The Maya myth of the morning star

翻译人员: Jessie Zhang 校对人员: Yanyan Hong

Chak Ek’ rose from the underworld to the surface of the eastern sea

查克 · 埃克（Chak Ek’） 从地下世界上升到东海海面，

and on into the heavens.

越过人间，直上天堂。

His brother K’in Ahaw followed.

他的兄弟金 · 亚（K’in Ahaw）紧随其后。

Though Chak Ek’ had risen first, K’in Ahaw outshone him,

查克 · 埃克的光芒 被金 · 亚后来居上，

and the resentful Chak Ek’ descended back to the underworld

心怀怨恨的查克 · 埃克 回到地下世界

to plot against his brother.

密谋对付他的兄弟。

In Mayan mythology, Chak Ek’ represents Venus and K’in Ahaw represents the sun.

在玛雅神话中，查克 · 埃克 代表金星，金 · 亚代表太阳。

Known as both the morning and the evening star,

金星既是晨星，也是晚星，

Venus moves through the sky, sometimes visible before sunrise,

它在天空中运行， 有时在日出前出现，

sometimes after sunset, and occasionally not at all.

有时在日落后出现， 有时根本不出现。

The ancient Maya identified this roughly 584 day cycle

一千多年前，古玛雅人就发现了

这个大约 584 天的周期，

more than a thousand years ago

and it still accurately predicts when and where Venus will appear in the sky

它至今仍能准确预测金星

出现在世界各地天空中的时间和地点。

around the world.

Five of these cycles make up almost exactly eight years,

五个这种周期几乎正好构成八年，

and the Maya also recognized this larger cycle.

玛雅人也识别出了这个更大的周期。

They assigned Chak Ek’ five different forms,

他们赋予查克 · 埃克五个不同的形态，

one for each cycle of Venus, that were repeated every eight years.

每个形态代表金星的一个周期， 这些形态每八年循环一次。

Within the 584 day cycle, Venus is visible in the evening sky for 250 days,

在 584 天的周期内， 金星有 250 天出现在夜空，

then disappears for 8 days before reappearing as the Morning Star.

然后消失 8 天， 再以晨星身份出现。

The ancient Maya ascribed particular significance to this point in this cycle:

古玛雅人尤其在意周期的这一刻：

the first time Venus appears before sunrise after being invisible.

金星自消失一段时间后， 在日出前重现的瞬间。

On this day, Chak Ek’ rose again from the underworld,

在这一天，查克 · 埃克 再次从地下世界升起，

wielding a spearthrower and darts.

挥舞着长矛和飞镖。

To bring discord to the world,

为了扰乱世界，

he decided to attack his brother and his brother’s allies.

他决定攻击他的兄弟及其盟友。

His first target was K’awiil, god of sustenance and lightning.

他的第一个目标是食物 和闪电之神科伊尔（K’awiil）。

Rising in the late rainy season, Chak Ek’ aimed his spear and struck K’awiil,

查克 · 埃克在雨季末升起， 将他的矛瞄准科伊尔然后刺向了他，

causing damage to the food and a period of chaos in the social order

破坏了食物并造成一段时间的 社会秩序混乱，

until K’awiil was reborn.

直到科伊尔获得重生。

584 days after attacking K’awiil,

在袭击科伊尔 584 天后，

Chak Ek’ turned his attention back to his brother, the Sun.

查克 · 埃克将矛头重新 指向他的兄弟，太阳。

Each night, the Sun took the form of jaguar

每天晚上，太阳以美洲虎的形象

and journeyed through the underworld.

穿越地下世界。

Chak Ek’ speared the jaguar sun as it rose at dawn towards the end of the dry season.

在旱季快结束的时候， 当美洲虎太阳

在黎明升起时， 查克 · 埃克用长矛刺向它。

The Sun was wounded, plunging the world into a period of chaos and warfare.

太阳受伤了， 使世界陷入混乱和战争。

Chak Ek’s third victim was the god of maize,

查克 · 埃克的第三个受害者，

who provided sustenance for all humankind.

是为全人类提供食物的玉米神。

Chak Ek’ speared him at the time of the harvest.

查克 · 埃克在收割季节用长矛刺了他。

He was buried in the underworld, and maize—the staple of life—

他被埋葬在地下世界， 而玉米——生命的主食，

was no longer available to Earth’s inhabitants.

再也不能被地球上的居民享用到了。

But the maize god emerged after three months in the place of new beginnings–

但是三个月后，玉米神出现在 被称为七水之地的东方洞穴，

the eastern cave known as Seven Water Place– bringing food once again to earth.

这一新开始兴起的地点， 再次将食物带到地球上。

When the turtle Ak Na'ak rose in the sky to mark the summer solstice,

当海龟阿克 · 纳阿克 (Ak Na'ak） 升上天空宣布夏至时，

Chak Ek’ claimed his fourth victim.

查克 · 埃克把他变成第四个受害者。

With the death of this good omen, the Sun, the food supply, and the people

随着这个好兆头的死亡， 太阳、食物和人们

were buried within the earth, and the forces of chaos reigned.

都被埋在地下， 混乱的力量统治着大地。

But out of the chaos rose a new order established by Hun Ajaw,

但是在混乱中却出现了

由洪 · 阿乔（Hun Ajaw） 建立的新秩序，

one of the hero twins known to all

他是因击败了地下世界领主 而变得赫赫有名的

for having vanquished the lords of the underworld.

一对英雄孪生兄弟中的一位。

A new race of humans was created, made from maize.

一个新的人类种族被用玉米创造了出来。

This state of balance was not to last, however.

然而，这种平衡状态并没有持续下去。

Chak Ek’s fifth and final victim was a mysterious stranger from the west,

查克 · 埃克的第五个 也是最后一个受害者是

一个来自西方的神秘陌生人，

and his death in the heart of the dry season

他在旱季正当时的死，

shook the order established by Hun Ajaw.

动摇了洪 · 阿乔建立的秩序。

The gods, the lords, and the maize were buried in the underworld.

众神、领主和玉米被埋在地下世界。

But this victory for Chak Ek’ would also prove temporary.

但事实证明，查克 · 埃克的 胜利也是暂时的。

金星和太阳这两兄弟 在争夺霸权的过程中

The two brothers, Venus and the Sun, were caught in an endless cycle

陷入了一个无尽的循环，

as they battled for supremacy, re-enacting the same five struggles,

while the world alternated between order and chaos

在晨星升起，世界在有序 与混乱之间交替之时，

with the rising of the Morning Star.

重复上演着相同的五场争斗。