|
The sun rises on yet another bright day in ancient Egypt. A man wakes up, but this isn’t any ordinary man: this is the pharaoh. 又一个阳光明媚的日子，古埃及美丽的太阳已经升上来了。睡床上一名男子醒来，他可不是一般人，他是——埃及法老。 This is the last time he will be alone for hours. He has many officials, servants and slaves to make sure he is always safe and perfectly presented. 他最后能单独待上一会的时间也就这几小时了，许许多多的政府要员，法老的仆人，以及他的奴隶们都在努力着保卫他们的主上，确保法老完美地出现在世人面前。 His day begins with cleaning and dressing by servants including the splendidly named "Chief of the Scented Oils and Pastes for Rubbing His Majesty’s Body". When he is clean, he is dressed and adorned with a huge amount of jewelry. After all, he’s the pharaoh. He owns vast amounts of gold and he needs to look the part. 他的一天以清洗打扮为始，法老的仆人恭敬的给他着装，包括那位了不起的“首席香膏化妆师”（"Chief of the Scented Oils and Pastes for Rubbing His Majesty’s Body"）他洗浴完毕，正清清爽爽的了，仆人走来伺候他穿衣，为他佩戴上各式珠宝，数目多得叫人眼花缭乱，珠宝华服中的法老，看上去就像一名光辉熠熠的神一样。 The pharaoh then walks to the "audience chamber" to hold his daily meetings. As guests enter the room they prostrate themselves in front of him. He is a Divine Majesty - they are mere mortals. As usual, there are ambassadors who are offering tributes from foreign countries, generals talking military matters, the usual nobility and some special envoys from across the empire. 然后法老要预备工作了，他信步走向“听政厅”（"audience chamber"），接见大臣，主持会议，这是每天要都进行的工作。他的客人们鱼贯入内后，他们向法老恭敬的行跪拜礼，匍匐于法老之前的土地。法老是神圣的陛下——而他们，仅仅是几个平凡的凡人而已。与平常一样，上来几名驻外大使——他们给法老带来了丰厚的外国贡品，将军大谈特谈他的军务，普通贵族和一些帝国的特使。 The day’s audiences completed, he leaves for the temple. As pharaoh, he must pay tribute to the chief god, Amen-Re. It’s a pain but, if he doesn’t do it, the empire could lose its divine order, or Maat. It could descend into Isfet (chaos) and he would be held responsible. It’s not worth the risk. 一天的听政就这样结束了，法老起身，是该去神庙的时候了。作为法老，他必须把足够的贡品贡给尊贵的神明——阿蒙·拉。虽然这有点让人讨厌，但是，如果他不这样做，这个帝国将会失去它的神圣秩序，或者说“玛特”。它将会堕入一片混乱中，而他法老将要负起全部责任。这一点也不值得他冒这么大危险。 Accompanied by the high priest, the pharaoh walks through the great temple to the sanctuary, enjoying the cool air and smelling the thick incense. Inside, he approaches the statue of Amen-Re. He asks the god some questions and receives answers from the high priest. The questions over, he is presented with a large bull. After prayers, the sacred butcher cuts the bull’s throat as a sacrifice to the gods. 在高级祭司陪同下，法老穿过宏伟的神庙大厅进入圣殿，这里的空气很阴冷，萦绕在鼻尖的全是浓浓的熏香，他喜欢这种享受。在圣殿里，他轻轻走向阿蒙·拉的圣像，他靠近神，问了一些问题，然后从高级祭司口中得到了答案。当问题完毕了，法老会献上一头大公牛，祈祷完毕，圣屠上前一刀切断了牛的脖颈，作为祭品供奉给神。 Afternoon 下午 There’s nothing like a slaughter to work up a big appetite, so the pharaoh returns to his palace for some lunch. Afterwards, he jumps into his royal chariot for a tour of the city. This is long before photos. Few people know what he looks like, so crowds of Egyptians gather in the streets to catch sight of their divine ruler. 没有什么能像一次贡祭的屠宰能激发人食欲大开的了，于是法老赶回他的宫殿美美饱餐了一顿。在那之后，他跳进他的皇室马车环城市遨游。这是在照相技术发明很早之前的事了。几乎没人知道那时候的法老如何风光，那时候的人们如何争先恐后围着街道伸长脖子想看看他们的神圣秩序一眼。 