The Greek myth of Demeter's revenge - Iseult Gillespie

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: 麗玲 辛

Mestra, Princess of Thessaly, was far from home.

塞薩利亞公主梅斯特拉遠離家鄉。

She had watched her father, King Erysichthon,

她目賭她的父親，厄里西克松國王，

plunge into a ruin of his own making.

將自己推向自作自受的毀滅深淵。

Now, to save himself, he sold his own daughter to the highest bidder.

為了自保，

他把自己的女兒賣給出價最高的人，

But Mestra refused to accept this fate.

但梅斯特拉拒絕接受這樣的命運。

Finding herself momentarily alone, she began to plan her escape.

一發現自己有短暫的獨處時間時，

她馬上開始計劃逃亡。

Months earlier, Erysichthon had decided to build himself a gleaming new hall,

幾個月前，厄里西克松決定 為自己建造一個閃亮的新廳堂，

declaring that only the finest wood would suffice.

宣稱只用最好的木材。

The king was well known for spurning the gods,

這位國王以藐視眾神而聞名，

as he was more interested in honoring himself.

因為他對榮耀自己更感興趣。

But in an unprecedented act of disrespect,

但，他做出了一個 以前所未有的不敬之舉，

he marched his men into the sacred grove of Demeter,

他帶顉他的人馬進入 迪米特的神聖樹林中，

goddess of food and agriculture.

她是掌管食物和農業的女神。

Ignoring the prayer offerings that hung from the trees,

厄里西克松不理會 掛在樹上的祈禱供品，

Erysichthon headed straight for the most magnificent oak.

直接朝最宏偉的橡樹前進。

As he swung his axe, the tree trembled and turned pale.

當他揮動斧頭時，

橡樹開始顫抖並轉為蒼白。

Blood gushed from the wound, and a strangled cry rung out.

血液從傷口噴出，

一聲悲慘的叫聲響起。

It was the voice of one of Demeter’s wood nymphs who resided in the tree.

聲音來自迪米特的木靈之一， 她住在這棵樹中。

With her last breaths, she called out to her patron for revenge.

她用她的最後一口氣呼喊 她的守護者為她復仇。

Erysichthon, though, was unfazed.

不過，厄里西克松卻不為所動。

He decimated the rest of the forest and dragged the wood back to his palace.

他摧毀了森林的其他部分， 並將木材拖回他的宮殿。

Upon learning of the loss and destruction,

得知這些損失和毀滅之後，

Demeter quaked the earth with her anger.

迪米特的憤怒震動了地球。

Swiftly, she ordered a mountain nymph to go and enlist the help

馬上，

她命令山靈去尋求 另一個可怕的女神幫忙。

of another fearsome goddess.

In a dragon-drawn chariot,

山靈搭乘由龍拖行的戰車，

the mountain nymph soared over barren lands and icy seas.

飛過荒蕪的土地和冰冷的海洋。

At last, she reached the remote lair of Hunger, goddess of famine.

最後，她抵達了飢餓女神， 饑荒之神，偏僻的藏身處，

She found her picking through weeds with her rotten nails and teeth,

山靈發現女神正用她腐爛的 指甲和牙齒挖掘雜草，

clutching her hollow stomach and twisting her knotted limbs.

抓著她的空腹，扭曲著纏結的肢體。

Not daring to come too close,

山靈不敢太過靠近，

the nymph called for Hunger and shared Demeter’s vengeful plan.

遠遠地呼喊飢餓女神， 告訴她迪米特的復仇計畫。

Hunger usually kept to her lair— but she relished this gruesome mission.

飢餓女神通常會守在她的藏身處——

但她很喜歡這個可怕的任務。

Under the cover of night, she crept into the palace

在黑夜的掩護下，她悄悄潛入宮殿，

and released her famished breath into the sleeping king.

將她飢餓的氣息釋放到 正在睡覺的國王身上。

Erysichthon immediately began to dream of a lavish feast,

厄里西克松馬上開始 夢見一場奢華的盛宴，

gulping air and grinding his teeth.

