This book is an up-dated edition of Hornblower and Spawforth's Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization. Like its predecessor the book is derived from the Oxford Classical Dictionary – in this case the fourth edition (2012). As one would expect the result is a well-presented, lavishly illustrated treasure trove of information that will appeal to neophyte Classicists. The new edition includes 50 new or re-written entries and it is these that I will focus upon. The new entries are taken verbatim from the fourth edition of the Oxford Classical Dictionary: some are significant, for example, on Emotions, Madness, Latin Epigrams or Hellenistic Philosophy, whereas others are less substantial, for example, on Diagrams or Theatricality. Some focus on specific individuals who have not merited individual entries previously: Helena Augusta, Jocasta, Laius and the family of the Julii Caesares. Despite these additions several prominent figures are not included, for example, Agesilaus, Constantius, Cleon nor Aurelian; there is an entry for Epaminondas but nothing for Pelopidas. Whilst there is an entry on Justinian's codification of Roman Law, there is no entry on the earlier Theodosian Code, nor are there entries on the respective emperors. The treatment of Judaism has been expanded with entries on Jewish Art, Catacombs, Circumcision, the Sabbath and Samaritans – however the more substantial (and arguably more significant) entry on Christian Catacombs that was revised for the Oxford Classical Dictionary is omitted. Several new entries are shaped by recent research, for example, on Creolisation or the portrayal of the Classical World in Popular Culture, and I am led to wonder how long these entries will survive in future editions. I appreciate that the purpose is to offer only a selection of the entries from the Oxford Classical Dictionary but I am unsure of the rationale for some of the choices that have been made.

The result is a sterling work that makes accessible the impressive scholarship of the Oxford Classical Dictionary in a more approachable format. Unfortunately, whilst several of the new entries are significant additions, others are less so, with the result that the expense of a second edition feels unnecessary.

I do not wish to repeat R. Rees’ review of the first edition (CR 50 [2000], 381–2), however, I am at a loss to identify the market for this book. This is not because of a lack of worthiness in the book itself, but because of the excellence of its parent. I cannot see that a dictionary like this would be of interest to a general reader, and for students and scholars of Classical Antiquity who have the money I can only recommend that they acquire the original.