Review by Choice Review
This important book by Platt (Cornell Univ.) represents an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the concept of epiphany (i.e., the divine made manifest) in Greek and Roman antiquity from Greek Archaic times through the early third century of the Roman period. The book explores the complex cognitive processes involved in decoding and interpreting epiphanic representation in both the visual arts and literature, especially the highly rhetorical writings of Greek authors of the so-called Second Sophistic. This intellectual movement represented and preserved Greek paideia (a well-rounded system of education) and cultural identity in the Roman world, especially during the second and early third centuries. Although the book is well-written and interesting for the hermeneutical approaches it offers, in its attempt to understand epiphany in a cultural context, the complex way in which the discourse is presented will limit its appeal to an advanced scholarly audience. Summing Up: Recommended. Researchers/faculty and graduate students. J. Pollini University of Southern California
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
