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CURRIE, B., Pindar and the Cult of Heroes. Oxford University Press, 2010. 504p. Paperback. Series: Oxford Classical Monographs. 'Bruno Currie presents a well-defined, well-informed and not uncontroversial study intended to 'argue for a new understanding of Pindar's epinician poetry, and in a significant respect, of the culture which produced it.'. C.'s 'new understanding' is that, in different degrees, vicotry odes often included an intimation of the literal, cultic heroization of the laudandus. He argues that in the fifth century, immortality in cult was enjoyed by a considerably larger number of the known (i.e. recent) dead than scholars typically recognize. Further, he shows that even in the 'Classical'period, a few still-living individuals were awarded cult-style honours. (...) C.'s well-produced book most certainly deserves and rewards careful attention, both for its boldly argued thesis and for the questions it raises about individual pieces of evidence. (...) It will be accessible to all who have a sound familiarity with classical Greek culture. Its user-friendliness is enhanced bu a 47-page bibliography and two indices, by the use of footnotes and endnotes, and most of all by C.'s transparent articulation of topics (marked by unusually apt subsection headings), sharp focus and engaging style.' (DEBORAH BOEDEKER in The Journal of Hellenic Studies 2007, pp.158-59). € 55.00 (New) ISBN: 9780199586707