A tour of the ancient Greek Underworld - Iseult Gillespie

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: 穎君 紀

Achilles, welcome!

阿基里斯！歡迎你。

I’m the Sibyl of Cumae, prophetess and avid reader of leaves.

我是來自庫邁的西比拉，

我是先知，也是熱愛讀樹葉的人。

To clarify, you were just slain in the Trojan War.

現在的狀況是，你剛 在特洛伊戰爭中被殺害了。

Sorry about that.

我很遺憾。

It’s normal to feel mixed emotions right now.

此時覺得情緒五味雜陳很正常。

But you will be immortalized as one of the greatest warriors ever.

但你將會活在人們的記憶裡，永垂不朽，

成為史上最偉大的戰士之一。

And you’ll have endless distractions down here.

冥界裡有許多設施讓你散散心。

So, pros and cons.

那麼，優缺點如下。

It gets a bad rap, but the Underworld is actually a lovely place to “live.”

冥界的名聲雖然不佳，但其實 是個很美好的生「活」之地。

It boasts historic charm and eccentric neighbors with eternal ties to the area.

它擁有歷史悠久的魅力， 及和冥界永遠綁定的古怪鄰居。

The community even has its own guard dog, Cerberus.

這個社區甚至有自己專屬的 看門狗：克爾柏洛斯。

Heel, boy! Oh.

狗狗乖，趴下！喔，

Sorry, I know that’s a sensitive spot.

抱歉，我知道那地方很敏感。

Anyway, with Cerberus, you get three for the price of one!

總之，克爾柏洛斯很划算， 用一隻的價錢就買得到三隻。

He’s just not a big fan of anyone leaving.

牠只是不太喜歡看到有人離開這裡。

And who would want to leave anyway?

畢竟有誰會想離開這裡呢？

This is the Styx— it’s like the subterranean riviera.

這是斯堤克斯（冥河）—— 就像地下的里維耶拉度假村。

But you’ve been here before;

但你以前就來過了，

it was the source of your almost complete invulnerability, of course!

你「幾乎」刀槍不入的 能力就是來自這條冥河。

The Underworld also features four other waterways:

冥界的特色還包括另外四條水道：

Acheron, the river of woe; Cocytus, river of wailing;

阿克洛恩，哀痛之河；

科奇托斯，哭泣之河；

Lethe, river of oblivion;

勒忒，遺忘之河；

and Phlegethon, river of fire, a great source of natural light.

弗勒格頓，火之河， 也是很棒的自然光源。

Now, on your left, you’ll see the Mourning Fields,

現在在左手邊，可以看到悼念之地，

inhabited by souls tormented by love.

住在這裡的都是被愛折磨的靈魂。

Quite an attractive place, really,

在你沒有陷入無止盡心碎時， 這裡真的可說是個很迷人的地方。

when you’re not in the throes of endless heartbreak.

And without further ado:

再來，廢話不多說，我們來到

Elysium, the Underworld’s exclusive VIP section—

艾利修斯（極樂世界），冥界獨家的

VIP 特區，也是你的永久住所。

and your permanent home.

Here, you'll join the ranks of royalty and heroes.

在這裡，你將會加入 貴族和英雄的行列。

Cadmus over there once slayed a dragon!

那邊的卡德摩斯曾經屠殺過一隻龍！

And Patroclus is around here somewhere, along with lots of other friends and foes.

帕特羅克洛斯也在附近某處， 還有很多其他朋友及敵人。

I'll let you two get reacquainted soon,

我馬上讓你們倆好好敘舊，

but our tour wouldn’t be complete without a quick whirl

但沒有快速走一趟冥府的核心， 這導覽就不算完整：

through the heart of Hades: Tartarus.

塔爾塔洛斯（地獄）。

Tisiphone here guards the portal.

提西福涅在這裡看守入口。

She's one of the legendary Furies

她是傳說中的復仇三女神之一，

and is particularly passionate about avenging murder.

特別熱衷於復仇殺人。

She never sleeps.

