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Two important recent books re-examine long-standing orthodoxies which have come under fire in recent decades. Julia Kindt challenges the orthodox model of Greek religion which has put the polis as its central organizing principle, as manifested in the work of Christianne Sourvinou-Inwood and the Paris school. The book combines methodological and theoretical discussion with a series of case studies ranging from the Archaic period to the Second Sophistic. Kindt does not deny the value of the polis-centred model for major aspects of Greek religious life; rather, her main disagreement is that it creates simplistic polarities and leaves aside or treats as exceptions many important aspects of Greek religion. While the polis model sees religion as embedded in the structures of the polis, Kindt argues persuasively for the need to conceptualize Greek religion as a series of interrelated but distinct layers. She rightly stresses the autonomy of religion as a symbolic and figural system; and she emphasizes the significance of personal experience and agency and the ways in which practices such as magic illustrate the multiple links between personal experience and agency and the religious community of the polis. Finally, of particular significance is her challenge to the standard polarity of local versus Panhellenic and the need to adopt a wider spectrum of layers and identities.
1 Rethinking Greek Religion. By Kindt, Julia. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2013Google Scholar. Pp. xiii + 235. 8 figures. Hardback £52, ISBN: 978-0-521-11092-1; paperback £19.99, ISBN: 978-0-521-12773-8.
2 Men of Bronze. Hoplite Warfare in Ancient Greece. Edited by Kagan, Donald and Viggiano, Gregory F.. Princeton, NJ, and Oxford, Princeton University Press, 2013Google Scholar. Pp. xxvi + 286. 22 figures, 1 map. Hardback £24.95, ISBN: 978-0-691-14301-9.
3 The Athenian Amnesty and Reconstructing the Law. By Caravan, Edwin. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2013CrossRefGoogle Scholar. Pp. x + 310. Hardback £65, ISBN: 978-0-19-967276-9.
4 The Documents in the Attic Orators. Laws and Decrees in the Public Speeches of the Demosthenic Corpus. By Canevaro, Mirko. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2013CrossRefGoogle Scholar. Pp. xviii + 389. Hardback £75, ISBN: 978-0-19-966890-8.
5 Spectateurs de paroles! Délibération démocratique et théâtre à Athènes à l'époque classique. By Villacèque, Noémie. Rennes, Presses Universitaires de Rennes, 2013Google Scholar. Pp. 432. 3 figures, 15 plans. Paperback €20, ISBN: 978-2-7535-2214-5.
6 Marathon Fighters and Men of Maple. Ancient Acharnai. By Kellogg, Danielle L.. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2013CrossRefGoogle Scholar. Pp. xiv + 348. 1 map, 8 figures, 1 plate. Hardback £75, ISBN: 978-0-19-964579-4.
7 After Thermopylae. The Oath of Plataea and the End of the Graeco-Persian Wars. By Cartledge, Paul. Emblems of Antiquity. New York, Oxford University Press, 2013Google Scholar. Pp. xxx + 203. 4 maps, 9 figures. Hardback £16.99, ISBN: 978-0-19-974732-0.
8 Dangerous Gifts. Gender and Exchange in Ancient Greece. By Lyons, Deborah. Austin, TX, University of Texas Press, 2012Google Scholar. Pp. xvi + 166. 5 figures. Hardback $55.00, ISBN: 978-0-292-72967-4.
9 Sex and Sexuality in Classical Athens. By Robson, James. Debates and Documents in Ancient History. Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 2013Google Scholar. Pp. xxiv + 311. 32 figures. Paperback £24.99, ISBN: 978-0-7486-3414-9.
10 Readings in Greek History. Sources and Interpretations. By Nagle, D. Brendan and Burstein, Stanley M.. Second edition. Oxford and New York, Oxford University Press, 2013Google Scholar. Pp. xxviii + 340. 12 maps, 21 figures. Paperback £35.99, ISBN: 978-0-19-997845-8.
11 Herodotus. Edited by Munson, Rosaria Vignolo. Oxford Readings in Classical Studies. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2013Google Scholar. Volume 1. Herodotus and the Narrative of the Past. Pp. viii + 495. Hardback £100, ISBN: 978-0-19-958756-8; paperback £40, ISBN: 978-0-19-958757-5. Volume 2. Herodotus and the World. Pp. viii + 473. Hardback £100, ISBN: 978-0-19-958758-2; paperback £40, ISBN: 978-0-19-958759-9.