Surrounded by bodyguards, he visits some construction sites where magnificent new buildings are being constructed in his honor. Back at the palace, he gets a welcome break. After a day surrounded by people, he can finally be alone and wander through his beautiful gardens. 在护卫包围中，法老参观了一些建筑点，大量宏伟的新建筑正在建造，以法老那无上之名。回到宫殿，他舒适地休息了。在被大堆人马围着一整天后法老终于获得了自由自在待会儿的空间，这会儿正一个人单独在美丽的花园里散步。 Evening His final daily duty comes in the late afternoon. He returns to the temple for a ceremony that marks the setting of the sun and the end of the day. After that, he goes back home for an early night. After all, even divine majesties need their beauty sleep! 傍晚 法老一天以来最后的一项任务是在下午很晚的时候返回神庙参加日落仪式，这标志着太阳的下落和一天的结束。 当这个仪式也结束了，法老在夜色初降时回到他的家。毕竟，就算是神需要一个美梦的！ It’s still dark when Itennu gets up. He’s a middle-ranking priest at the great temple to Amen-Re. He has to be ready by dawn, when the assistant high priest gives him his instructions for the day. Itennu起床的时候天还是黑的，他是阿蒙·拉大神庙的一名中级祭司，起这么早，是因为他得在黎明前将一切准备好，那时候助理高级祭司会给他今日的日程表。 As the sun first appears, every priest chants the dawn hymn, “Awake in peace, great god.” The most senior priest unseals the sanctuary and says a ritual prayer four times over the image of the god. This gives the god his soul, so that he can take his physical earthly shape again. 太阳从天际一角射下第一缕阳光，面目肃穆的祭司端正而立，拂晓的吟诵从每一名立者口中传出，“自和平中醒来，伟大的神。”首席祭司揭开圣殿的封印，口中诵读神祷四次，在神之塑像之上。这将给予神灵他的灵魂，让他再次回归他在尘世中的身体。 The image is then carefully cleaned and rubbed with oil. Incense is burned as its old clothes are removed and the image is re-dressed in white, red, blue and green linen. The dressing is completed with perfume, make-up and jewels. 高级祭司小心翼翼地前去为神像清洁他的身体，为他抹上香油。圣殿中升起了袅袅的青烟，高级祭司替神换下他的旧衣服，接着穿上一套白的，红的，蓝的以及绿的亚麻服。这套服装熏满香料的香味，饰以无双的珍宝。 Now that the god is dressed, it’s time for his breakfast. This is a meal of bread, roast meat, fruit and vegetables. Beer and wine are also laid out. Once the priests think the god has eaten all he can handle, the food is removed. It goes back to the kitchens, where Itennu distributes it to the temple staff as part of their wages. 神的着装仪式完毕，他的仆人替他呈上了早餐，这全部是真实的面包，烤肉，水果和蔬菜，还有啤酒和葡萄酒。祭司在一旁慢慢等神用餐完毕再撤下食物。这些美味的食物被送回厨房，在那里它被当作薪水分发给了Itennu这些神庙祭司。 Water is now sprinkled over the sanctuary and the image. The priests wave around more incense and put natron cleansing salt and resin on the floor. They then leave, sealing the sanctuary ahead of the pharaoh’s daily visit. 祭司开始了洒扫工作。圣殿与神像周围撒上了水，满地是香料，泡碱盐，还有树脂。他们离去的时候，封印在法老每天的莅临前再次盖上。 Now Itennu and the other priests practice their chanting while they wait for the pharaoh. Once the visit is in progress, Itennu takes the bull and leads it into the sanctuary. Here, it will be presented to the pharaoh before being ritually slaughtered as a sacrifice to the god. 等待法老的过程中Itennu和其它祭司们一直在诵经。当这个盛大的仪式开始的时候，Itennu会牵入一头大公牛进入神殿，在那里，这头牛将会被法老当作祭品供奉给神。 