The Name of a Champion

The sun shining down over the agora was hot, but Julia felt a chill run through her as Hera stepped up to Alcides. “ Well, well, well, ” Hera said, walking in a circle around Zeus’ champion. “ I see your champion has finally arrived, Zeus. ” “ Alcides, may I present my lovely wife, Hera, ” Zeus said. “ Hera, this is the champion you’ve heard so much about: Alcides of Thebes, the greatest mortal athlete of his generation. Possibly the greatest of any generation. ” “ It is my honor to be in the presence of the queen of the gods, ” Alcides said, bowing low.

阳光普照，集市上很炎热，但当赫拉走到阿尔西德斯面前时，茱莉亚只感到一阵寒意袭身。 “好吧，好吧，好吧，”赫拉说着，绕着宙斯的冠军走了一圈。“我看到你的冠军终于来了，宙斯。” “阿尔西德斯，请允许我介绍我可爱的妻子赫拉，”宙斯说。 “赫拉，这就是你听说过多次的冠军：底比斯城的阿尔西德斯，他这一代最伟大的凡人运动员。也可能是任何一代人中最伟大的。” “能出现在众神之后面前是我的荣幸，”阿尔西德斯说道，深深的鞠了一躬。

Hera looked unimpressed as she studied Alcides from head to toe. At last she turned to sneer at Zeus. “ He’s just another ordinary mortal after all. ” “ You won’t say that when he beats your champion in the Games, ” Zeus said. Hera sniffed in disdain and returned her attention to Alcides. She stared at the young man with pure hatred in her eyes. Alcides gazed back, his expression calm and untroubled. Julia, though, thought she could see his hands trembling slightly.

赫拉不为所动，她从头到脚打量着阿尔西德斯。最后，她转过身来对宙斯冷笑。“他毕竟只是另一个普通的凡人。” “当他在奥运会上击败你的冠军时，你就不会这么说了，”宙斯说。 赫拉不以为然，把注意力转向阿尔西德斯。她盯着这个年轻人，眼中带着纯粹的仇恨。 阿尔西德斯回视，表情平静而无动于衷。不过，茱莉亚认为她好像看到他的手在微微颤抖。

“ It’s not surprising that Alcides looks nervous, ” she thought with a shiver. “ Hera is scary all the time—but when she’s angry, she’s terrifying! ” Finally Hera turned away again. “ I see that I’ve wasted my time coming here today. My champion and I have nothing to worry about. ” Zeus clenched his jaw in anger. “ Is that so?” His voice boomed. “ Perhaps Alcides and I can show you otherwise. ” Zeus leaped off the dais. In three huge strides, he reached a stall containing live chickens and sheep. A large ram stood in a pen in front of the stall. Zeus kicked the pen apart as easily as Julia might kick away some twigs, sending wood flying in all directions. Then he grabbed the ram by the horns and dragged it over to Alcides.

“阿尔西德斯感到紧张并不奇怪，”她颤抖着想。“赫拉一直都很可怕——但当她生气时，她就更可怕了！” 最后赫拉又转身离开了。“我就知道我今天来这里是在浪费时间。我和我的冠军没什么好担心的。” 宙斯愤怒地咬紧牙关。“是这样吗？”他的声音低沉。“也许我和阿尔西德斯可以告诉你点别的。” 宙斯从高台上跳了下来。他大步迈了三步，来到了一个摆放着活鸡和羊的摊位前。一只大公羊站在摊位前的围栏里。 宙斯把围栏踢开，就像茱莉亚踢开一些树枝一样容易，木头四散而飞。然后，他抓住公羊的角，把它拖到阿尔西德斯身边。

“ Here you go, my boy, ” Zeus said through gritted teeth. “ Please show my wife how you choked those serpents in your crib. ” “ So that tale is true! ” Markos whispered in amazement. Julia nodded slowly. “ I knew that story sounded familiar. So do some of the other stories we’ve heard about Alcides. ” “ Shh, ” Brody said. “ He’s going to strangle the ram! ”

“给你，我的孩子，”宙斯咬牙切齿地说。“请告诉我的妻子，你是怎么把那些蛇掐死在婴儿床里的。” “原来这个故事是真的！”马库斯惊讶地低声说道。 茱莉亚缓缓点头。“我知道这个故事听起来很熟悉。我们听过的其他一些关于阿尔西德斯的故事也是如此。” “嘘，”布罗迪说。“他要勒死公羊了！”

“ Oh no! ” Julia exclaimed. “ The poor ram didn’t do anything to him—or to Zeus, either. ” The crowd murmured and pressed forward as Zeus stepped back, leaving Alcides facing off against the ram. The ram lowered its head, snorted, and pawed at the dusty ground. “ Go on, boy, ” Zeus urged Alcides. He turned to the crowd. “ As you may have heard, Alcides strangled not one, but two deadly serpents when he was just a baby in his crib. By doing so, he saved not only his own life, but also that of his twin brother. Isn’t that right, Iphicles, my boy?”

“哦，不！”茱莉亚惊呼。“这只可怜的公羊没有对他做任何事——也没有对宙斯做任何事。” 人群窃窃私语着向前挤，宙斯后退一步，留下阿尔西德斯与公羊对峙。公羊低下头，打了个响鼻，蹄子拍了拍尘土飞扬的地面。 “去吧，孩子，”宙斯催促阿尔西德斯。他转向人群。 “你们可能听说过，当他还是婴儿床里的婴儿时，阿尔西德斯勒死的不是一条，而是两条致命的蛇。 如此一来，他不仅挽救了自己的生命，还挽救了双胞胎兄弟的生命。是不是，伊菲克勒斯，我的孩子？”

Julia had almost forgotten about the second youth. But now Zeus pulled him forward. “ This is Iphicles, ” Zeus announced. “ He and Alcides have been together since birth. They’re as close as brothers can be despite their obvious differences. ” He chuckled, poking Iphicles in his skinny arm. “ Isn’t that right, my boy?” Iphicles nodded. Then he ducked his head, looking uncomfortable. Julia knew how he felt. She didn’t like being the center of attention, and she could tell that he didn’t either.

茱莉亚几乎遗忘了第二个年轻人。但现在宙斯拉着他向前走。 “这是伊菲克勒斯，”宙斯宣布。“他和阿尔西德斯从出生起就在一起。尽管他们有明显的差异，但他们还是像兄弟一样亲密。” 他轻笑一声，戳了戳伊菲克勒斯瘦骨嶙峋的胳膊。“难道不是吗，我的孩子？” 伊菲克勒斯点了点头。然后他低下头，不太舒服的样子。 茱莉亚知道他的感受。她不喜欢成为被关注的焦点，她看得出来，他也不喜欢。