A day in the life of an ancient Athenian

古代雅典人生活中的一天

來源視頻

It’s 427?BCE and the worst internal ?conflict ever to occur

in the ancient Greek world ?is in its fourth year.

The Peloponnesian War is being fought

between the city-states of Athens and Sparta, as well as their allies.

The Athenians can’t match the formidable ?Spartan army on land.

So they’ve abandoned the countryside

and moved inside the walls surrounding ?their city and port,

now provisioned by a superior fleet ?and extensive maritime empire.

The cramped conditions have taken a toll

and a recent plague wiped out ?a third of the population.

But city life goes on.

公元前 427?年，古希臘帝國 最嚴重的內(nèi)戰(zhàn)已經(jīng)到了第四個年頭。

這場伯羅奔尼撒戰(zhàn)爭

在雅典和斯巴達及其盟國之間展開。

雅典人無法在陸地作戰(zhàn)中 對抗強大的斯巴達軍隊，

于是他們放棄了鄉(xiāng)村地區(qū)，

轉(zhuǎn)移到高墻環(huán)繞的城市和港口，

由一支高級艦隊和 廣闊的海軍帝國提供保障。

有限的條件帶來了惡果，

一場近期爆發(fā)的瘟疫 奪去了雅典三分之一的人口。

但城市生活仍在繼續(xù)。

Archias and Dexileia live ?in the center of Athens.

As a painter of high-class pottery,

Archias is relatively well-off and takes ?great interest in the city’s affairs.

Dexileia, on the other hand, can't participate in politics or own property.

The couple are grateful to the gods that ?three of their four children,

a son and two daughters,

have survived past infancy.

阿奇亞斯和迪克西莉亞 住在雅典市中心。

阿奇亞斯是高檔陶器的漆匠，

他比較富裕， 對城市事務很感興趣。

迪克西莉亞卻無法 參與政治或擁有財產(chǎn)

夫婦感激神明， 讓他們四個孩子中的三個，

一個男孩和兩個女孩，

都平安長大。

Many parents see daughters as a liability

since they require dowries ?to find husbands.

But Archias is confident that his wealth

will allow him to make good matches for them without going bankrupt.

Like many Athenians, ?the family owns slaves.

Originally from Thrace, they were captured in war.

許多父母將女兒視為拖累，

因為女兒結婚需要嫁妝。

但是阿奇亞斯對自己的 財富狀況很有自信，

相信自己不用破產(chǎn) 也能為女兒找到如意郎君。

和很多雅典人一樣， 這個家庭也擁有奴隸。

這些奴隸都來自色雷斯， 在戰(zhàn)爭中被抓獲。

Thratta does most of the housework ?and helps raise the children.

Philon is a paidag?gos,

who supervises the son’s education, ?teaching him reading and writing.

Archias is up early because there’s ?a meeting of the Ekklêsia,

the assembly of citizens,

taking place at dawn.

色雷斯人承擔絕大多數(shù)的家務， 并幫助撫養(yǎng)孩子。

菲倫是一個 paidag?gos， 即家庭教師，

他監(jiān)督家中男孩的教育， 教他讀書寫作。

阿奇亞斯起得很早， 因為在黎明時分

教會有一場會議，

眾市民將進行集會。

Before setting out, he burns incense

and pours a libation at the small shrine ?in the courtyard

on behalf of his entire household.

Dexileia will remain at home all day, ?teaching her daughters domestic skills.

Later, she’ll retire to the inner ?courtyard for some fresh air.

出發(fā)前，他點燃一支香，

代表全家人在小花園里

的神龕中傾倒奠酒。

迪克西莉亞全天都待在家中 教女兒家務技能。

之后，她到內(nèi)院稍作休息透透氣。

When Archias arrives at the agora,

the civic and commercial heart ?of the city,

he finds the square swarming ?with his fellow citizens,

native-born adult males who ?have completed military training.

Attached to the central monument is ?a noticeboard with the meeting’s agenda.

Today, there’s only one item ?of discussion:

what to do with the people of Mytilene,

a city on the island of Lesbos

where a revolt against Athenian rule ?has just been put down.

