The pharaoh that wouldn't be forgotten - Kate Green

不會被遺忘的法老－凱特‧納瑞芙 (Kate Narev)

譯者: Regina Chu 審譯者: Adrienne Lin

Three and a half thousand years ago in Egypt,

三千五百年前，在埃及

a noble pharaoh was the victim of a violent attack.

一位尊貴的法老被慘忍的攻擊

But the attack was not physical.

但不是攻擊他的肉身

This royal had been dead for 20 years.

這位王已經死了二十年

The attack was historical,

而是歷史性的攻擊

an act of damnatio memoriae, the damnation of memory.

為記錄抹煞之刑 即從歷史上絕名

Somebody smashed the pharaoh's statues,

有人打破這位法老的雕像

took a chisel and attempted to erase the pharaoh's name and image from history.

用鑿子把法老的名字和畫像撬掉 企圖從史上抹去

Who was this pharaoh, and what was behind the attack?

這位法老是誰？ 又是甚麼原因遭受攻擊？

Here's the key:

重點是

the pharaoh Hatshepsut was a woman.

這位法老哈特謝普蘇特是位女性

In the normal course of things, she should never have been pharaoh.

在正常運作下 她絕不可能成為法老

Although it was legal for a woman to be a monarch,

雖然法律並不禁止女人當王

it disturbed some essential Egyptian beliefs.

但此舉震撼了埃及文明

Firstly, the pharaoh was known as the living embodiment

第一，埃及人視法老為

of the male god Horus.

埃及男神 「荷魯斯」在地上的化身

Secondly, disturbance to the tradition of rule by men

第二，擾亂男性統治的傳統

was a serious challenge to Maat,

是對瑪特神的嚴重挑戰

a word for "truth," expressing a belief in order and justice,

瑪特意為真理 表達對秩序及正義的信念

vital to the Egyptians.

埃及人奉為圭臬

Hatshepsut had perhaps tried to adapt

哈特謝普蘇特也許曾試圖適應此信念

to this belief in the link between order and patriarchy through her titles.

透過她的王銜 在秩序與父權的夾縫中生存

She took the name Maatkare,

她為自己取名瑪特卡瑞（光之真理）

and sometimes referred to herself

有時還自稱為

as Hatshepsu, with a masculine word ending.

哈特謝普蘇，是她原名的陽性結尾

But apparently, these efforts didn't convince everyone,

但很顯然，這些努力沒有說服大家

and perhaps someone erased Hatshepsut's image

也許有人要抹去哈特謝普蘇特的圖像

so that the world would forget the disturbance to Maat,

是要這世界忘記對瑪特神的攪擾

and Egypt could be balanced again.

埃及才可以恢復原有的平衡

Hatshepsut, moreover, was not the legitimate heir to the thrown,

況且，哈特謝普蘇特 並非王位的合法繼承人

but a regent, a kind of stand-in co-monarch.

而僅為攝政 有點像共同統治的代理人

The Egyptian kingship traditionally passed from father to son.

埃及的王權向來為父子相傳

It passed from Thutmose I to his son Thutmose II,

圖特摩斯一世傳位給 兒子圖特摩斯二世

Hatshepsut's husband.

他是哈特謝普蘇特的丈夫

It should have passed from Thutmose II directly to his son Thutmose III,

圖特摩斯二世本應直接 傳位給兒子圖特摩斯三世

but Thutmose III was a little boy when his father died.

但是圖特摩斯三世 在父王去世時年歲尚幼

Hatshepsut, the dead pharaoh's chief wife and widow,

哈特謝普蘇特身為 先王的嫡妻及未亡人

stepped in to help as her stepson's regent

臨朝稱制成為繼子的攝政

but ended up ruling beside him as a fully fledged pharaoh.

但最終掌握實權，成為法老

Perhaps Thutmose III was angry about this.

也許圖特摩斯三世對此憤怒

Perhaps he was the one who erased her images.

也許他就是把她的圖像抹去之人

It's also possible that someone wanted to dishonor Hatshepsut

也很有可能是某人想讓 哈特謝普蘇特背上汙名

because she was a bad pharaoh.

因她並非明君

But the evidence suggests she was actually pretty good.

但事實顯示她其實做得還不錯

She competently fulfilled the traditional roles of the office.

她在位其間勝任愉快 完全履行法老之傳統角色

She was a great builder.

她也是位偉大的建築家

Her mortuary temple, Djeser-Djeseru,

她的陵墓，稱為「聖中之聖」

was an architectural phenomenon at the time

是當時建築的非凡之選

and is still admired today.

至今仍然令人欽佩

She enhanced the economy of Egypt,

她提升埃及經濟

conducting a very successful trade mission to the distant land of Punt.

主導非常成功的貿易代表團 到遙遠之國朋特之地

She had strong religious connections.

她也有很強的宗教連結

She even claimed to be the daughter of the state god, Amun.

她甚至宣稱自己為 埃及國神阿蒙神之女

And she had a successful military career, with a Nubian campaign,

她在與努比亞之戰中 也建立了卓越軍功

and claims she fought alongside her soldiers in battle.

並宣稱她與士兵並肩作戰

Of course, we have to be careful when we assess the success

當然，我們必須小心評估

哈特謝普蘇特的成功事業

of Hatshepsut's career,

since most of the evidence was written by Hatshepsut herself.

因為大部分的證據都是 哈特謝普蘇特自己寫的

She tells her own story in pictures and writing

她以圖片及文字 訴說自己的豐功偉業

on the walls of her mortuary temple

在她的陵墓牆壁上

and the red chapel she built for Amun.

及她為阿蒙神建的紅色神廟都可見到

So who committed the crimes against Hatshepsut's memory?

所以是誰犯下了塗抹 哈特謝普蘇特記憶的罪行？

The most popular suspect is her stepson, nephew and co-ruler, Thutmose III.

最廣為流傳的嫌疑犯是她的繼子 兼姪子及共治者圖特摩斯三世

Did he do it out of anger because she stole his throne?

他是否因她竊取王位 而在怒中犯下此罪？

This is unlikely since the damage wasn't done

這不太可能，因為破壞其實是在

until 20 years after Hatshepsut died.

哈特謝普蘇特死後 20 年才發生

That's a long time to hang onto anger and then act in a rage.

在懷怒這麼久之後才在憤怒下行動？

Maybe Thutmose III did it to make his own reign look stronger.

或許圖特摩斯三世想讓 自己的統治看起來更有實權

But it is most likely that he or someone else erased the images

但最有可能的情況是 他或某人要抹去圖像

so that people would forget that a woman ever sat on Egypt's throne.

讓大家忘記曾有女性 坐在埃及的王位上

This gender anomaly was simply too much of a threat to Maat

這種性別破格簡直是 對瑪特神莫大的威脅

and had to be obliterated from history.

因而必須完全從歷史中消除

Happily, the ancient censors were not quite thorough enough.

幸好，古代的審查制度並不太完整

Enough evidence survived for us to piece together what happened,

有足夠的證據保存下來讓我們拼湊

so the story of this unique powerful woman can now be told.

訴說這位獨一無二 大有能力的女性的故事