大口喘息，不停磨牙。

He awoke to a ravenous hunger, which only seemed to increase as he ate.

他醒來時，有種發狂的飢餓感，

而且他越吃越餓。

As Mestra looked on in horror,

梅斯特拉恐懼地目睹了

her father devoured all the food in the palace,

她的父親狼吞虎嚥地吃光了 宮殿中的所有食物，

before calling for the city’s crops and goods.

接著又徵收了該城市的 農作物和商品。

But no matter how many feasts he devoured, he felt empty and weak.

但不論他吃了多少大餐， 他還是感到空虛而無力。

Before long, Erysichthon had sold his entire estate for food—

沒多久，厄里西克松就為了食物 賣了他的所有資產——

with only Mestra left by his side.

身邊只留下梅斯特拉。

But not even his loyal daughter could escape the depths of his greed,

但即使是他忠誠的女兒 也逃不過他深深的貪婪，

and he shamelessly sold her into slavery.

他毫無羞恥地將她賣去做奴隸。

As she set sail with her captor, Mestra stared at the sea.

與俘虜她的人一同出海時，

梅斯特拉盯著大海看。

This wasn’t the first time she’d suffered at the hands of men—

這不是她第一次在男人的手中受苦，

years before, she’d been violently pursued and assaulted by the god Poseidon.

多年前，

她被海神波塞頓暴力地追求和襲擊。

Now, she demanded his help.

現在，她需要他的幫助。

As an act of repentance,

為了展現悔改，

Poseidon granted her the power to change her shape at will.

波塞頓賦予她 隨意改變外形的能力。

With this, Mestra immediately transformed into a fisherman.

有了這種能力，梅斯特拉 立即變身成為漁夫。

And distracting her captor with a bounty of fish, she escaped.

用大量的魚獲讓俘虜她的人 分心之後，她便逃脫了。

For the first time, Mestra was in control,

這是梅斯特拉首次擁有掌控權，

able to freely adapt and slip away from any situation.

能夠自由應變、逃離任何情況。

But she felt compelled to return to her tortured father.

但她覺得她必須回到 她飽受折磨的父親身邊。

However, when Erysichthon discovered Mestra’s new powers,

然而，當厄里西克松 發現梅斯特拉的新能力，

he only saw an opportunity for himself.

他只看見他自己的機會。

He exploited his talented daughter, selling her again and again for food.

他利用了他有才能的女兒，

一次又一次為了食物把她賣掉。

Each time, she gracefully transformed herself—

每次，她都會優雅地變身——

morphing into a swift-footed mare, a soaring bird, or an elusive deer

幻化為有飛毛腿的母馬、

翱翔的鳥，或沒人捉得到的鹿，

to steal more meals while evading capture.

偷取更多食物，而且不被抓到。

But as her father continued to sell her at higher and higher prices,

但，隨著她的父親 不斷提升她的售價，

Mestra was left with little hope.

梅斯特拉感到希望渺茫。

One day, when arriving home in one of her many forms,

梅斯特拉有許多化身，有一天 她以其中一種化身返家，

Mestra entered the hollow palace only to discover the king’s lifeless body—

當她進入空蕩蕩的宮殿時，

發現國王已經沒了生命——

Erysichthon’s hunger had grown so great that he had consumed his own limbs.

厄里西克松實在太餓了，

餓到他吃掉了自己的肢體，

Gazing upon her wasted father, Mestra’s hope returned.

看著她已逝的父親，

梅斯特拉找回了希望。

She was no longer unfairly burdened with the wrath of the gods

她再也不必不公平地承受 國王惹來的眾神之怒。

that the king had courted.

Untethered from her father’s selfish agenda

脫離了父親的自私計畫，

and buoyed by her ability to transform herself at will,

再加上擁有隨心所欲變身的能力，

Mestra was finally free.

梅斯特拉終於自由了。