More inclusive scholarly reviews.
An open-access book review journal prioritizing underrepresented scholarly voices in ancient Mediterranean studies.
Recent reviews
J.R.R. Tolkien’s Utopianism and the Classics
Hamish Williams, J.R.R. Tolkien’s Utopianism and the Classics, Classical Receptions in Twentieth-Century Writing (London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2023). ISBN 9781350241459. Reviewer by Martha Shillaker, University of St Andrews, Martha.M.Shillaker@gmail.com. Hamish Williams’s monograph J.R.R. Tolkien’s Utopianism and the Classics explores how the Classical past is (re)used by Tolkien in the creation and development of his literary utopianism.…
Keep readingRival Praises: Ovid and the Metamorphosis of the Hymnic Tradition
Celia M. Campbell, Rival Praises: Ovid and the Metamorphosis of the Hymnic Tradition (Madison, WI: The University of Wisconsin Press, 2024). 9780299348748. Reviewed by Daniel Libatique, Fairfield University, dlibatique@fairfield.edu. Ovid’s experiments with genre have provided fruitful material not only for scholars but also for Ovid himself. From the recusatio of Amores 1.1.1–4 where Cupid steals…
Keep readingAthenian Power in the Fifth Century BC
Leah Lazar, Athenian Power in the Fifth Century BC (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2024). 9780198896265. Reviewed by Christine Downton, University of Leicester, cad38@leicester.ac.uk. The overall aim of this monograph is to re-examine the concept of Athenian power in the fifth century BCE. Whilst Athenian power has been the subject of considerable scholarship in the past,…
Keep readingAdoption, Adaption, and Innovation in Pre-Roman Italy
Jeremy Armstrong and Aaron Rhodes-Schroder (eds.), Adoption, Adaption, and Innovation in Pre-Roman Italy: Paradigms for Cultural Change, Archaeology of the Mediterranean World 3 (Turnhout: Brepols, 2023). 9782503602325. Reviewed by Ulla Rajala, Stockholm University, Sweden, rajalaullam@gmail.com. This volume originates from the conference “Exchanging Ideas: Trade, Technology, and Connectivity in Pre-Roman Italy,” held in Auckland, New Zealand,…
Keep readingRoman Imperial Artillery: Outranging the Enemies of the Empire
Alan Wilkins, Roman Imperial Artillery: Outranging the Enemies of the Empire, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Archaeopress, 2024). 9781803277837. Reviewed by Evan Schultheis, independent scholar, flavivsaetivs@gmail.com. Alan Wilkins’s Roman Imperial Artillery is written as a standard reference text for specialists and non-specialists alike, designed as an introduction to the study of Roman artillery. While it is often…
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