Afternoon Once the pharaoh has gone, Itennu and his fellow priests sit down to a lunch of pea and lentil soup, accompanied by fresh bread. Then it’s time for an afternoon nap – chanting is surprisingly tiring work. 当法老走后，Itennu和其他人一起坐下来享用一顿由豆子和扁豆煮的汤组成的午餐，当然还有新鲜面包。然后会是一个舒舒服服的午睡时间——说实话，诵经真的很无聊。 Nap over, it’s back to work. He has to officiate at the funeral of a VIP. Because the man was an important courtier, he may be buried in the highly prestigious Valley of the Kings. 午睡完了，该回去工作了。Itennu得替一名大人物主持葬礼上的宗教仪式。这个人是个重要的朝臣，他也许会被葬在享有盛誉的国王谷。 Itennu boards the funeral barge carrying the coffin. It sails across the Nile, is placed on a sled and is then pulled by two oxen to its new home. Itennu supervises the funeral arrangements. He then accompanies the coffin to the tomb, where he says his final prayers. The coffin is then sealed by the masons. Itennu搭上了为葬礼准备的船，带着死者的棺椁。船航行过了尼罗河，停在一块缓坡上，两头公牛拉着它驶向它的新家。Itennu总领着整个葬礼，他陪着棺椁进入墓室，在那里他给死者念了最后的祝祷文。然后，棺椁就那样静静地被石块埋住了。 Evening Back at the temple, Itennu crosses the river again, this time he is going to the “City of the Dead.” This is the home of the Egyptian funeral industry. A member of the royal family has died and custom dictates that a priest must oversee the mummification of the body. By sunset it is time to go back to the temple and straight to bed – tomorrow will be another long day. 为了回神庙，Itennu再次横渡尼罗河，这次他要去“死亡之城”。这里是埃及木乃伊工业总部。许多皇室成员死后按风俗是要一名祭司监护着他的木乃伊的。但是已经黄昏了，这时候该是直接回到神庙里的床上才对——明天又是长长的一天。 Just outside Thebes, the sun is rising on a small house near the Nile. Nafrini is already up - with a farmer as a husband, plus three small children, she’s got a lot to do. 就在底比斯城之外，太阳在尼罗河畔一间小小的屋子边跃出地平线。Nafrini早已醒来，她只是一位贫穷农夫的妻子罢了，还带着三个孩子，繁忙的工作占用了她大部分时间。 She starts by preparing breakfast of bread and fruit for her family who, judging from the noise, are all now out of bed. 她要做的第一件事就是替家人准备好早餐，有一些面包和水果，她干着活，留心听着屋里的响动，家里人都起来了。 Like most Egyptian women, she’s wearing a rough linen dress and has a reed necklace with an amulet to the pregnant goddess Tawaret - believed to help during the danger of childbirth. 像多数埃及妇女一样，她身着一件粗糙的亚麻裙，脖子上带着一根芦苇编成的项链，坠子是河马女神Tawaret的护身符——她保护孕妇，避免在分娩时可能出现的危险。 Although they aren’t wealthy, Nafrini and her husband, Sebi, can still afford a servant, Akana, who helps around the house and with the children. Once her husband has left for work, Nafrini leaves the kids with Akana and goes to the market. She needs to stock up the store cupboard - basics like lentils, chickpeas, lettuce, onion and garlic. She might buy meat for a special occasion, but it’s much too expensive to eat every day. 尽管他们并不富裕，但是Nafrini和她的丈夫Sebi，还是能够买一位奴隶Akana来帮他们，干些家务，照看孩子。当她的丈夫出去工作后，Nafrini把孩子放在家里然后和Akana去市场，她要买一点东西存进食橱里去——最起码的就是蒜，生菜，洋葱，扁豆和鸡豆。她也许会买肉，但仅仅只在某些特殊场合，肉如果每天都吃花费就太大了。 When she gets back, she sprinkles water and natron cleansing salts to keep the insects away. She puts down charcoal and powdered bebet-plant to kill the fleas. 当她回来的时候，她撒了一些水和泡碱清洁盐（natron cleansing salts）来赶虫子。她放下木炭，撒了一些bebet-plant粉来杀跳蚤。 