After enjoying The Odyssey as much as I did, I was really looking forward to reading this. Accordingly, I enjoyed Books 1-6, which are modeled on The Odyssey, but books 7-12, modeled on the Iliad, were unbelievably violent. I am glad I read this seminal work of Western literature -- it is beautifully written -- but it will be a while before I read the Iliad if it is this violent.