Both Stanley Lombardo and Robert Fitzgerald offer engaging translations of Homer's Iliad, each capturing the epic's drama and emotional depth in distinct styles. Lombardo's translation is noted for its straightforward, contemporary language that makes the ancient text more accessible to modern readers. This is evident in the way he opens the epic with a direct appeal to "Sing, Goddess, Achilles' rage," reflecting a focus on the intense emotions that drive the narrative. His rendering of key speeches, like Athena's encouragement to Diomedes, injects a sense of urgency and intimacy, with phrases such as "He's nothing but a shifty lout," adding modern colloquialism and immediacy to the dialogue. Lombardo's translation conveys the raw and visceral nature of the epic, often using simple vocabulary to emphasize the dramatic elements, such as in the depiction of the fleeting nature of human life using the metaphor of leaves. In contrast, Robert Fitzgerald's translation maintains a more traditional, poetic tone while still being accessible to contemporary audiences. His opening lines, "Anger be now your song, immortal one," impart a rhythmic, almost musical quality to the text, which offers a more classic epic feel. Fitzgerald's portrayal of Athena's dialogue with Diomedes retains a formal structure, as seen in lines like "defer no longer to this maniacal god," which preserves a sense of the ancient world's grandeur and complexity. His use of imagery, particularly in the analogies comparing human lives to leaves, resonates with a lyrical beauty that often characterizes epic poetry. Fitzgerald's translation balances the need for fidelity to the original Greek with a poetic resonance that captures the timeless essence of the Iliad's themes, such as fate and the pursuit of glory, making it appealing to readers who appreciate a more traditional literary style.
Sing, Goddess, Achilles' rage,
Black and murderous, that cost the Greeks
Incalculable pain, pitched countless souls
Of heroes into Hades' dark,
And left their bodies to rot as feasts
For dogs and birds, as Zeus' will was done.
Anger be now your song, immortal one,
Akhilleus' anger, doomed and ruinous,
that caused the Akhaians loss on bitter loss
and crowded brave souls into the undergloom,
leaving so many dead men—carrion
for dogs and birds; and the will of Zeus was done.