The myth of Jason and the Argonauts - Iseult Gillespie

翻译人员: Yisi Zhu 校对人员: Yanyan Hong

Hercules, the strongest man alive

大力士赫拉克勒斯， 对战场有极大的热忱。

with a mighty heart to match.

Orpheus, charmer of nature and master of music.

天生的歌手俄耳甫斯， 具有非凡的音乐才能。

Castor and Pollux, the twin tricksters hatched from an egg.

同卵孕育出的的双胞胎骗子， 卡斯托和普尔尤克斯，

The Boreads, sons of the North Wind

能够自如地在空中翱翔的 北风神之子玻瑞阿代兄弟。

who could hurtle through the air.

For untold times these heroes had roamed ancient Greece,

这些英雄无数次漫游古希腊，

creating new legends wherever they went.

在他们所到之处创造着 新的传说。

But none of their adventures was so great as when they joined forces

但是他们的冒险中没有一个 能比得上他们聚首为一团队时。

for the sake of a young man named Jason.

这个队伍的核心， 是一个年轻的男人，伊阿宋。

Years before,

多年前，伊阿宋的叔叔珀利阿斯 残暴地从伊阿宋的祖父那里

Jason’s uncle Pelias had ruthlessly usurped

the throne of Thessaly from Jason’s grandfather.

篡夺了色萨利的宝座。

When Jason returned to his father’s stolen court,

当伊阿宋重返他父亲那 被偷走的王宫时，

the cowardly king set him a seemingly impossible task:

懦弱的国王给他布置了 一个看起来不可能完成的任务：

cross the teeming seas to Colchis,

穿过浩瀚的大海去到科尔喀斯，

and steal the golden fleece of a flying ram

在国王埃厄忒斯的眼皮底下 偷走一只飞羊的金羊毛。

under King Aeetes’ nose.

If Jason retrieved the Fleece,

珀利阿斯许诺， 如果伊阿宋能拿回金羊毛，

Pelias promised to relinquish the throne.

他就交还王位。

Touched by his heroic mission,

受到伊阿宋英雄使命的感召，

the Gods spread Jason’s call for help,

众神也帮着散播求助、寻找援手，

and soon he had assembled a not-so-motley crew.

很快他就集结了一队 算是有素的人马。

These heroes,

这些英雄们，和数不清的水手、 预言家及反叛半神人一起，

alongside countless sailors, soothsayers, and rebel demigods,

named themselves the Argonauts after their sturdy ship.

在他们坚固不摧的船“阿尔戈号” 上自称为阿尔戈英雄。

But the path ahead was marked with untold terrors–

但是他们前方的道路 满是不为人知的危险——

enough to test even the fiercest heroes.

恐怖到足以挑战 这些最为英勇的英雄们。

Their first stop was Lemnos,

他们的第一站是利姆诺斯岛， 岛上的女人杀光了所有的男人。

an isle of women who had killed all the island’s men.

As punishment,

作为惩罚，阿佛洛狄忒诅咒她们， 使她们恶臭难耐——

Aphrodite had cursed them with a sickening stench–

but that didn’t stop Jason fathering twins with the queen.

但这并没有阻止伊阿宋 与女王一起生育双胞胎。

The rest of the crew also found themselves embroiled in new romances;

队伍其他人也纷纷发现自己 陷入新的浪漫关系；

until Hercules chastised them for not behaving like heroes.

直到赫拉克勒斯指责他们 没有一个英雄该有的样子。

Eventually, they sailed on to the Mount of Bears,

最后，他们驾驶船只到了熊之山，

an island where a group of ancient, six-armed monsters

一个住着一群古老的 六臂怪物的岛屿。

lived alongside the peaceful Doliones.

崇尚和平的杜利奥纳人 也住在这个岛上。

While the clan welcomed the Argonauts with open arms,

当杜利奥纳人张开双臂欢迎 阿尔戈船英雄时，

the monsters surged down from the mountains

怪物们却从山上冲下来，

and hurled rocks at the docked ship.

往抛了锚定船扔石头。

Hercules held them off single-handedly,

赫拉克勒斯单枪匹马地出战，

before his comrades joined the fray.

