The literature of Hippolytus has evoked questions of authorship and provenance since its reception into the patristic canon eighteen centuries ago. Into the third Christian millennium scholars continue to wrestle with the origins and context of a third-century Greek document variously entitled Refutatio omnium haeresium, or Elenchos (erstwhile philosophoumena), known in the west beyond book i only since 1842, seeking to clarify its connections to the Hippolytan dossier as well as to Roman Christianity. Aragione and Norelli have brought to us in print the proceedings of the 2008 Geneva colloquium in which twelve specialists commend their views of this important but sometimes overlooked heresiological tractate. Its eight extant books (books ii–iii are lost) invite ipso facto a wide range of queries, attacking as they do a withering array of early ‘heresies’. Its author's modus operandi is to expose the Greek philosophical roots of his opponents’ teachings, thereby discrediting them. At the outset of this well-edited multi-language volume (French, Italian, German, English) probing ‘the construction of heresy’, Norelli provides a summary of each paper, preceded by background on the broader Hippolyt frage. Löhr's lead essay emphasises the refutatio as exposé, not so much concerned with dialectical rebuttal as with shedding light on the dark corridors of its opponents’ doctrines. He suggests the Elenchos as completion of a polemical-apologetic trilogy preceded by De universo and the Synagoge. Pouderon analyses foundational ideas utilised in the composition: catholic succession as the touchstone of truth versus the succession falsely claimed by the heretics. Aragione considers the strategy of ad hominem argument, levelled by the Elenchos at its adversaries, including the charge of plagiarism. Bos, in one of two case studies, analyses how the Elenchos places the seeds of Basilides's thought in Aristotle. Longo, in the second case study, investigates the juxtaposition of Marcion and Empedocles, showing that the author's view of Empedocles bears similarities to characterisations in Plotinus and Porphyry. Scholten offers a systematic analysis of the relationship between the Elenchos and its intended public, an elite, cultured group. Docœur explores its use of eastern religions, suggesting an expansive redaction of the text made after the arrival in Rome of Hippolytus. Sfameni Gasparro illustrates the influence of astrology among Gnostic groups, examining the link between astronomy and astrology in the heresies and in the Elenchos. Castelli treats the same author's De universo as a third-century Christian pseudepigraphical text ascribed to Flavius Josephus. Norelli addresses the role of the Refutatio in the progressive construction of heresy. Simonetti profiles the author as an anonymous polymath à la Justin and Origen minus biblical grounding. Brent sets forth archaeological evidence in support of his views of Hippolytus the Roman reconciler and a late date for monarch bishops at Rome. Aragione supplies a bibliography for the years 1940 to 2010 and internal indices. These papers are required reading for advanced students of the heresiologists, the Hippolytan corpus, ancient Roman Christianity and non-mainstream theologies. They represent the highest order of critical thinking, offered by experts on this historic text and its milieu.