The tragic myth of the Sun God's son - Iseult Gillespie

翻译人员: Zou Yijia 校对人员: Helen Chang

Every morning, Helios harnessed his winged horses,

每天清晨，Helios都会套上他的飞马

unleashed his golden chariot, and set out across the sky.

驾着他的金色飞车，驰骋于天空之上。

每当太阳神将一日之晨 染上绮丽的朝霞，

As the Sun God transformed the rosy dawn into the golden blooms of day,

he thought of those far below.

他的思绪都飘向了远方。

Years ago, he fell in love with a water nymph named Clymene.

几年以前，他爱上了大洋神女Clymene。

Together, they had seven daughters and one son named Phaethon.

他们有了七个女儿 和一个名叫Phaethon的儿子。

But Helios had a wandering eye.

不过Helios有点花心。

Clymene eventually left him, taking their children with her

最终，Clymene带着他们的孩子 离开了Helios，

and marrying King Merops of Ethiopia.

嫁给了埃塞俄比亚国王Merops。

When Phaethon was little, Clymene told him tales of his divine father.

从小Phaethon就听母亲Clymene 讲述他神圣的父亲。

As he grew into a young man,

随着他年岁渐长，成为一个年轻小伙，

he took a special pride in knowing he was the Sun God’s child.

他对自己是太阳神之子感到格外骄傲。

However, one day, Epaphus, Phaethon’s peer who was himself the son of Zeus,

然而有一天， 看不惯Phaethon的趾高气昂，

sought to temper Phaethon’s arrogance,

他的伙伴，宙斯的儿子Epaphus，

taunting that Helios wasn’t his father after all.

嘲讽说Helios根本不是他父亲。

With no absolute proof to the contrary, the possibility bore into Phaethon’s mind.

由于缺乏有力的反驳，一丝念头 突然钻入Phaethon脑中。

He feared that his mother had lied.

他害怕自己被母亲蒙在鼓中。

And who was he if not Helios’ son?

如果他不是Helios的儿子，谁才是？

When Phaethon confronted Clymene,

当Clymene受到Phaethon的质问时，

she insisted that his father was the powerful Sun God.

她坚持说Phaethon的父亲 的确是伟大的太阳神。

Nevertheless, Phaethon was seized by doubt.

即便如此，Phaethon还是疑心重重。

So, Clymene sent him off to ask Helios directly.

因此，Clymene让他自己 去找Helios确认。

Walking eastward, Phaethon entered the Sun God’s gleaming palace at last.

一路向东，Phaethon最终来到了 太阳神金碧辉煌的宫殿。

Once his eyes adjusted to the brightness,

当他的眼睛终于适应了这眩目的光芒，

he saw Helios’ radiant smile and open arms.

Phaethon看见了太阳神 灿烂的微笑和敞开的怀抱。

When Phaethon expressed his skepticism that Helios was truly his father,

当Phathon质疑自己父亲的身份时，

the Sun God only beamed.

太阳神只是面带笑容。

To dispel all doubt, he would grant Phaethon anything he wanted.

为了打消他的疑虑， 太阳神答应会满足他的一切要求。

Basking in Helios’ glow,

沐浴在Helios的光芒之下，

Phaethon felt there was but one way to prove their connection to the world—

Phaethon觉得只有一种方法 可以向全世界，也向他自己

and himself.

证明他们的关系——

He needed to drive Helios’ chariot for a day.

他要求驾一天Helios的太阳马车。

The Sun God’s smile dimmed.

太阳神敛去了笑容。

In his daily journey,

每天，他都要例行

he steered his fire-breathing horses through space at top speeds.

驾驭着喷火的马儿全速驰骋。

The task required masterful control

这份任务需要极强的控制力，

to ensure that the chariot raced along its precise celestial trajectory,

才能保证马车精确地契合轨迹行驶。

with a thin margin separating stability from catastrophe.

稳定与灾难只有一线之隔，

Even Zeus wasn’t confident in driving his chariot.

即使是Zeus也没有十足的把握。

Helios begged his son to reconsider,

Helios请求他的儿子三思，

but Phaethon was steadfast, so the god prepared him for the journey.

但Phaethon十分固执， 因此Helios只好让他尝试。

With a crack of the reins, he was off.

一抖缰绳，Phaethon出发了。

In flight, Phaethon’s mortal insecurities fell away.

飞行途中，他放松了对安全的警惕，

But soon, the reins slackened in his hands.

慢慢松开了手中的缰绳。

Unaccustomed to the feathery weight of a mortal,

由于不习惯凡人轻如鸿毛的重量，

the radiant horses climbed higher and higher.

马儿越爬升越高。

The chariot whirled past constellations,

太阳马车在星座中回旋，

narrowly missing the pincers of Scorpio and the arrow of Sagittarius.

堪堪擦过天蝎座的钳子和射手座的箭。

With the Sun so far away, the Earth darkened,

随着太阳远离，地球陷入了黑暗，

and the seas began to crackle and freeze.

海水结冰，咯吱作响。

Startled, Phaethon sharply pulled the reins.

Phaethon惊恐地攥紧了缰绳。

The horses lurched and the chariot plunged towards the Earth's surface.

马匹一顿，整辆马车向地面下坠。

Lakes boiled and forests burned as Phaethon struggled to pull the chariot up,

湖水沸腾了，森林着火了。

Phaethon试图将马儿拉起，

leaving deserts in his wake.

他们所到之处都成了沙漠。

Back on Mount Olympus, the Gods were panicking.

而在奥林匹斯山上，众神也十分恐慌。

Zeus saw that Phaethon was destined for a crash that would set the Earth ablaze.

Zeus看到Phaethon注定会 撞击地球，点燃大地。

So, he hurled one of his mighty thunderbolts at the boy.

于是，他向Phaethon投掷了一团雷电。

The horses tore away,

马儿逃开了，

leaving Phaethon suspended in the heavens for just one moment,

Phaethon在空中只停留了一瞬间，

before he plummeted to the Earth, into the river Eridanus,

就坠入地球上的Eridanus河，

never to resurface.

再也没有浮上来。

Phaethon’s sisters gathered on the riverbank to weep,

Phaethon的姐妹们在河岸边为他哭泣，

gradually metamorphosing into poplar trees that leaked precious amber into the water.

渐渐化作了一棵棵杨树， 向水中滴入一颗颗珍贵的琥珀。

Zeus repaired the Earth and created an everlasting memorial,

Zeus修复了地球，并铸造了一块 永恒的纪念碑，

strewing Phaethon’s likeness in the stars.

将Phaethon的一点一滴 都散播到星辰中去。

Overcome by grief, Helios had hidden himself from the sky.

哀恸的Helios离开了天空，

But he soon returned, and every day from then on,

但他很快就回来了，之后的每一天，

as he raced through the heavens, he greeted his son.

他掠过天堂时，都向他的儿子致意。

The constellation, known as “Auriga,” or “the charioteer,”

那个名为“御夫座”的星座，

stands as a reminder of a lost young man,

铭记着一位逝去的年轻人，

and his bid to harness powers far greater than himself.

以及他对于远超他自身的力量的追求。