Overall, Pavlides focus on the relationship between burial, hero cult, and the larger, established communal sanctuary sites through a consideration of how the Spartan cultic landscape operated from the participants point of view, makes a significant contribution to the study of hero cult in Sparta. The monographs greatest strength is its comprehensive examination of the available archaeological material and the links it draws between identifiable patterns in the archaeological data and the textual sources. In doing so, Pavlides provides a nuanced and dynamic picture of hero cult within the Lakonian religious landscape in Archaic and Classical Sparta. * Bryn Mawr Classical Review * Pavlides skilfully combines archaeological, epigraphic and literary evidence to provide a detailed presentation of the role which hero cult ranging from anonymous heroes to Helen, Menelaus and the Dioscuri played in the lives of Spartan men, women and children * Philip John Victor Davies, Assistant Professor in Ancient Greek History, University of Nottingham, UK * This stimulating volume contributes both to understanding and rethinking the place and function of heroes in ancient Greek religion. * Scripta Classica Israelica * A most useful work for anyone interested in Spartan hero cults, religion and society, in particular since it collects and presents such a rich variety of ancient evidence, archaeological and written. This work invites scholars to further explore this fascinating aspect of Greek religion. * Kernos *
