Studies on Roman religion of the past years have been marked by a strong focus on the (individual and collective) agents behind cultic practice. Various social groups and religious specialists, as well as the differences of one cult from another, have been discussed in these works. Nevertheless, the aspect of gender is often omitted, resulting in male-only generalisations and genderless perspectives, in which the religious activities of women are perceived as marginal affairs. A few exceptions to this rule can be noted, such as, for instance, Darja Šterbenc Erker's Religiöse Rollen römischer Frauen in „griechischen” Ritualen (2013) and now also Meghan DiLuzio's volume on republican priestesses. In this volume, the author demonstrates the strong entanglement of female and male religious specialists and their cultic activities, particularly in rites of the utmost socio-political importance. The book comprises seven chapters accompanied by an introduction and conclusion, as well as a bibliography and index. Twenty-one images illustrate the volume. The book is well edited, and hardly any mistakes can be noted throughout the text.

Setting out from the fact that not all cultic actions could be performed by men, the chapters provide an overview of the priestly offices held by women. Their religious activities are presented along with the connotations of these priesthoods, associated costume, and occasionally also their legal status. Chs 1 and 2 are dedicated to priestly couples, such as the flamen and flaminica dialis, discussed in ch. 1, and the rex and regina sacrorum (among others) in ch. 2, where the discussion of joint priesthoods is generally broadened. D.’s references to the existence of an otherwise unknown flaminica martialis underline her argument that the wives of many priests were involved in the cultic actions of their husbands. The silence of the sources, however, prevents us from drawing conclusions about the degree of institutionalisation of these female activities, even though the argument still seems plausible.

In ch. 3 further religious offices exclusively held by women are introduced. It is here that the reader learns about the saliae and piatrices, as well as the sacerdotes and female holders of minor offices in the cults of Fortuna Muliebris, Bona Dea, Liber, Bacchus, Ceres and Magna Mater. Presented briefly one after another, a good overview of the large variety of offices and models of service is provided. The cult of Bona Dea, however, is unfortunately reduced to a healing cult (twice on 118), whereas another aspect of this cult would have supported the author's argument even more: Giulia Piccaluga and Hendrik Simon Versnel have convincingly stressed that the cult also served to prepare girls for their lives as married women (cf. Piccaluga, Studi e materiali di storia delle religioni 35 (1964), 195–237; Versnel, Greece and Rome 39,1 (1992), 31–55). Chastity and fidelity in marriage (cf. 118) thus also played a prominent role in this cult.

Chs 4 to 7 focus on the Vestal Virgins, for whom much more evidence is available than for the offices presented in the first part of the volume. The process of selection and inauguration of a Vestal is highlighted, as well as the special and, one must say, unique legal and social status of the Virgins. As at several other points throughout the volume, the association of priestly conduct (here virginity) with the integrity of Rome as a community is well illustrated. All elements of the regalia are introduced, leading into a section on the priestesses’ virginity and violations of this rule. In ch. 7 the role of the Vestal Virgins in various political events is discussed.

In conclusion, D. stresses the role of female priests in Roman religion, underlining the co-operative mode of operation of Roman priesthoods and the diversity of cultic actions. It is here that the strong entanglement of male and female religious officials is seen within the wider frame of Roman religion, if only briefly.

The volume offers an extensive overview of female religious officials and their cultic activities, not limited to the carrying out of sacrifices. Further actions included praying, the care of sacred objects, education and the like. At some points a slightly more differentiated discussion would have refined the argument. Thus, the Regia at Rome certainly was a public site from a legal perspective. Its walls, however, blocked views, and the cultic activities of the priests and priestesses at this site simply were not visible to the public (26). Although D. raises the issue of visibility on several occasions throughout the volume — for instance, when discussing the costumes of several priestesses — the associated questions of how often and for whom a priestess was visible as office-holder are not brought up. The scarcity and silence of the written evidence on priestesses other than the Vestal Virgins is made clear throughout the volume, but remains mostly unexplained: What are the possible reasons for this lack of visibility of female religious specialists in the sources? These questions become the more pressing in view of the rich diversity of cultic actions performed by priests in general and priestesses in particular, as shown by D.’s re-evaluation of the evidence. It is this diversity which makes this book a valuable contribution to the overall topic of women and Roman religion.