Mythology is an amazing thing-within it there are endless amounts of stories and myths, and many have seeped into our common perception of culture. The best stories, however, are the treasures, the devices and gifts that men spend their lives searching for in the name of glory, honor, and adventure. Unfortunately, some of them end up dying at the hands of killer rabbits and black beasts (I'm looking at you King Arthur). So, in the name of all things glorious and rabbit-like, let’s tell the stories of 10 mythological treasures.
神话—包含数不清的故事和传说，本身就是一个传奇。在潜移默化中，许多神话已经成为我们文化共识的一部分。然而，最好的故事总是和宝藏相关的。人们以声望、荣誉和冒险为名，穷尽终生，只为一探这些来自上天的宝具和礼物。其中一部分人最终死在了杀人兔子和黑色猛兽的手下（亚瑟王躺枪，这个典故来自著名的恶搞电影《巨蟒与圣杯》，亚瑟王与圆桌骑士在城堡中大战杀人兔子和黑色猛兽）。因此，以所有关乎荣誉和像兔子一样萌萌哒的事物为名，让我们说一说神话中出现的十大珍宝。
The Mead Of Poetry
诗人的蜂蜜酒
Norse Mythology
挪威神话
We all like a fine drink every now and then, but when you're a god, you can't just have any mortal liquor. The Norse pantheon has a very strange drink indeed—the Mead of Poetry. The story behind the mead goes that there was once a man named Kvasir, a human forged from divine spit who was the smartest man in the known world. One day, Kvasir was killed by two dwarves who, in their jealousy, made from his blood a fine mead that granted anyone who drank it Kvasir's intelligence
我们常常想要来一杯美酒，但是如果你是个神，你就不能喝那些凡人的酒了。挪威诸神有一种非常奇怪的酒——诗人的蜂蜜酒。在这个蜂蜜酒背后的故事是：曾经有一个叫Kvasir的智者，他由众神的唾沫所生，注定成为已知世界中最聪明的人。终于有一天，他被两个矮人所杀。出于嫉妒，这两个矮人将他的血转化成一种美妙的蜂蜜酒，喝下它的人将被给予Kvasir的智慧。
Eventually, the mead came into the ownership of the giant Suttung, who was tricked out of the mead by the king of the gods, Odin. Odin, on his journey back to Asgard, lost some of the mead (by regurgitation) from Asgard and it fell to Midgard, our world. Anyone who was touched by the mead became the terrible poets and scholars, while the greatest were the ones doused with the mead by Odin personally.
最终，这种蜂蜜酒归于火焰巨人Suttung之手，但是火焰巨人被众神之王奥丁所骗，蜂蜜酒被奥丁夺走（喝到了肚子里）。奥丁在返回神域途中，因为反刍吐出了一些酒，这些酒落到了人类之国，也就是我们的世界当中。所有被这些蜂蜜酒淋到的人类都变成了糟糕的诗人和学者，而真正伟大的诗人都是被奥丁亲自用蜂蜜酒洗涤过的人。
Necropants
人皮长裤
Icelandic Folklore
冰岛的民间传说
If you're familiar with Icelandic mythology, you know that the Necropants are a weird tidbit of Icelandic folklore that tie into the country's beliefs about witchcraft. To obtain this fine pair of legwear, you have to be a witch first. After that, you must obtain the permission of a man to get his flesh after he has passed from this realm. That's when the real fun begins.
如果你熟悉冰岛神话，你就会知道"人皮长裤"是冰岛民间传说中一个联系着整个国家对巫术信仰的奇怪趣闻。要想得到这条神奇裤子的裤管，就要先成为一个巫师。在那之后，你必须得到那个即将死去的人的允许来得到他的皮。接着好戏就开始了。
Once the man has died, you must take his corpse and flay the flesh from the waist down in one piece. As soon as you’ve managed that, you put on the skin-pants and then place a single coin stolen from a poor widow into the scrotum. The coin is to be accompanied by a magicalseal, which will result in your new scrotum-wallet never running out of money so long as you never lose the original coin.
那个人一旦死去，你就要拿来他的尸体然后从腰部开始把他的皮整块得剥下来。在你成功之后，就要马上穿上这条人皮裤子然后把一个从寡妇那里偷来的硬币放在阴囊里。用魔法密封好硬币之后，你就会有一个全新的阴囊钱包啦！只要你不会不小心丢掉原来硬币，你就会有永远用不完的钱了。
The Treasures Of Tuatha De Danann
丹努之子的宝藏
Irish Mythology
爱尔兰神话
In Irish folklore, the Tuatha De Danann was the children of the goddess Dana. The Tuatha De Danann came to Ireland from a distant place not known to man on May Day to grant the people of Ireland sacred knowledge. They arrived with four wise men, each of whom came from four distant cities and each of whom bore a gift for the people.