Today is laundry day, so Nafrini gathers up the bed linen and the children for a trip to the river. She quite likes this job. The day isn’t too hot yet and she gets the latest news and gossip from her friends - always keeping one eye on the kids. 今天是洗衣时间，所以Nafrini收拾起家里的亚麻床单，叫起孩子们一起去河边来趟短途旅行。她相当喜欢这个工作。天气还不太热，她闲闲地跟朋友们闲聊着，传传最新小道消息，说说最近的大新闻——顺便一说，她的一直眼睛始终盯着她的孩子。 She normally puts the laundry in the river and pounds it against a large stone - this is long before detergent or soap. But today, all the best stones have been taken, so she has to tread the laundry against pebbles in the shallows. When everything is clean, she lays it out to dry in the sun. 和平常一样她打算放下衣服，把它铺在河边的大石头上捶打——这是在洗衣粉和肥皂发明很久以前的事。但是在今天所有的好石头都被人占了，她只好把衣服铺在浅滩小石头上。当全部洗干净了，她就把它们摊开晒干。 While she waits, she tells the children to look for some reeds, straw and dried dung to fuel the fire. When the washing is dry, she fills her large water-pot and they all go home. 她自己在等待衣服干的时候，她的孩子们正遵照她的指示满地找芦苇，麦秆，干粪当作家里的柴火。当衣服都干了，她往她的大水罐里装满水，接着他们全部回家了。 Afternoon 下午 After putting away the laundry, she sits down with Akana and the children for a light lunch of bread and lettuce. The children are arguing and pulling each other’s hair, so she tells them to go out and look for wild honey, which she uses to sweeten food - sugar won’t be discovered for thousands of years yet. 在把衣服收拾好后她坐下来和她的奴隶Akana还有孩子们一起吃了一顿清淡的午餐，由面包和生菜构成。孩子们不听话地又吵又闹还互相扯头发，最后她打发他们出去找野蜂蜜，她用来做甜食的蜂蜜和秘方历经千年已经未被发现。 With the house now quiet, Nafrini can get on with some cooking. She lights the conical mud fire and starts grinding emmet wheat to make flour for the bread. She adds water to make dough, which she rounds off into flat loaves and then puts in the oven. 现在房子清静了，Nafrini能继续安静地做饭了。她烧起了一堆火，中间是一个泥锥体，接着又开始磨谷子，用来作制面包的面粉，她加上了一些水来发生面团，把它们揉成面包条，接着放进烤炉。 While the bread is baking, she starts on the beer. From the oven, she takes some partly-baked barley dough and crumbles it into a large vat. She adds some water and date juice, and leaves it to ferment. 烤面包的时候她也没闲着，在另一边做啤酒。她从烤炉里拿出一块生面团，捏碎了扔在一只大桶里，加上一些水，枣椰树汁（date juice），然后就扔在那里等它发酵。 Evening The bread is baked, the children have brought back some honey and Sebi will soon be home, so Nafrini starts on dinner. Today, the Tutanwhatsit family is having a stew of lentils, chickpeas and onion. Nafrini knows Sebi will be happy, because the night before he had been grumbling about eating nothing but bread. Everything is put in a clay pot and goes into the oven. 面包烤好了，孩子们也带回了要用的蜂蜜，Sebi不久后也将到家，Nafrini开始准备晚饭，今天，Tutanwhatsit family吃了一顿煮鸡豆，扁豆和洋葱。Nafrini知道Sebi会高兴的，因为从昨天晚上开始他就一直在抱怨晚餐除了面包什么都没有。晚餐吃的一切都装进了陶土罐放在烤炉里。 Sebi arrives home and the family sits down to eat. By the time they’ve finished, it’s six o’clock and the sun has almost set. With no electricity, their day follows the rise and fall of the sun. They all go to bed and are soon fast asleep. Sebi到家了，家人和和气气的坐下来开始吃饭。大约六点钟左右他们吃完了，这时的太阳几乎也沉下去了。没有电，他们的生活完全被太阳制约着。于是，他们说了晚安之后马上躺回床，睡着了。 (责任编辑：admin) |