集會的廣場是

城市的市政和商業(yè)中心

當阿奇亞斯到達這里時， 他發(fā)現(xiàn)廣場擠滿了市民

都是已經(jīng)完成 軍事訓練的本國成年男性。

中央紀念碑上 的一個記事板寫有會議議程。

今天討論的事項只有一個：

如何處置米蒂利尼人？

米蒂利尼是萊斯沃斯島上 的一個城市，

該城對雅典統(tǒng)治的反抗剛遭到鎮(zhèn)壓。

The meeting takes place on a hill west ?of the acropolis known as the Pnyx.

The word means “tightly packed,"

and the crowd of , citizens ?makes it clear why.

The heralds purify the hill by sprinkling ?its boundary with pig’s blood

and call for order.

As everyone sits on benches ?facing the platform,

the presiding officer opens the meeting ?with the words:

“Tis agoreuein bouleutai?”

“Who wishes to address the assembly?”

會議地點是在 雅典衛(wèi)城西邊的一座山上，

該山名為普尼克斯，意思是緊湊的，

?民眾擁擠在此， 這名字的含義就不言而喻了。

傳信官用豬血 劃出邊界以凈化此山，

要求在場人員安靜。

每個人都坐在面向平臺的長椅上，

會議主席宣布會議開始。

他說：“Tis agoreuein bouleutai?”

意思是“誰希望發(fā)表演講？”

One by one, citizens speak, some advising ?mercy, others bent on vengeance.

A motion is proposed to execute ?all the Mytileneans

and enslave their women and children

because they betrayed their Athenian ?allies during a time of war.

A majority raises their right hands ?in favor.

Once the meeting’s over, Archias heads ?back to the agora to buy food and wine.

Hundreds have gathered there ?to discuss the results,

many unhappy with the decision.

市民輪番發(fā)表意見。一些人 提倡寬容，另一些則訴諸報復。

提議之一是 處決所有米蒂利尼男人，

將女人和孩子貶為奴隸，

因為他們在戰(zhàn)爭時期 背叛了雅典一方的盟國。

大多數(shù)人舉起右手表示贊同。

會議一結束，阿奇亞斯 會到雅典衛(wèi)城買食物和酒。

上百人已經(jīng)聚集在此討論會議結果，

許多人對此決議并不開心。

When Archias returns home, ?he tells Dexileia about the debate.

She thinks that killing the innocent ?as well as the guilty

is harsh and counterproductive,

and tells him as much.

Around dusk, Archias goes to ?a friend’s house for a symposium.

The nine men drink wine and discuss the meeting well into the night.

Archias shares his wife’s opinion urging ?mercy, and his friends eventually agree.

阿奇亞斯回到家后， 將辯論告訴迪克西莉亞。

迪克西莉亞認為， 殺害無辜和殺害有罪之人

二者一樣殘酷， 并且結果適得其反。

她把自己的想法告訴了丈夫。

黃昏時分，阿奇亞斯 去朋友家參加討論。

九個男人一邊喝酒， 一邊討論會議內(nèi)容，直至深夜。

阿奇亞斯分享了妻子要求仁慈 的意見，朋友最終也表示同意。

Before dawn, something ?unprecedented happens.

Heralds circulate throughout Athens

announcing the council ?has called another meeting.

The second debate is equally heated,

but a new resolution, ?to execute only the leaders of the revolt,

narrowly passes.

Yet there’s a problem –

a ship with orders to carry out ?the first resolution

was dispatched the previous day.

And so another ship quickly sets sail ?to countermand the order –

a race of democracy against time.

黎明之前， 意想不到的事情發(fā)生了。

傳信官環(huán)繞雅典城，

宣布議會已經(jīng)召集了另一場會議。

第二次辯論同樣激烈，

但是產(chǎn)生了一項新的決議： 只處決反叛的主謀，

這項新決議驚險通過。

但是，仍然有一個問題——

帶著執(zhí)行第一次決議的船只

已經(jīng)在前一天出發(fā)。

另一艘船立刻出航 前往解除命令——

這是一場民主和時間的賽跑。