T H E C L A S S I CA L R E V I E W 299

The volume consists of twenty chapters, which can be sectioned into five broad themes:
Christianity up to and including Constantine, Christian doctrine and the schisms,
Organisation within the Church, the Christianisation of the existing Graeco-Roman frame-
work, and the concept of relics and missionaries. Thus the book covers a timescale from
the late-third through to the early-eighth century with an epilogue reaching ‘The Dawn
of Medieval Christendom’. Each chapter has a broad chronological framework through
which G. weaves together the sources with the explanatory narrative in such a way that
makes the text enjoyable to read. This approach shows clearly not only the significance
of the sources but also how they influenced each other, and how events unfolded.
A heavily emphasised theme is that ‘the fourth century witnessed the transformation of
Christianity into the dominant faith of the Later Roman empire’ (p. 65) and that this cen-
tury saw the transformation of the Christian faith. This is commented on in most chapters
and feels repetitive when reading through the whole volume rather than dipping into indi-
vidual chapters. A fascinating inclusion is the short section in Chapter 7, ‘Scripture and
Liturgy’, which considers the development of hymns and how they became established
in Christian worship (pp. 90–2). G. notes that ‘the development of the liturgy made
music and hymn-singing an important part of worship’ (p. 90) and that it was an eastern
tradition that migrated to western churches. G. also gives a Latin and Greek example of
hymns that were composed in the Late Roman period and are still used in churches
today – ‘Of the Father’s Love Begotten’ and the Akathistos Hymn to the Theotokos.
G. notes that the volume is accessible for both scholars and students, but it would also
be of use for anyone interested in this era.

University of St Andrews HANNAH MACE

hem37@st-andrews.ac.uk

B E R R Y ( J . ) The Complete Pompeii. Pp. 256, b/w & colour ills, b/w &
colour maps. London: Thames & Hudson, 2013 (first published 2007).
Paper, £14.95. ISBN: 978-0-500-29092-7.
doi:10.1017/S0009840X15002024

Due to its size and extensive body of scholarship, Pompeii is arguably the most complex
archaeological site on the planet. Despite this, scholars have regularly sought to produce
synthetic treatments of the ancient city and its excavated remains. B.’s volume represents
the most recent attempt at this daunting task. While many previous works have advanced
the theoretical agendas of their authors – see, for example, A. Maiuri’s discussions of the
post-earthquake period in Pompei (1927) – the great success of B.’s book is the balance
with which it treats even the most controversial topics.
The text is divided into nine chapters that cover a range of subjects, from volcanology
to erotic graffiti. B. spends considerable time ‘setting the stage’ before delving into the
extant archaeology. After addressing the geological setting and Vesuvian eruption in the
first chapter, she utilises Chapters 2 and 3 to provide an overview of Pompeii’s excavation
history and to discuss some of the debates associated with the site’s pre-A.D. 79 past.
Chapters 4 to 9 consider more conventional Pompeian themes: people, public architecture,
houses and society, religion and religious buildings, and the city’s economy. The book
concludes with a summary of the years between the A.D. 62 earthquake and the A.D. 79
eruption.

The Classical Review 66.1 299–300 © The Classical Association (2016)

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 300 T H E C L A S S I CA L R E V I E W

The reader is thus presented with a comprehensive – if broadly-painted – picture of

Pompeian studies as they stand at present. B. adds occasional flavour to an otherwise
descriptive narrative by including short vignettes on particularly interesting topics: the
bombing of Pompeii during World War II, the tablet archive of L. Caecilius Iucundus
and so on. Throughout the book, B. also acknowledges recent debates surrounding schol-
arly perspectives once thought to be canonical, taking care to present contentious subjects
such as the ‘Altstadt’ theory and the calendar date of the A.D. 79 eruption from multiple
perspectives.
Though this paperback does not formally represent a new edition of the 2007 hard-
bound book, it is worth pointing out that the text has been corrected and/or augmented
in certain places. Printing errors present on p. 40 (‘exciting finds made been made’) and
p. 219 (‘such asa chisel’) of the hardback have been corrected, and the bibliography has
been updated to include a number of important publications that appeared between 2007
and 2012. Certain problems remain, however, the most notable being the list of illustra-
tions, which is not numbered and is catalogued by source rather than by page number
(in some cases incorrectly). The book is beautifully illustrated and it is a shame that the
publishers have made identifying images so difficult.
Overall, however, these are minor complaints about what is an otherwise excellent
introduction to Pompeii and its history. For university students, it provides a nice mix
of general discussion and detailed analysis. I have used this text on undergraduate modules
for the last few years, and it is hard to imagine teaching a course on Pompeii without it.

Cardiff University M. TAYLOR LAURITSEN

lauritsenmt@cardiff.ac.uk

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