Licinia spends part of each day on shift,

跟所有维斯塔贞女一样， 莱姬尼娅每天都需要轮流值班，

watching and tending to the flame.

看守火焰。

The flame represents two things.

火焰象征着两样东西。

The first is the continuation of Rome as a power in the world.

第一样是罗马势力在世界范围内的延续。

The Romans believed that if the flame goes out, the city's in danger.

罗马人认为如果火焰熄灭， 城市命运就会岌岌可危。

The flame also symbolizes the continuing virginity of Vesta's priestesses.

火焰还象征维斯塔女祭司童贞的延续。

For the Romans, a Vestal's virginity signaled not only her castitas,

对于罗马人来说， 维斯塔的处子之身不仅表示她的贞洁，

or modest spirit and body,

端庄的身体和灵魂，

but also her ritual purity.

还表示宗教仪式的纯洁性。

So Licinia knows she must never let the flame go out.

所以莱姬尼娅知道她绝不能让火焰熄灭。

Her life,

她的生命，

the lives of her fellow Vestals,

其他维斯塔贞女的生命，

and the safety of Rome itself depends upon it.

还有罗马的安危都由焰火定夺。

Licinia learns to collect water each day from a nearby fountain

莱姬尼娅学会了每天从附近的喷泉打水，

to cleanse the temple.

用来清洁神殿。

She learns the Fasti, the calendar of sacred rituals

她学会了解读记载神圣仪式的年表，

and she watches while the senior priestesses conduct sacrifices.

她观察更资深的女祭司进行献祭。

By the time Licinia completes her training,

等到莱姬尼娅训练完毕，

she's 16 years old.

她已经16岁了。

Licinia understands that the way she must act

莱姬尼娅明白她的行为举止

is a reflection of the goddess she serves.

反映出她所效劳的女神形象。

When it's her turn to collect the water, she keeps her eyes lowered to the ground.

当轮到她打水时，她非常虔诚。

When she performs sacrifices, she focuses intently on the task.

当她进行献祭时，她非常专注。

Licinia directs her energy towards being the best priestess she can be.

莱姬尼娅使出最大的力气， 尽可能让自己成为最棒的女祭司。

She's worried that someday the state will claim her life for its own purposes

她担心国家会有一天夺取她的性命

to protect itself from danger.

以保护国家免陷于危难之中。

Licinia could be accused of incestum, meaning unchastity,

无论何时莱姬尼娅都可以 被冠以乱伦即不贞洁的罪名，

at any time and be sacrificed whether she's innocent or guilty.

以及无论她是否有罪， 都可以被作为祭祀品而作牺牲。

Licinia fully understands now why her predecessor was buried alive.

莱姬尼娅现在完全能理解 为什么她的前辈会被活葬。

Ten years ago, the flame of Vesta went out.

维斯塔的火焰在10年前曾熄灭过。

The priestesses knew that they couldn't keep it a secret.

女祭司们知道她们无法掩盖这个真相。

The future of Rome depended upon it.

焰火关乎罗马的未来。

They went to the chief priest and he opened an investigation

她们寻求祭司长的帮助并展开调查，

to discover why the flame had failed.

要查明焰火为什么会熄灭。

Someone came forward and claimed that one of the Vestals

有人主动宣称其中一名维斯塔贞女

was no longer a virgin.

不再是处子之身。

That was the beginning of the end.

这是灭亡的开始。

The accused protested her innocence, but it wasn't enough.

受指控的维斯塔贞女坚称自己是无辜的， 但无补于事。

She was tried and found guilty.

她已接受审判并判以罪名。

That Vestal's death was meant to protect the city,

维斯塔贞女的死亡能够让这座城市幸免于难，

but Licinia weeps for what has been lost and for what she knows now.

但莱姬尼娅现在正为她所失去的和 她所知道的一切而哭泣。

Her own path was paved by the death of another,

她的人生道路是用另一个人的死亡铺垫出来的，

and her life could be taken just as easily

她的生命还会轻而易举地被夺走，

for something as simple as a flame going out.

只是因为焰火熄灭那么简单。