Abused Bodies in Roman Epic

Andrew M. McClellan, Abused Bodies in Roman Epic (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019). Reviewed by Courtney Evans, Duke University, courtney.evans@duke.edu. This project, originating from McClellan’s dissertation, seeks to offer a “fundamental re-evaluation of violence and warfare in Latin epic” (17) by shifting our interpretive lens onto the corpses of epic, viewing them as “characters” which…More

Ritual in Deuteronomy: The Performance of Doom

Melissa D. Ramos, Ritual in Deuteronomy: The Performance of Doom (London: Routledge, 2021). 9781138570986. Reviewed by Joseph Scales, independent scholar, josephdscales@gmail.com. Ritual in Deuteronomy is a fascinating yet broad topic. Previous studies have examined various elements of Deuteronomy and ritual practice or theory. Ramos adds to this body of work through an examination of chapters 27–30 in this…More

Archaeology in the Smallest Realm: Micro Analyses and Methods for the Reconstruction of Early Societies on Cyprus

Marialucia Amadio, ed., Archaeology in the Smallest Realm: Micro Analyses and Methods for the Reconstruction of Early Societies on Cyprus (Rome: Artemide Edizioni, 2021). 9788875753795. Reviewed by Christine L. Johnston, Western Washington University, Christine.johnston@wwu.edu. This slim volume (166 pp.) presents ten studies of archaeological microanalysis, focusing in particular on the enhanced benefits of integrating macro-…More

Acta Martyrum Scillitanorum: A Literary Commentary

Vincent Hunink, Acta Martyrum Scillitanorum: A Literary Commentary. Giornale Italiano di Filologia Bibliotheca 24 (Turnhout: Brepols, 2021). 9782503590950. Reviewed by Jared Secord, University of Calgary, jaredjohn.secord@ucalgary.ca The Acts of the Scilitan Martyrs (henceforth ASM) has traditionally been regarded as one of the earliest works of Christian Latin literature. It narrates the encounter between a group…More

Freewomen, Patriarchal Authority, and the Accusation of Prostitution

Stephanie Lynn Budin, Freewomen, Patriarchal Authority, and the Accusation of Prostitution (London: Routledge, 2021). 9780367198299. Reviewed by Mali Skotheim, Ashoka University, mali.skotheim@ashoka.edu.in Stephanie Lynn Budin’s Freewomen, Patriarchal Authority, and the Accusation of Prostitution, published in the Routledge series Interdisciplinary Research in Gender, is a comparative study of women who have been called prostitutes in ancient…More

Aspects of Death and the Afterlife in Greek Literature

George Alexander Gazis and Anthony Hooper, eds., Aspects of Death and the Afterlife in Greek Literature (Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2021). 9781789621495. Reviewed by Amy K. Vandervelde, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, amykv2@illinois.edu In their edited volume, Gazis and Hooper bring together a variety of scholars from across disciplines to examine questions pertaining to death…More

Uncovering Jewish Creativity in Book III of the Sibylline Oracles: Gender, Intertextuality, and Politics

Ashley L. Bacchi, Uncovering Jewish Creativity in Book III of the Sibylline Oracles: Gender, Intertextuality, and Politics (Leiden: Brill, 2020). 9789004424340. Reviewed by Gillian Glass, University of British Columbia, rgglass@student.ubc.ca In Uncovering Jewish Creativity, Bacchi articulates the significance of Jewish literature for the field of Hellenistic literature generally, in addition to contributing to the ever-growing…More

London’s Roman Tools: Craft, Agriculture and Experience in an Ancient City

Owen Humphreys, London’s Roman Tools: Craft, Agriculture and Experience in an Ancient City, Archaeology of Roman Britain 3 (Oxford: BAR Publishing, 2021). 9781407357386. Reviewed by Tim Penn, University of Oxford, timothy.penn@classics.ox.ac.uk Humphreys’ book is dedicated to “Sarah, and everyone else who won’t read it but might look at the pictures.” But anyone who just looks…More

Deserted Villages: Perspectives from the Eastern Mediterranean

Rebecca M. Seifried and Deborah E. Brown Stewart, eds., Deserted Villages: Perspectives from the Eastern Mediterranean (Grand Forks: The Digital Press at the University of North Dakota, 2021). 9781736498613. Reviewed by Eric W. Driscoll, Harvard University, edriscoll@fas.harvard.edu. When modern archaeological survey began in the 1950s with Robert Adams’ fieldwork east of Baghdad, and later in…More