At the conclusion of his second chapter (‘Shaping the City's Landscape: Buildings for Mass Entertainment in their Urban Context’) Zeev Weiss states: ‘Rome did not force architectural codes on the inhabitants of the provinces, but instead managed to create, and most impressively, a cultural koine in which most of the people living in the vicinity of the Mediterranean basin participated’ (115). The issue of the diffusion of Roman cultural institutions throughout the Roman Empire has been an ongoing interest of modern scholars, though this diffusion is difficult to gauge. In this second chapter, W. is concerned specifically with the construction throughout ancient Palestine and surrounding territories of large facilities for mass entertainment spectacles, such as theatre performances of various kinds, chariot and horse races, athletic competitions and bloodier shows like gladiatorial combats, beast hunts and executions. W.'s decision to include the great variety of spectacle types, rather than focusing on one (such as gladiatorial combats or athletics) is important. It is probable that ancient peoples did not draw lines between the shows that are as sharp as those that we draw today. Most scholars can agree that these spectacles, and the structures that housed them, did indeed represent obviously significant elements of Greco-Roman culture, and that they would have been recognized as such by local populations in places like ancient Palestine.

W.'s new book on the diffusion of public spectacles in ancient Palestine offers an important study of this phenomenon. He seeks to explore the various types of entertainment shows held in the region, their roots, development, necessary structures and cultural impact, beginning with Herod the Great in the later first century b.c.e. and continuing on to Late Antiquity (5–6). In ch. 1, W. traces the evolution of Herod's programme, explaining that Herod sought to incorporate his kingdom into the larger Roman world in part through mass entertainments and competitions. Still, W. notes Herod's innovative use of a variety of models and styles (for example, 34f.): Greco-Roman, but not wholly so. More valuably, W. also explores the reactions among the local peoples to these alien shows. For example, as opposed to his successes in Caesarea, Herod's building programme and attempts to introduce Greco-Roman spectacles in Jerusalem might have been met with considerable opposition, and though there is literary evidence for this opposition, it remains uncertain how strong or widespread it was, even in Herod's day.

Ch. 2 explores the archaeological remains of various entertainment buildings that have been excavated and their evolution over time. W. provides numerous illustrations, photographs and architectural plans. The research is thorough and the extensive notes even more so. Ch. 3 provides a detailed review of what the various spectacles would have been: theatrical performances (including mimes and pantomimes and other theatrical shows like the Maiouma), athletic contests, combat sports, chariot races and amphitheatrical shows. Ch. 4 explores and explains the logistics of constructing the buildings and presenting the spectacles. While he examines these types of spectacle making quite general observations drawn from evidence from across the Empire, W. also includes throughout the evidence specific to ancient Palestine. This is extremely valuable. One example from many: T ‘Avodah Zarah 2.7 (quoted 202):

As was the case throughout the Empire, the importance of the preferences of the crowd, often expressed at the games, was at play in shows presented in Palestine, even if the spectacles themselves were suspect. So the peoples of ancient Palestine can be seen to have participated in a key aspect of entertainment spectacles: the active involvement of the crowd.

One of the real values of W.'s work is the extensive use of rabbinic and Talmudic literature, in both the text itself and throughout the notes. In general, these are difficult to access for those scholars without Hebrew. These references serve to elucidate the unique Jewish experience of these imported entertainments and the reaction to them. Though found throughout the work to help explain the details of the various forms of spectacle, it is especially in the fifth chapter that W.'s use of Jewish literature is most illuminating. Still, these are not without methodological issues, as W. himself attests (6). Questions of the accuracy of the rabbis’ observations and references, their sources of information, their personal knowledge, and the transmission of the texts themselves are all concerning. Despite W.'s awareness, the references as they appear throughout the book are seldom provided with context or explanation of the possible difficulties.

W.'s book makes an important contribution to the growing number of studies concerned with spectacle entertainments in the Roman world. It also adds to those studies of the integration of regions of the Roman Empire into the wider Mediterranean world. The diffusion of these shows into the cultural framework of ancient Palestine is indeed a mark of the participation of this region in the broader cultural Mediterranean koine.