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Every year before the ancient Greeks sowed their seeds of grain, they celebrated Demeter, the goddess of agriculture.
每一年，古希腊人都会在播种之前祭祀农业女神得墨忒耳。
On Earth, each morsel of food was sweet sustenance, while in the land of the dead, it ensured a permanent stay.
大地之上，每一口食物都是甘甜的滋养，但在幽冥之国，却是永恒的囚禁。
Demeter tended to Earth's fields with her beloved daughter, Persephone, who inherited her mother's passions and grew into a bright young woman.
得墨忒耳和她心爱的女儿珀耳塞福涅一起照看着大地，珀耳塞福涅继承了母亲的热情奔放，长成了一个聪明活泼的少女。
But all the while, a shadowy figure watched from below. One day, Persephone was frolicking in a meadow with a freshwater nymph, Cyane.
但自始至终都有一个黑影，从地底观察着她们。有一天，珀耳塞福涅正在草地上和水泽仙女赛娜嬉戏。
As they admired a blooming narcissus flower, they noticed it tremble in the ground.
正当她们欣赏一株盛开的水仙花时，地底传来了剧烈的震颤。
Suddenly, the earth split, and a terrifying figure arose. It was Hades, god of the dead and the underworld.
突然之间，大地开裂，一个可怕的人影升腾而起。人影正是掌管死亡与冥界的冥王哈迪斯。
He wrenched Persephone from Cyane, dragged her into his inky chariot, and blasted back through the earth.
他从赛娜处强行掳走了珀耳塞福涅，将她拖入他的黑暗马车，冲回了地底之下。
Cyane wept so hard she dissolved, becoming one with the river.
赛娜为此哭泣不止，最终化为水滴融入了江河。
By the time Demeter arrived at the scene of the abduction, the crater in the meadow had closed -- and Cyane and Persephone had vanished.
当得墨忒耳赶到绑架现场时，草地上的坑洞已经合拢，赛娜与珀耳塞福涅也早已消失不见。
Demeter sped to Mount Olympus for help. Many of the gods had witnessed the scene.
于是，得墨忒耳飞速赶往奥林匹斯山求助。许多神祇都目睹了绑架的发生。
And they knew about the deal that paved the way for it:
并且知晓绑架背后的交易：
Zeus, Persephone's father, had granted Hades her hand in marriage without her consent -- or Demeter's.
珀耳塞福涅的父亲宙斯违背了她和母亲得墨忒耳的意愿，答应了哈迪斯的求婚。
But when faced with Demeter's pleas, the other gods stayed silent, So, she searched alone.
面对得墨忒耳的恳求，众神全都保持沉默。得墨忒耳只好独自去寻找女儿。
In her grief and desperation, she neglected her usual tasks. Crops withered, and a great famine plagued the Earth.
悲痛与绝望让得墨忒耳疏忽了她的职责。庄稼逐渐枯萎消失，大饥荒席卷了大地。
As mortals began to perish, the gods grew wary. Who would worship them and offer tributes if the humans disappeared?
凡人开始死亡，众神的担忧也逐渐滋长。如果人类灭绝了，谁还会供奉和献祭他们呢？
So, Zeus ordered Demeter to stop her crusade and returned to her duties. But she refused.
于是，宙斯命令得墨忒耳停下她的征程，履行她农业女神的职责。但得墨忒耳拒绝了。
Deep below, across the frigid river Styx, and through the halls of the underworld, Persephone was waging her own protest.
穿过冰冷的冥河与地府的重重宫殿，幽冥深处的珀耳塞福涅也在进行着她的抗争。
Hades expected her to serve as his wife and queen. But Persephone rebuffed the god's advances and refused food.
哈迪斯想要她成为他的妻子--冥界的王后。但是珀耳塞福涅断然拒绝，并以绝食抗议。
As she longed for her mother's company, her friends' laughter, and the sun's warmth, Persephone grew colder and lonelier.
