A day in the life of an ancient Babylonian business mogul - Soraya Field Fiorio

翻译人员: Elena W 校对人员: Helen Chang

As dawn breaks in the Babylonian city of Sippar,

巴比伦西帕尔城破晓之际，

Beltani receives an urgent visit from her brother.

贝尔塔尼接待她弟弟的紧急来访。

It’s 1762 B.C.E., during the reign of King Hammurabi.

现在是公元前1762年， 国王汉谟拉比的统治时期。

Beltani is a naditu— a priestess and businesswoman,

贝尔塔尼是一位那迪图—— 女祭司和女商人，

promised to the temple at birth.

出生时被许诺去寺庙。

At puberty, she changed her name

到了青春期，她改了名字，

and gained her elevated naditu status in a ceremony where a priest

并在一个仪式中得到了 那迪图女祭司崇高的地位。

仪式上，一名祭祀从 献祭动物的内脏中寻找征兆。

examined the entrails of a sacrificed animal for omens.

The naditu are an esteemed group drawn from Babylonia’s most affluent families.

那迪图是个受人尊敬的职位， 她们来自巴比伦王国里最富裕的家庭。

Though the rules are different for naditu in each city,

虽然那迪图在每个城市的规定都不同，

in Sippar they are celibate and never marry.

在西帕尔，她们是独身者并且不能结婚。

They live inside the gagum, a walled area inside the temple complex,

她们住在加古姆（gagum）内， 一片在庙宇内被围起来的区域。

but are free to come and go, and receive visitors.

但可以自由出入和接待客人。

Beltani owns barley fields and a tavern.

贝尔塔尼拥有一些麦地和一家酒馆。

Her brother manages these businesses while she fulfils her duties as a priestess.

她的弟弟管着这些生意，

贝尔塔尼则负责履行祭司的职责。

This morning, he makes a troubling accusation:

今天早上，他提出了个令人不安的指控：

her tavern keeper has been diluting wine with water.

她的酒馆老板一直在用水稀释葡萄酒。

If true, this means she’s been undermining the business Beltani relies on

如果这是真的， 这意味着她一直在破坏贝尔塔尼

to sustain her in old age.

用来维持晚年生活的生意。

But the consequences would be even higher for the tavern keeper:

但酒馆老板的后果更为严重：

the punishment of diluting wine is death by drowning.

稀释葡萄酒的惩罚是溺水而死。

The temple court is meeting this afternoon.

神殿的法庭今天下午开会。

Beltani has just a few short hours

贝尔塔尼只有短短几个小时的时间

to find out whether there’s any truth to these allegations.

来查明这些指控是否属实。

But she can’t go to the tavern to investigate.

但她不能去酒馆直接调查。

Taverns are off limits for priestesses, even priestesses who own them.

女祭司不能进入酒馆， 拥有酒馆的女祭司也不行。

She could be burned to death for entering.

进去的处罚是火刑。

So she sends for the tavern keeper to meet her at the temple of Shamash,

于是她让酒馆老板 在西帕尔守护神

沙玛什的神庙和她见面。

the patron god of Sippar.

The temple is a stepped pyramid called a ziggurat,

这座神庙是一种名为ziggurat的 阶梯式金字塔形的建筑，

in the heart of the city and visible from twenty miles away.

位于城市中心，从20英里外就能看到。

It symbolically connects heaven and earth

它象征性地连接着天地，

and is viewed as the literal home of the god Shamash,

被视为守护神沙玛什真正的家园，

who gave humanity the code of laws

他为人类定制了法典，

and is the judge of the Babylonian pantheon.

是巴比伦万神殿的法官。

Beltani leaves an offering of bread and sesame oil in a private room.

贝尔塔尼把祭品面包与芝麻油 放在一间私人房间里。

She never enters the inner chamber of the temple where the god lives,

她从来没有进过神殿的内室， 那是神居住的地方，

a place so holy only high priestesses and kings visit.

只有高级女祭司和国王才能进入。

Outside, worshippers play music and leave gifts,

神殿外，朝拜者们演奏音乐并留下礼物，

which are later collected and used to feed temple workers, including the naditu.

这些礼物会被收集起来用于 供养寺庙工作人员，其中包括纳迪图。

The tavern keeper is waiting with grim news.

酒馆老板带来了糟糕的消息。

She says Beltani’s brother has been altering the weights

她说贝尔塔尼的弟弟一直在更改

used to measure payments to cheat customers.

用来衡量付款的秤，以欺骗顾客。

When the tavern keeper confronted him,

当酒馆老板与他对峙时，

he falsely accused her of watering down the wine.

他却污蔑酒馆老板， 说是她在用水稀释葡萄酒。

If true, Beltani’s brother is the dishonest one—

如果这是真的，贝尔塔尼的弟弟在说谎——

and altering weights is another crime punishable by death.

而更改秤的重量是能判死刑的罪。

Beltani is running out of time to get to the bottom of this.

贝尔塔尼没剩多少时间查出真相了。

Though she can’t go to the tavern,

虽然她不能去酒馆，

she can check on the barley fields her brother manages

她可以去检查她弟弟管理着的麦地，

to see if he’s been honest there.

看他有没有对自己如实汇报。

In the granary, she sees much more grain than he reported to her.

在粮仓里，她看到的粮食 比他汇报的要多得多。

He’s been cheating her out of her share.

他一直在骗取贝尔塔尼应得的份额。

Like all naditu in Sippar,

向西帕尔所有的那迪图一样，

Beltani inherited the same portion of her father’s property as her brother.

贝尔塔尼从她父亲继承了 和弟弟一样的财产。

These were rare circumstances for women in a time and place

在一个财产通过男人转移的时代与地方，

where property passed through men.

这对女性来说是罕见的状况。

Still, their families didn’t always honor their rights.

但她们的家人并不总是尊重她们的权利。

Although naditu traditionally went into business with male relatives,

虽然那迪图通常与男性亲属做生意，

the law stated they can choose someone else

法律规定，如果她们的兄弟或叔叔 不能胜任这项工作，

if their brothers or uncles weren’t up to the task.

她们可以选择其他人。

With the evidence she needs, she hurries to court.

带着她需要的证据， 贝尔塔尼急忙赶去了法庭。

A judge presides over the temple court along with two naditu—

一名法官与两名那迪图女祭司 一起主持法庭——

the overseer of the gagum and a scribe.

加古姆的监管者和一名抄写员。

Beltani asks to remove her brother as her business manager,

贝尔塔尼要求解除她弟弟管理员的职位，

citing the granary as evidence that he is mismanaging her properties.

并以粮仓为证据， 证明他对自己的财产管理不善。

The judge grants her request.

法官批准了她的请求。

The scribe records the new contract in cuneiform into a wet clay tablet,

抄写员用锲形文字把新合同 记录在一块湿泥板上，

and the matter is settled.

事情就解决了。

She's protected her income and spared her brother’s life

她隐瞒了弟弟正真的罪行，

by withholding the true extent of his crimes.

从而保护了自己的收入和他的性命。

Perhaps it is time to adopt a younger priestess:

也许是时候收养一位年轻的女祭司了：

someone to take care of her in old age and inherit her property,

一位在她年老时能照顾她 并继承她财产的人，

who might do a better job of helping with her business.

也能更好地帮助她的生意。