This book represents an important and welcome addition to the literature on Hellenistic Cyprus, which usually is treated as a minor periphery of the wider Hellenistic world or otherwise, in a Cypriot context, is broadly lumped in with the Roman period (pp. 2, 28). It is grounded in a detailed and theoretically informed analysis of the archaeological record within a longue durée approach, rather than a more traditional, historically-based methodology using epigraphic and textual evidence. P. examines the transition from the multiple city-kingdoms of the Iron Age (Cypro-Archaic and Cypro-Classical periods) to the imposition of Ptolemaic rule on the island in 310 b.c. and the ensuing Hellenistic period. He chooses to focus on the island's religious landscape as a means of exploring local responses to Ptolemaic influence, in particular the mediation of power relations and ideologies, noting that sanctuaries provide the best archaeological data for the Iron Age and Hellenistic periods (p. 18). He does not at any point, however, discuss the rich record provided by tomb groups covering the Iron Age-Roman periods, which would equally provide good evidence for examining negotiation of identities, and instead has chosen to focus on the sacred domain. None the less, P. successfully paints a complex picture of indigenous continuities within the unified Ptolemaic state coexisting alongside radical transformations of the sacred landscape.

There are three main strands to the book: a detailed discussion of various archaeological theories, discussion of two archaeological site-based case studies and analysis of material culture. These are organised into five chapters. Chapter 1 outlines and contextualises the arguments and a discussion of the primary theoretical approaches informing P.’s research. Chapter 2 focuses specifically on landscape archaeology and a discussion on the sacred landscapes of Iron Age and Hellenistic Cyprus. Two detailed case studies of Hellenistic sanctuaries are presented in Chapter 3, and in Chapter 4 P. examines a specific aspect of sacred material culture–the stone portraiture. These themes are drawn together in the final chapter. In addition there are two appendices: Appendix 1 presents detailed data for Cypriot sanctuaries covering the Cypro-Archaic through to the Roman periods and Appendix 2 presents data for Hellenistic ‘portraits’.

The theoretical discussion is wide-ranging and encompasses a variety of distinct approaches: there is an important discussion on issues of hellenisation, Greekness and the Hellenistic, which underpins much of the subsequent analysis. Other key themes highlighted include agency, habitus, materiality, approaches to continuities and changes in the archaeological record, and sacred landscapes. At times the text's origins within a doctoral thesis are abundantly clear–some of the theoretical discussion is a little laboured and detracts from what is otherwise a clearly presented and informative discussion.

P. argues that the sacred realm should not be viewed as separate and distinct from the secular world (p. 355); instead he considers sanctuaries to be ‘instrumental within a power system’ (p. 161) and spaces for political and ideological action. The extra-urban sanctuaries typical of the city-kingdoms are gradually supplanted during the Hellenistic period by the large urban sanctuaries, in particular as a focus for elite cult activity. This P. attributes to the very different political ideologies and territorial organisation of Iron Age and Hellenistic Cyprus: the extra-urban sanctuaries essentially served as territorial boundaries between the diverse Cypriot kingdoms and were no longer relevant to a unified state; whereas the state sanctuaries of the towns provided a highly visible arena for political and ideological competition.

To explore political action within sacred spaces during the Hellenistic period P. analyses two sites in more detail: Soloi and Amathus. His stated aim is to explore the political and religious processes by which individual sites were incorporated within the dissemination of Ptolemaic ideology; P. is not looking at Ptolemaic syncretism per se but is focusing on issues of continuity and transformation. The discussion of the archaeological remains could be clearer; these are not clearly described and can be difficult to relate back to the illustrated plans, for example the Propylon sanctuary and Kouros sanctuaries of the city kingdom period at Amathus (pp. 211–13, figs 23, 26). Instead there is an implicit assumption that the reader will have access to the primary publication. The discussion would perhaps be clearer if some plans were reworked to highlight the religious areas under discussion, rather than simply reproducing the excavators’ plans.

Soloi Cholades is unique amongst known excavated sanctuaries on the island as this is an entirely new Hellenistic foundation. As such it is interesting to note that at this religious site there was very clear evidence for religious syncretism and expression of Ptolemaic cult, especially the royal cult of Arsinoe. P. proposes that the local Cypriot cult of Aphrodite was hybridised at this sanctuary and was transformed into the ‘building block of [Ptolemaic] political and ideological power on Cyprus’ (p. 206). In contrast Amathus (primarily the sanctuary of Aphrodite on the acropolis) provides an excellent opportunity to explore continuities and transformations in one of the island's major urban sanctuaries. As part of the discussion of ritual action at Amathus there is a detailed analysis of the terracottas from the site, which explores how the ancient coroplastic tradition on the island was renegotiated to incorporate the Hellenistic koine by the local coroplasts and worshippers.

P. scrutinises the use of a particular class of statuary in the sanctuaries–Hellenistic ‘portraits’. He argues these were an important means of communicating political ideologies and mediating social power in Hellenistic Cyprus. These images were erected within the traditional temenos architecture of the major urban sanctuaries where they were accessible to different social groups: the occupier and occupied, the elite and non-elite for example. This reiterates P.’s view that the sanctuaries provided the Cypriot Hellenistic elites with a place for the dissemination of their ideologies to the wider local population.

Throughout, P. emphasises the importance of local agency in the mediation of new ideologies. Military conquest and the resulting subjugation of the local population are central to the historical context of the Cypriot Hellenistic; however, P.’s narrative of local agency as a response to external influence–both in terms of continuities (more frequently viewed as Cypriot cultural conservatism) and the incorporation of new elements within social practice–provides a challenging perspective and is a refreshing change for Cypriot archaeology.