The fall of the House of Cadmus - Iseult Gillespie

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Alexis Young

When Cadmus walked the earth,

卡德摩斯在地球上過凡人生活時，

just a few generations separated him from his divine ancestors.

他與他的眾神祖先之間 只差了幾個世代。

From atop Mount Olympus, they scrutinized and meddled with mortals like himself.

從奧林匹斯山山頂上，

他的祖先仔細研究 和玩弄像他這樣的凡人。

Cadmus was a skilled warrior and heir to the Phoenician throne.

卡德摩斯是一位技藝高超的戰士，

也是腓尼基王位的繼承人。

But he wouldn't stay in the gods' favor for long.

但他受到眾神眷顧的時間並不長。

First, Zeus coveted Cadmus' sister, Europa.

首先，宙斯垂涎 卡德摩斯的妹妹歐蘿芭。

So, he snuck into the palace garden in the form of a bull and stole her away.

所以，他化身公牛，潛入宮殿花園，

把她偷走了。

Their father tasked Cadmus and his men with the impossible duty

卡德摩斯的父親把不可能的任務 交給他和他的手下，

of bringing Europa back.

要他們把歐蘿芭帶回來。

Cadmus journeyed to the sacred Oracle of Delphi to plead for help,

卡德摩斯踏上旅程， 求助於神聖的德爾菲祭司，

where he was told to find and follow a sacred, wild cow.

祭司告訴他要去尋找一隻 神聖的野牛並跟隨牠。

At the spot where the cow rested, he was to found a new city.

他必須在牛休息的地方 建立一個新的城市。

Cadmus and his men did as the oracle said,

卡德摩斯和他的手下 按照神諭所說的做了，

then ventured into the nearby forest for supplies.

接著冒險進入附近的森林 尋找補給品。

But a giant serpent soon appeared.

但沒多久，一條巨蛇出現了。

It choked some of Cadmus' men and blasted others with venom.

牠勒死了一些卡德摩斯的手下， 並用毒液猛攻其他人。

Cadmus leapt into action, hurled his javelin,

卡德摩斯立即採取行動，

猛力擲出標槍，把蛇釘在樹上。

and pinned the snake to a tree.

Without knowing it, he had just slain Ares', the god of war's, precious serpent—

在不知情的情況下，他殺了 戰神阿瑞斯珍案愛的蛇，

and sealed tragedy into his own fate along with it.

這麼做也讓他注定 逃不掉悲劇性的命運。

Suddenly, a disembodied voice boomed:

突然，他聽見無形的隆隆說話聲：

"You too shall be a serpent to be gazed on."

「你也將成為一隻被人凝視的蛇。」

Taking pity on the prince,

出於對這位王子的憐憫，

the goddess Athena instructed Cadmus to till the earth

女神雅典娜指示卡德摩斯 用巨蛇的牙齒耕作地球。

using the serpent's teeth.

As he nestled its fangs into the soil,

當他把蛇的毒牙插進土壤時，

a band of warriors sprouted from the ground.

一群戰士冒出地面。

Together, they built the magnificent city of Thebes.

他們一起建造了 宏偉的城市：底比斯。

And eventually, Cadmus fell in love with Harmonia,

最終，卡德摩斯愛上了哈耳摩尼亞，

daughter of Ares and Aphrodite, and the two married.

即阿瑞斯和阿芙蘿黛蒂的 女兒，兩人後來結了婚。

As years passed, and his city and family grew,

隨時間過去，他的 城市和家庭越來越大，

hope that all strife might be forgotten between Cadmus and the gods

卡德摩斯和眾神之間的所有爭端

glimmered briefly.

短暫地被遺忘。

But, soon enough, his family's luck began souring once more.

但很快地，他家族的 運氣又開始變差。

Tragedy struck when Cadmus' grandson, Actaeon,

卡德摩斯的孫子阿克特翁 帶著他的狩獵犬

was tracking a stag in the forest with his hunting hounds.

