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Every morning, Helios harnessed his winged horses, unleashed his golden chariot, and set out across the sky.
每天清晨，赫利俄斯都会套上他的飞马，驾着他的金色飞车，驰骋于天空之上。
As the Sun God transformed the rosy dawn into the golden blooms of day, he thought of those far below.
每当太阳神将一日之晨染上绮丽的朝霞，他的思绪都飘向了远方。
Years ago, he fell in love with a water nymph named Clymene. Together, they had seven daughters and one son named Phaethon.
几年以前，他爱上了大洋神女克吕墨涅。他们有了七个女儿和一个名叫法厄同的儿子。
But Helios had a wandering eye. Clymene eventually left him, taking their children with her and marrying King Merops of Ethiopia.
不过赫利俄斯有点花心。最终，克吕墨涅带着他们的孩子离开了赫利俄斯，嫁给了埃塞俄比亚国王墨洛普斯。
When Phaethon was little, Clymene told him tales of his divine father.
从小法厄同就听母亲克吕墨涅讲述他神圣的父亲。
As he grew into a young man, he took a special pride in knowing he was the Sun God's child.
随着他年岁渐长，成为一个年轻小伙，他对自己是太阳神之子感到格外骄傲。
However, one day, Epaphus, Phaethon's peer who was himself the son of Zeus, sought to temper Phaethon's arrogance, taunting that Helios wasn't his father after all.
然而有一天，看不惯法厄同的趾高气昂，他的伙伴、宙斯的儿子厄帕福斯，嘲讽说赫利俄斯根本不是他父亲。
With no absolute proof to the contrary, the possibility bore into Phaethon's mind.
由于缺乏有力的反驳，一丝念头突然钻入法厄同脑中。
He feared that his mother had lied. And who was he if not Helios' son?
他害怕自己被母亲蒙在鼓中。如果他不是赫利俄斯的儿子，谁才是？
When Phaethon confronted Clymene, she insisted that his father was the powerful Sun God.
当克吕墨涅受到法厄同的质问时，她坚持说法厄同的父亲的确是伟大的太阳神。
Nevertheless, Phaethon was seized by doubt. So, Clymene sent him off to ask Helios directly.
即便如此，法厄同还是疑心重重。因此，克吕墨涅让他自己去找赫利俄斯确认。
Walking eastward, Phaethon entered the Sun God's gleaming palace at last.
一路向东，法厄同最终来到了太阳神金碧辉煌的宫殿。
Once his eyes adjusted to the brightness, he saw Helios' radiant smile and open arms.
当他的眼睛终于适应了这眩目的光芒，法厄同看见了太阳神灿烂的微笑和敞开的怀抱。
When Phaethon expressed his skepticism that Helios was truly his father, the Sun God only beamed.
当法厄同质疑自己父亲的身份时，太阳神只是面带笑容。
To dispel all doubt, he would grant Phaethon anything he wanted.
为了打消他的疑虑，太阳神答应会满足他的一切要求。
Basking in Helios' glow, Phaethon felt there was but one way to prove their connection to the world -- and himself.
沐浴在赫利俄斯的光芒之下，法厄同觉得只有一种方法可以向全世界，也向他自己证明他们的关系。
He needed to drive Helios' chariot for a day. The Sun God's smile dimmed.
他要求驾一天赫利俄斯的太阳马车。太阳神敛去了笑容。
In his daily journey, he steered his fire-breathing horses through space at top speeds.
每天，他都要例行驾驭着喷火的马儿全速驰骋。
The task required masterful control to ensure that the chariot raced along its precise celestial trajectory, with a thin margin separating stability from catastrophe.
这份任务需要极强的控制力，才能保证马车精确地契合轨迹行驶，稳定与灾难只有一线之隔。
Even Zeus wasn't confident in driving his chariot.
即使是宙斯也没有十足的把握。
Helios begged his son to reconsider, but Phaethon was steadfast, so the god prepared him for the journey.
赫利俄斯请求他的儿子三思，但法厄同十分固执，因此赫利俄斯只好让他尝试。
With a crack of the reins, he was off. In flight, Phaethon's mortal insecurities fell away. But soon, the reins slackened in his hands.
一抖缰绳，法厄同出发了。飞行途中，他放松了对安全的警惕，慢慢松开了手中的缰绳。
Unaccustomed to the feathery weight of a mortal, the radiant horses climbed higher and higher.
由于不习惯凡人轻如鸿毛的重量，马儿越爬升越高。
The chariot whirled past constellations, narrowly missing the pincers of Scorpio and the arrow of Sagittarius.
太阳马车在星座中回旋，堪堪擦过天蝎座的钳子和射手座的箭。
With the Sun so far away, the Earth darkened, and the seas began to crackle and freeze.
随着太阳远离，地球陷入了黑暗，海水结冰，咯吱作响。
Startled, Phaethon sharply pulled the reins. The horses lurched and the chariot plunged towards the Earth's surface.
法厄同惊恐地攥紧了缰绳。马匹一顿，整辆马车向地面下坠。
Lakes boiled and forests burned as Phaethon struggled to pull the chariot up, leaving deserts in his wake.
湖水沸腾了，森林着火了，法厄同试图将马儿拉起，他们所到之处都成了沙漠。
Back on Mount Olympus, the Gods were panicking. Zeus saw that Phaethon was destined for a crash that would set the Earth ablaze.
而在奥林匹斯山上，众神也十分恐慌。宙斯看到法厄同注定会撞击地球，点燃大地。
So, he hurled one of his mighty thunderbolts at the boy.
于是，他向法厄同投掷了一团雷电。
The horses tore away, leaving Phaethon suspended in the heavens for just one moment, before he plummeted to the Earth, into the river Eridanus, never to resurface.
马儿逃开了，法厄同在空中只停留了一瞬间，就坠入地球上的埃里达努斯河，再也没有浮上来。
Phaethon's sisters gathered on the riverbank to weep, gradually metamorphosing into poplar trees that leaked precious amber into the water.
法厄同的姐妹们在河岸边为他哭泣，渐渐化作了一棵棵杨树，向水中滴入一颗颗珍贵的琥珀。
Zeus repaired the Earth and created an everlasting memorial, strewing Phaethon's likeness in the stars.
宙斯修复了地球，并铸造了一块永恒的纪念碑，将法厄同的一点一滴都散播到星辰中去。
Overcome by grief, Helios had hidden himself from the sky.
哀恸的赫利俄斯离开了天空。
But he soon returned, and every day from then on, as he raced through the heavens, he greeted his son.
但他很快就回来了，之后的每一天，他掠过天堂时，都向他的儿子致意。
The constellation, known as "Auriga," or "the charioteer," stands as a reminder of a lost young man, and his bid to harness powers far greater than himself.
那个名为“御夫座”的星座，铭记着一位逝去的年轻人，以及他对于远超他自身的力量的追求。
