It is perhaps a truism to note that ancient religion and rhetoric were closely intertwined in Greek and Roman antiquity. Religion is embedded in socio-political, legal and cultural institutions and structures, while also being influenced, or even determined, by them. Rhetoric is used to address the divine, to invoke the gods, to talk about the sacred, to express piety and to articulate, refer to, recite or explain the meaning of hymns, oaths, prayers, oracles and other religious matters and processes. The 13 contributions to this volume explore themes and topics that most succinctly describe the firm interrelation between religion and rhetoric mostly in, but not exclusively focused on, Greek and Roman antiquity, offering new, interdisciplinary insights into a great variety of aspects, from identity construction and performance to legal/political practices and a broad analytical approach to transcultural ritualistic customs. The volume also offers perceptive insights into oriental (i.e. Egyptian magic) texts and Christian literature.

This volume acknowledges the centrality of comic invective in a range of oratorical institutions (especially forensic and symbouleutic), and aspires to enhance the knowledge and understanding of how this technique is used in such con-texts of both Greek and Roman oratory. Despite the important scholarly work that has been done in discussing the patterns of using invective in Greek and Roman texts and contexts, there are still notable gaps in our knowledge of the issue. The introduction to, and the twelve chapters of, this volume address some understudied multi-genre and interdisciplinary topics: first, the ways in which comic invective in oratory draws on, or has implications for, comedy and other genres, or how these literary genres are influenced by oratorical theory and practice, and by contemporary socio-political circumstances, in articulating comic invective and targeting prominent individuals; second, how comic invective sustains relationships and promotes persuasion through unity and division; third, how it connects with sexuality, the human body and male/female physiology; fourth, what impact generic dichotomies, as, for example, public-private and defence-prosecution, may have upon using comic invective; and fifth, what the limitations in its use are, depending on the codes of honour and decency in ancient Greece and Rome.

In the light of recent scholarly work on tragic patterns and allusions inFlavian epic, the publication of a volume exclusively dedicated to therelationship between Flavian epic and tragedy is timely. The volume,concentrating on the poetic works of Silius Italicus, Statius and ValeriusFlaccus, consists of eight original contributions, two by the editorsthemselves and a further six by experts on Flavian epic. The volume ispreceded by an introduction by the editors and it concludes with an‘Afterword’ by Carole E. Newlands.Among key themes analysed are narrative patterns, strategies or type-scenesthat appear to derive from tragedy, the Aristotelian notions of hamartia andanagnorisis, human and divine causation, the ‘transfer’ of individualcharacters from tragedy to epic, as well as instances of tragic language andimagery.The volume at hand showcases an array of methodological approaches to thequestion of the presence of tragic elements in epic. Hence, it will be ofinterest to scholars and students in the area of Classics or Literary Studiesfocusing on such intergeneric and intertextual connections; it will be also ofinterest to scholars working on Flavian epic or on the ancient reception ofGreek and Roman tragedy.