在爱尔兰的民间传说中，丹努之子是女神Dana的子孙。在五朔节那一天，丹努之子从无人知晓的遥远之地来到爱尔兰。他们之中有4名智者，分别来自四个遥远的城市。每个智者都携带着一个宝物，作为爱尔兰人民的礼物。
The first gift, which came from the city Falias, was the enigmatic Lia Fail, or the Stone of Destiny—a stone that would cry out under the throne of the true king of Ireland. The second artifact came from Gorias, and that gift was the powerful Sword of Light, an unbeatable sword whose story bears some similarities with Excalibur. From the city of Findias came the Spear of Lug, a mighty spear that would be a great gift to any warrior and would keep him safe on the battlefield. The last gift came from the city of Murias, a great cauldron from which no one left unsatisfied when it cooked meals.
第一个宝物来自Falias城，是谜一般的命运之石（Lia Fail），它会在爱尔兰真正的国王脚下发出欢呼。第二个宝物来自Gorias城，是充满力量的光明之剑，一把无法被击败的剑，有关它的传说和誓约胜利之剑（Excalibur）的故事类似。第三个宝物来自Findias城，是强大的战神之矛（Spear of Lug），它是战士的伟大礼物，会在战场上保护他的安全。最后一个礼物来自Murias城，一个永不耗尽的大锅。当用它煮饭时，没有人会挨饿。
The Sibylline Books
西卜林书
Roman Mythology
罗马神话
The concept of an oracle—someone with the divine sight that lets them see into the future—is a very old one that has roots in all mythologies. The most famous oracle is the Oracle of Delphi, but perhaps you might not have heard of the famous Roman oracular tomes known as the Sibylline Books. The legend of the Sibylline books starts as such—when Tarquinus Superbus was the head of Rome, a mysterious old woman tried to sell him nine rolls of prophecy. Tarquinus, being particularly stingy for a Roman emperor, declined and she then burned three of them. He then said no again to her offer of six, and she promptly burned three more and offered the final three at the exact same price as the original nine. Tarquinus, somehow thinking this was a good deal, finally bought them on advice from his augurs, or the Roman bird-priests.
神谕——某些具有神性的人关于未来的预言，是一个非常古老，在所有神话中都存在的概念。最有名的神谕大概是特尔斐神谕了，但是你可能没有听说过著名的罗马神谕大典——西卜林书。西卜林书的传说是这样开头的：Tarquinus Superbus（罗马王政时期末代国王，公元前509年被驱逐）在位期间，一个神秘的老妇想要卖给他九卷预言。Tarquinus是一个非常吝啬的罗马国王，因而拒绝了她的请求。她随后烧掉了其中的三卷，然后想将剩下的六卷卖给他，结果又被Tarquinus拒绝了。最后，她又烧掉了三卷，然后提出将剩下的最后三卷以和当初九卷相同的价格卖给他。Tarquinus不知为何认为这个买卖很划算，在他的占卜师的建议下，他终于买下了最后的三卷
Upon the scrolls were written prophecies to lead Rome throughout the ages, and all were written in Greek hexameter. Whenever Rome was in crisis, the Sibylline Books were consulted. So, where are these books now? Most of them were burned or lost as the ages went by. No one doubts that Rome was a little too trusting when it came to oracles, but perhaps these books had something else that made them special.
在这些卷轴上，书写着在未来岁月中指引罗马前程的预言，它们都是用希腊六韵格诗的形式写成的。每当国家陷入危机，罗马人都会翻阅西卜林书以寻求对策之道。不过，现在这些书下落何处？它们中的大多数都被烧掉，或者随着岁月而消失了。大家都认为，罗马人在神谕方面有点太过于轻信了，但是也许在当时这些书还有些不为人知的地方让它们显得如此特别。
The Aegis
雅典娜之盾
Greek Mythology
希腊神话
One of the most powerful works of the ancient Greeks is the Iliad, the story of the Trojan War. It is also one of the first recorded records of a mysterious artifact of godly origins known as the aegis. Most scholars are unsure of what the aegis actually was, but it is known that the item, in the hands of the gods, granted its owner protection from any blow or spear. The origins of the aegis are said to lie with Athena, the goddess of wisdom, who created the first aegis from the skin of a giant during the Gigantomachy, the great battle between the Olympians and the giants. When Medusa was slain by the hero Perseus, the Gorgon’s grotesque image was affixed to the aegis, making it a mighty weapon as well as a defense in the field of battle.
《伊利亚特》，即特洛伊木马的故事，是古希腊人最有震撼力的作品之一。它作为雅典娜之盾而被人们所熟知，是最早有记录的关于神的起源的神秘作品之一。大多数学者对于雅典娜之盾到底是什么还不大清楚，但是可以确定的是这件物品是在诸神手中的，它能使它的主人抵挡矛和拳头攻击。雅典娜之盾的来源是智慧之神雅典娜，她在诸神和巨人的战斗—巨人之战中，用一块巨人的皮肤创造出了第一块雅典娜之盾。当美杜莎被英雄珀耳修斯杀死的时候，戈耳工奇怪的脸被印在了雅典娜之盾上，使雅典娜之盾在战场上成为一个攻守兼备的强大武器。
Source: kekenet.com