她渴望母亲的陪伴、朋友的欢笑和阳光的温暖，她感到越来越冷，越来越孤独。
And she was starving. She hungered for satisfying grains, crisp vegetables and fresh fruit.
绝食更是让她饥饿难忍。她想念令人满足的谷物、爽脆的蔬菜和新鲜的水果。
Wandering the ghostly gardens, she contemplated the pomegranates that hung heavily on their branches. Meanwhile, Demeter continued her hunt.
她在鬼气森森的花园游荡，久久凝视着那些沉甸甸悬挂在树枝上的石榴。同时，得墨忒耳也在继续寻找女儿的踪迹。
She appealed to the all-seeing sun god, Helios, whose rays had long warmed her crops.
她恳求无所不见的太阳神赫利俄斯，因为他的光芒总会温暖她所照拂的庄稼。
Indeed, when Helios drew his golden chariot across the sky that fateful day, he saw what happened -- and he knew of the deal.
事实上，绑架发生的那一天，赫利俄斯正驾驶着他的黄金马车穿过天际，他看到了发生的一切，也知道这背后的交易。
Out of respect and sympathy for Demeter, Helios told her of Hades' demands, Zeus' betrayal and Persephone's abduction.
出于对得墨忒耳的尊敬与同情，赫利俄斯告诉了她哈迪斯的要求、宙斯的背叛以及对珀耳塞福涅的绑架。
Furious and heartbroken, Demeter sped to Mount Olympus and confronted Zeus, demanding their daughter's return.
得墨忒耳既愤怒又心碎，再一次来到奥利匹斯山与宙斯对峙，并要求归还他们的女儿。
But Zeus declined: in her ravenous hunger, Persephone had eaten a few seeds from the pomegranate that grew in the underworld.
但宙斯拒绝了。珀耳塞福涅受不住极度的饥饿，吃了几颗石榴的种子。
Though a meager amount, it was enough to ensnare her in Hades forever. Demeter wouldn't accept this fate.
虽然只是几颗种子，却足以让她永远被禁锢在哈迪斯身边。得墨忒耳绝不接受命运的安排。
She swore that if she wasn't reunited with Persephone, the fields would never be fertile again,
她发誓如果无法与女儿团聚，大地将永不再有生机，
and the distinction between the Earth and the underworld would soon dissolve. So, they made a pact.
并将变得和冥界别无二致。最终，宙斯和哈迪斯与得墨忒耳达成协议。
For two thirds of every year, Persephone would return to the land of the living. But for the remainder, she would stay in the world of the dead.
一年三分之二的时间里，珀耳塞福涅可以在人间生活。但剩下的时间，她必须留在冥界。
When Persephone ascended to Earth, she and her mother rejoiced. Together, they showered the fields with rain and nurtured them with sun.
当珀耳塞福涅重返大地，她和她的母亲都非常高兴。她们一起向大地施雨，再以阳光滋养。
For mortals, Persephone's arrival came to herald the start of spring. But her descent always came too soon.
对于凡人来说，珀耳塞福涅的到来预示着春天的开始。但她很快又要回到冥界。
Each time she returned to Hades, Demeter mourned, and the earth grew cold, dark, and unyielding, ushering in the winter months.
珀耳塞福涅每一次回到哈迪斯身边，得墨忒耳都非常忧伤，于是大地变得寒冷、黑暗、寸草不生，漫长的冬季也就到来了。
Knowing Demeter couldn't be roused from her grief, the humans stored their crops, stoked their fires, and awaited Persephone's safe return.
明白得墨忒耳无法从悲伤中释怀，人们会囤积粮食、点燃炉火，等待珀耳塞福涅再一次安全地归来。
And so it was that her transit marked the gradual turning of the seasons and the bittersweet compromise between life and death.
珀耳塞福涅的往来标志着季节的转换，也展现了生与死之间苦乐参半的妥协。