并在他的同伴们加入战局之前， 将他们制服了。

Bolstered by their victory, the triumphant heroes sailed onward–

受到胜利的鼓舞， 英雄们扬帆起航——

only to be blown back to the island several stormy nights later.

却在几个暴风雨后的夜晚被吹回岛上。

In the tempest,

在暴风雨中，杜利奥纳人却以为 这些人是入侵者。

the Doliones thought these new arrivals invaders.

The Argonauts were similarly unaware of their surroundings,

同样，阿耳戈英雄们也没有 意识到他们的处境，

and fought blunderingly in the dark, slaying wave after wave of foe.

在黑暗中大打出手， 一波又一波的击退敌人。

But the morning light revealed a horrible truth:

但是晨曦却 揭示了一个可怕的事实：

their victims were none other than their previous hosts.

他们的对手不是谁， 正是以前接待他们的主人。

Yet again,

又一次，伊阿宋允许 他的船员分心了，

Jason had allowed the crew to be distracted,

this time at a terrible cost.

而这一次他们付出了巨大的代价。

Ashamed at his conduct,

愧于自己的举止， 他下定决心只专注于金羊毛。

he resolved to focus only on the Fleece,

but even this haste proved ruinous.

但是即便如此，结果也是毁灭性的。

When Hercules’ squire was abducted by a water nymph,

当赫拉克勒斯的护卫 被水仙女绑架时，

Jason sailed on–

伊阿宋起航了——却浑然不知 他最强大队友的缺席。

oblivious to the absence of his most powerful crewmate.

The remaining Argonauts continued their quest,

其余的阿尔戈英雄 则继续他们的远征，

until stopping at the sight

直到看到一个被鸟身女妖们 团团包围的老人。

of an old man surrounded by a swirl of harpies.

This was Phineas, a seer cursed by Zeus

这是菲尼亚斯，因泄露天机 被宙斯诅咒的先知，

to endure old age, blindness, and endless torture

他忍受着衰老，双目失明， 和无休止的折磨。

for giving away his prophecies.

Moved by his plight, the wind brothers set upon the flock,

风兄弟很同情他的困境， 于是拔剑追逐神鸟，

providing Phineas with a brief respite from his punishment.

给了菲尼亚斯惩罚中短暂的喘息。

In return,

作为回报，

the seer told them how to overcome the terrifying trial that lay ahead:

先知告诉他们如何克服 即将发生的可怕挑战：

the Symplegades,

叙姆普勒加得斯，一对碰撞的岩石， 能把船只撞成碎片。

a pair clashing rocks that reduced ships to splinters.

But first,

但是阿尔戈英雄必须 先在嗜血亚马逊岛周围，

the Argonauts would have to maneuver past the mouth of hell,

around the island of the bloodthirsty Amazons,

和迷幻的天空下越过地狱之口。

and under psychedelic skies.

These adventures cost the crew both in men and morale–

这些冒险折损了 大量人马和士气——

and some feared they might be losing their minds.

有些人还担心他们会失去理智。

Upon reaching the clashing rocks, the exhausted crew quaked with fear.

之后，到达碰撞的岩石时， 精疲力尽的船员因恐惧而颤抖。

But Phineas’ advice rang in their heads.

但是菲尼亚斯的建议在他们脑海中浮现。

The Argonauts released a single dove

阿尔戈英雄们放出一只鸽子，

and sped through in its wake to emerge unscathed.

并在其后加速 毫发无损地从岩石间穿过。

With this narrow escape,

在窄缝中逃生后，阿尔戈英雄 终于看到了科尔喀斯。

the Argonauts finally had Colchis in their sights.

Yet while Jason rested and celebrated with his crew,

然而，当伊阿宋休息 并和他的船员庆祝时，

he could feel his time among them was drawing to a close.

他也意识到自己与这群伙伴 共处的时光也要告一段落了。

As the fleece gleamed in his mind,

当羊毛在他的脑海中闪烁时， 他知道他不得不独自取回它。

he knew he would have to retrieve it alone.

But he could not guess that this final task

但他没能猜到的是

他将为最后的任务付出最可怕的代价。

would have the most horrible price of all.