A . T . Murray ( 1919 )

Tell me , Muse , of the man of many devices , driven far astray after he had sacked the sacred citadel of Troy . Many were the men whose cities he saw and whose minds he learned , and many the woes he suffered in his heart upon the sea , seeking to win his own life and the return of his comrades . Yet even so he did not save his comrades , for all his desire , for through their own blind folly they perished — fools , who devoured the cattle of Helios Hyperion ; whereupon he took from them the day of their returning . Of these things goddess , daughter of Zeus , beginning where you will , tell us in our turn .

Robert Fitzgerald ( 1960 )

Sing in me , Muse , and through me tell the story of that man skilled in all ways of contending , the wanderer , harried for years on end , after he plundered the stronghold on the proud height of Troy . He saw the townlands and learned the minds of many distant men , and weathered many bitter nights and days in his deep heart at sea , while he fought only to save his life , to bring his shipmates home . But not by will nor valor could he save them , for their own recklessness destroyed them all — children and fools , they killed and feasted on the cattle of Lord Helios , the Sun , and he who moves all day through heaven took from their eyes the dawn of their return . Of these adventures , Muse , daughter of Zeus , tell us in our time , lift the great song again .

Emily Wilson ( 2018 )

Tell me about a complicated man , Muse , tell me how he wandered and was lost when he had wrecked the holy town of Troy , and where he went , and who he met , the pain he suffered in the storms at sea , and how he worked to save his life and bring his men back home . He failed to keep them safe ; poor fools , they ate the Sun God’s cattle , and the god kept them from home . Now goddess , child of Zeus , tell the old story for our modern times . Find the beginning .