Heracles

Zeus’ champion is named Heracles?” Brody said as the crowd in the agora cheered. “ That’s weird. His name sounds almost like ‘Hercules. ’” “ He is Hercules, you dummy! ” Julia slapped herself on the forehead. “ I knew all those stories about Alcides sounded familiar. They were about Heracles! I forgot that Zeus renamed him to honor Hera. ” “ Honor her, or annoy her?” Markos asked. A shiver went through Brody as he glanced at Hera. She was glaring at Zeus with fury. Brody almost expected real fire to shoot out of her eyes—sort of like Ares’ hair.

宙斯的冠军叫赫拉克勒斯？”布罗迪说，广场上的人群欢呼起来。“太奇怪了。他的名字听起来像‘大力士’。” “他是大力神，你这个笨蛋！”茱莉亚拍了拍自己的额头。“我知道所有关于阿尔西德斯的故事听起来都很熟悉。它们都是关于赫拉克勒斯的！我忘了宙斯给他改名是为了纪念赫拉。” “尊敬她，还是惹恼她？”马库斯问道。 布罗迪瞥了赫拉一眼，浑身一颤。她愤怒地瞪着宙斯。布罗迪几乎以为真正的火会从她的眼睛里射出来——有点像阿瑞斯的头发。

“ I still don’t understand. ” Brody turned to face Julia. “ If that’s Hercules, why did Zeus just call him Heracles? Did Alcides change his name again later?” “ No. ‘Heracles’ is the way the Greeks say the name, ” Julia explained. “ ‘Hercules’ is the way the ancient Romans said it. ” “ Everyone on TV says ‘Hercules’ too, ” Brody said. “ Why can’t they all call him the same thing?” Markos looked troubled. “ So you know of Zeus’ champion?” he asked slowly. “ From the future?” “ Of course. ” Julia paced back and forth on the tiny roof. “ He’s the most famous ancient hero of all time! This changes everything! ”

“我还是不明白。”布罗迪转身面向茱莉亚。“如果那是大力神，为什么宙斯只是叫他赫拉克勒斯？阿尔西德斯后来又改了名字吗？” “不，‘赫拉克勒斯’是希腊人说这个名字的方式，”茱莉亚解释道。“‘大力神’是古罗马人说的。” “电视上的每个人都说'大力神'，”布罗迪说。“为什么他们不能叫一样的？” 马库斯看起来心事重重的。“所以你知道宙斯的冠军？”他缓缓问道。“从未来？” “当然。”茱莉亚在小屋顶上来回踱步。“他是有史以来最著名的古代英雄！他改变了一切！”

“ What do you mean?” Brody was still watching Heracles. The muscular youth was moving through the crowd, shaking hands and smiling at people. He was only a few yards away now, so Brody could get a good look at him. And what he saw made his heart sink. Heracles seemed to have more muscles than Brody’s entire football team put together! “ I mean . . . ” Julia stopped pacing. She glanced around to make sure nobody was looking up at them, and then stepped closer to the two boys.

“你是什么意思？”布罗迪还在看赫拉克勒斯。这位肌肉发达的年轻人在人群中穿行，握手，对人们微笑。 他现在离他只有几码远，所以布罗迪可以好好看看他。眼前的景象让他的心沉了下去。赫拉克勒斯的肌肉似乎比布罗迪整个足球队的总和还要多！ “我是说……”茱莉亚停止了踱步。她环顾四周，确保没有人抬头看他们，然后走近两个男孩。

When she spoke again, her voice was low and urgent. “ I mean, Heracles isn’t really a mortal. He’s half god! There’s no way any true mortal will be able to beat him in the Games. ” Markos gasped. “ He’s half god? So the rumors are true! He’s Zeus’ son?” “ Yes, ” Julia said grimly. “ And I bet Hera knows it too. Maybe she’s jealous of the other woman. ” “ You up there! ” a voice interrupted from below. “ Mortal children! Where is Hermes?” Brody glanced over the edge of the roof. Apollo and Artemis were looking up at them.

当她再次说话时，声音低沉而急促。“我的意思是，赫拉克勒斯不是真正的凡人。他是半神！任何真正的凡人都不可能在奥运会上击败他。” 马库斯倒吸了一口气。“他是半神？所以传言是真的！他是宙斯的儿子？” “是的，”茱莉亚严肃地说。“我敢打赌赫拉也知道。也许她嫉妒另一个女人。” “你们在上面！”一个从下方传来的声音打断了他们。“凡人孩子！赫尔墨斯在哪里？” 布罗迪看了一眼屋顶边缘。阿波罗和阿尔忒弥斯正抬头看着他们。

“ We don’t know where he is, ” Brody told the two gods. “ He flew off when we got here. ” “ Well, we need to find him. ” Apollo vaulted up onto the roof, landing lightly beside Brody. He peered out at the crowd. “ Yes, and quickly, ” Artemis added, joining her brother. “ This Heracles is much more impressive than we expected. Perhaps Hermes can help us figure out how to defeat him. ” Brody was glad that the gods also seemed worried about Heracles. At least they realized it would be nearly impossible to beat Zeus’ mighty-looking champion.

“我们不知道他在哪里，”布罗迪告诉两位神。“我们到这里的时候，他飞走了。” “好吧，我们需要找到他。”阿波罗跳上屋顶，轻轻地落在布罗迪身边。他凝视着人群。 “是的，而且要快，”阿尔忒弥斯加入她哥哥的阵营，补充道。“这个赫拉克勒斯比我们预期的要令人印象深刻得多。也许赫尔墨斯可以帮助我们想想要如何打败他。” 布罗迪很高兴众神似乎也很担忧赫拉克勒斯。至少他们意识到，要击败宙斯那强大冠军几乎是不可能的。

“ I see Hermes! ” Artemis pointed with her bow. Brody caught a glimpse of Hermes hovering above the crowd, halfway across the agora. Then the messenger god dropped down into the crowd and was lost from view. “ Hurry, sister. Let’s catch him before he disappears. ” Apollo leaped down from the roof as if it were no higher than a step. Artemis followed. As she did, the end of her bow hit Julia on the shoulder. “ Oh! ” Julia cried, losing her balance.

“我看见赫尔墨斯了！”阿尔忒弥斯用弓指了指。 布罗迪瞥见赫尔墨斯在人群上方徘徊，穿过半个集市。然后信使神掉进了人群，消失在视线中。 “快点，妹妹。让我们在他消失之前抓住他。”阿波罗从屋顶上跳下来，仿佛不过一步距离。 阿尔忒弥斯紧随其后。正当她行动的时候，她弓的末端打在了茱莉亚的肩膀上。 “哦！”茱莉亚喊道，失去了平衡。