在森林中追踪一隻鹿時， 悲劇發生了。

The young man unwittingly infringed on the sacred grove of Artemis,

這位年輕男子無意中侵犯了 阿提米絲的神聖樹林，

goddess of the hunt, as she was bathing.

她是狩獵之神，當時她正在洗澡。

Artemis punished Actaeon, transforming him into a skittish stag.

阿提米絲懲罰了阿克特翁，

把他變成一隻膽小的鹿。

And in this form Actaeon's own hounds could no longer distinguish him

化身成鹿之後，阿克特翁 自己的狩獵犬也認不出他，

from the object of the hunt— and they went in for the kill.

把他當作獵物， 接著就是致命的一擊。

Then, Zeus visited again—

隨後，宙斯再次造訪，

this time taking advantage of Semele, one of Cadmus' four daughters.

這次是佔塞默勒的便宜，

塞默勒是卡德摩斯的四個女兒之一。

When Zeus' wife Hera learned that he'd been unfaithful yet again

當宙斯的妻子赫拉發現他又出軌了，

and that Semele was pregnant,

還讓塞默勒懷孕，

she tricked Zeus into revealing himself to Semele in his divine form.

她耍了些技倆讓宙斯 在塞默勒面前現出神祇的原形，

But even the feeblest of his thunderstorms was too much for a mortal to witness,

但是，就連他最弱的雷暴， 凡人看到了也承受不了，

and Semele perished.

所以塞默勒死了。

Zeus managed to save their unborn child, who grew into Dionysus, god of wine.

宙斯想辦法保住了 他們尚未出生的孩子，

這個孩子長大後成為 葡萄酒之神戴歐尼修斯。

His wild, revelrous rituals drew devoted followers.

他狂野尋歡作樂的儀式 吸引了忠實的追隨者。

But they eventually got out of hand.

但最終，他們失控了。

On one occasion, two of Cadmus' four daughters,

有一回，卡德摩斯 四個女兒中的兩個，

Agave and Autonoë— Dionysus' own aunts—

阿高厄和奧托諾伊—— 戴歐尼修斯自己的阿姨——

had a hallucinatory fit and killed Agave's own son,

幻覺發作，因而殺死了 阿高厄自己的兒子，

believing he was a lion.

因為把他誤認為是獅子。

Next, Hera targeted the family again.

接下來，赫拉再次 以這個家庭為目標。

Alongside the Furies, the goddesses of vengeance,

她和復仇女神孚裡埃聯手，

she cursed Cadmus' fourth daughter, Ino,

詛咒了卡德摩斯的 第四個女兒，伊諾，

with an intolerable madness that drove her into the sea.

讓她被無法忍受的瘋狂逼入大海。

Besieged by bad luck and overcome with grief,

被厄運困擾，又被悲傷壓倒，

Cadmus and Harmonia wandered the wilderness.

卡德摩斯和哈耳摩尼亞 在荒野中徘徊。

They considered the many tragic turns their lives had taken—

他們思考著他們的生命中 所經歷的許多悲劇轉折——

which Cadmus traced back to the time he killed the serpent.

卡德摩斯一路追溯到 他殺死巨蛇的那一回，

Realizing that the animal could have been sacred

意識到牠可能是神聖的，

and that his act might have incited the unabating wrath of the gods,

而引發了眾神有增無減的憤怒，

Cadmus prayed to recompense his error.

卡德摩斯祈求希望能 為他的錯誤做出補償。

Suddenly, he felt his body change and he embraced Harmonia.

突然，他感覺到他的身體改變了， 而他擁抱住了哈耳摩尼亞。

The two melted to the ground and shed their human skins,

兩人融化在地上， 脫去了人類的皮膚，

until finally, two snakes were left coiled in the field.

直到最終，留下兩條蛇 盤繞在田野上。

Cadmus' debt was at last repaid—

卡德摩斯的債終於還清，

to the snake he slayed in a desperate moment,

補償了他在走投無路時砍殺的蛇，

and to the gods, who guarded their grudges

也補償了這些守著心中積怨

and dispensed of their punishments liberally.

又不吝施予懲罰的眾神。