她從來不睡覺，所以， 你有什麼事就去找她吧。

So, if you need anything, just ask!

Tartarus is reserved for a select few who some might call

塔耳塔洛斯是僅為少數 特別選中的人所保留的，

有些人可能會說這些人 是史上最大的罪人。

the greatest sinners of all time.

Take Ixion.

以伊克修恩為例。他曾經是個國王。

He was once a king.

When he didn’t pay his wedding dowry,

因為他沒有支付婚禮的嫁妝， 他的岳父狄俄涅烏斯

his father-in-law, Deioneus, stole his horses to get even.

就偷了他的馬來扯平。

In retaliation, Ixion pitched Deioneus into a pit of fire.

為了報復，伊克修恩 把狄俄涅烏斯丟入火坑。

Ixion was banished, but Zeus miraculously took pity on him,

伊克修恩被流放， 但宙斯奇蹟般地憐憫了他，

and invited him to a Mount Olympian feast.

並邀請他參加奧林匹亞山的盛宴。

There, however, it soon became clear that the disgraced king

但這位不要臉的國王很快就又被發現，

was trying to seduce Zeus’s wife, Hera.

他試圖誘惑宙斯的妻子—赫拉。

So, Zeus contrived a trap:

於是宙斯設計了一個陷阱：

a fluffy cloud that resembled Hera exactly.

看起來和赫拉一模一樣的蓬鬆雲朵。

When Zeus had proof of Ixion having his way with the cumulus,

當宙斯得到伊克修恩 和積雲親熱的證據之後，

well, you could say it was all nimbus from there.

嗯，你可以說一切 從那時起就風雲變色了。

That landed Ixion on the flaming wheel.

那件事讓伊克修恩被送上燃燒的火輪。

Poor thing.

可憐的傢伙。

Oh, and don’t mind Tantalus here.

哦，這是坦塔洛斯， 別介意他。他是第一代凡人，

He was part of the first generation of mortals,

enjoying privileges like dining with the gods.

享有的特權包括和神一起用餐。

Some say Tantalus stole ambrosia from Zeus,

有人說坦塔洛斯偷了宙斯的神饌，

others that he doubted the omniscience of the gods

也有人說他質疑神的全知全能，

and cooked his own son into a stew to see if they would notice.

因此把他自己的兒子做成菜餚， 試看看諸神會不會發現。

Naturally, they did.

當然，諸神發現了。

And as eternal punishment, when Tantalus reaches for food,

坦塔洛斯受到的永恆懲罰是， 當他伸手摘取食物時，

the branches grow taller.

樹枝就會長得更高。

And when he stoops to quench his thirst, the water recedes.

當他彎腰取水解渴時，

水就會退去。

And here we have the Danaids.

這些人是達那伊得斯姐妹。

At their father’s order, they beheaded their husbands on their wedding night.

她們遵循父親的命令， 在新婚夜砍下自己丈夫的頭，

They must fill this basin with water.

她們的處罰是把盆子裝滿水，

But, the trick is, their jars are cracked, so it always... just... leaks away.

但難就難在盆身有裂縫，

所以水會……流出去。

Oh, but don’t worry! No leaky appliances for you.

哦，但別擔心！ 你不會拿到漏水的器具。

Finally, our last stop on the tour is one of our loveliest vistas.

終於來到導覽的最後一站， 這是冥界最棒的景之一。

From here, you can see the hill where Sisyphus pushes his boulder

從這裡可以看到薛西弗斯 推著他的大石上山，

day after day,

日復一日，

only for it to roll back down again—

但大石總會再次滾回原點——

all for trying to cheat death.

因為他企圖欺騙死神。

As you can see, Achilles, the Underworld is full of exciting amenities.

阿基里斯，如你所見， 冥界有很多讓人興奮的設施。

Here, you don’t have to worry about brutal wars or painful cycles of revenge.

在這裡，你不必擔心

殘酷的戰爭或痛苦的復仇循環再起。

You can finally just put your feet up and relax.

你終於可以好好休息，放輕鬆了。