Rituals and Power: The Roman Imperial Cult in Asia Minor
'Simon Price's study of the Roman Imperial cult in Asia Minor is, to my mind, the first wholly successful attempt to blend anthropology with ancient history ... It must be said that on the scholarly side Price commands his vast and difficult material flawlessly ... But that is the least of its merits. A totally original re-interpretation of the imperial cult in the light of anthropological thought and method, it is the first interpretation that really makes sense of this whole bizarre phenomenon. As a former adherent of the political interpretation of the cult, I have to confess that I felt the scales drop from my eyes when I read Price's book, and for the first time understood why the citizens of the Roman Empire did what they did in worshiping their rulers.' G. W. Bowersock, The New Republic'While the book is based upon a meticulous study of the surviving evidence for the cult in Asia Minor ... likely to satisfy the most demanding empirical researcher, the real excitement and challenge of the book for me lies in its conceptual sophistication and the sustained nature of the argumentatiob ... Not a little of its bite comes from Price's effective command of recent anthropological writing.' C. E. V. Nixon, The Liverpool Classical Monthly'The combination of detailed scholarship in a particular area with insights which will assist anyone's understanding of religion, and of power, in the ancient world, make this an extremely important book.' T. E. J. Wiedemann, The JACT Review