The Iliad: Not as Stuffy as You'd Expect

I really enjoyed the Lombardo translation of Iliad, so I thought I'd give you a taste. Here's an excerpt, Diomedes vs. Pandarus (and their drivers):

Their two opponents 

Drove their thoroughbreds hard

And quickly closed the gap, and Pandarus,

Lycaon's splendid son, called out:

"You're tough, Diomedes, a real pedigreed hero.

So I only stung you with that arrow?

Well, let's see what I can do with a spear."

The shaft cast a long shadow as it left his hand

And hit Diomedes' shield. The bronze apex

Sheared through and stopped

Just short of his breastplate.

Pandarus, thinking he had hit him, whooped again:

"Got you right through the belly, didn't I?

You're done for, and you've handed me the glory."

Diomedes answered him levelly:

"You didn't even come close, but I swear

One of you two goes down now

And gluts Ares with his blood."

His javelin followed his voice, and Athena

Guided it to where the nose joins the eye-socket.

The bronze crunched through the pearly teeth

And sheared the tongue at its root, exiting

At the base of the chin,

Pandarus fell from the car,

His armour scattering the hard light

As it clattered on his fallen body.

His horse shied--

Quick movement of hooves--

As his soul seeped out into the sand.

--The Iliad by Homer, Lombardo translation, book 5