The past few decades have witnessed the establishment of Classical Reception Studies as a subdiscipline of Classics. Since then, scholars have studied the myriad ways in which antiquity continues to resonate in modern life across a variety of global contexts. These studies, however, tend be overwhelmingly centred on Graeco-Roman literary texts and philosophical ideas; rarely do they consider the impact of the material imprint of the ancient world. Hellenomania proposes to fill this gap by examining the reception of the material culture of ancient Greece – both real and imagined – from the seventeenth century to the present. Various chapters examine the impact of Greek archaeological discoveries and excavations, whereas others explore the manner in which imaged versions of antiquity's physical remains have inspired artistic and cultural movements. The MANIA of the book's title not only reveals the fanatic nature of some of these engagements, but it also illustrates that the project is a collaborative enterprise: it is an acronym for Mouvements d'art néo et influence archéologique, a series of international colloquia organised by the École française d'Athènes, in a joint collaboration with the British School at Athens and the Institute of Greece, Rome, and the Classical Tradition at the University of Bristol. In many ways Hellenomania is the sequel to Cretomania: Modern Desires for the Minoan Past (2016, edited by two of Hellenomania’s editors, Momigliano and Farnoux) and, in my view, should be read in conjunction with that volume since many of its arguments and findings develop those posited in Cretomania. Hellenomania, however, has a wider scope and impact given its broader subject. Though at times it over-emphasises British receiving audiences, the volume nevertheless represents a welcome material turn in reception studies, providing a much-needed account of the – arguably more tangible and more visible – impact of antiquity's remains in the modern world.

Following a critical and comprehensive introduction by Harloe and Momigliano that justifies the volume's focus on material culture, Part 1 covers ‘Hellenomanias' from the Baroque and pre-Romantic periods to the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, consisting of three chapters focusing on some notable Hellenomaniacs such as Johann Joachim Winckelmann and John Ruskin, with some attention to other less well-known figures. F. Macintosh offers an exploration of the effect of material culture of Greece on the scenography of the seventeenth-century English stage designer Inigo Jones (Chapter 1). The chapter makes clear the impact of the grand tour on early modern theatrical design, in particular the manner in which sketches of Mediterranean landscapes and objects led to significant scenic innovations on the English stage. From this we turn to the eighteenth century, with an examination of Winckelmann, who had undeniable influence upon the study and practice of art history and classical archaeology (Chapter 2). Harloe provides a persuasive reading of Winckelmann as ‘the most maniacal Hellenist of them all’ (p. 40), tracing the history of this characterisation to Denis Diderot, and illustrating Winckelmann's undeniable role in shaping how Greek material culture was received in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. R. Jenkyns then examines the impact of Greek visual culture in nineteenth- and twentieth-century Britain, particularly focusing on the arrival of the Parthenon marbles (Chapter 3). Jenkyns expands Harloe's discussion of Winckelmann's impact by illustrating how widespread his notions of Greek beauty were and how the marbles complicated these notions.

Part 2, ‘Ideal and Real Structures of Hellenomania’, turns to a more thematic exploration of the topic, focusing on idealised imaginings of Greece, particularly in architecture. Four chapters focus on conceptualisations of Hellenism and the Greek spirit across Northern Europe, though again with an emphasis on England. F. Salmon explores the manner in which British architects were inspired by Athens' ancient buildings, both real and imagined (Chapter 4). He makes clear the impact of visits to Greece in the age of the grand tour, 1751–1851, upon the British landscape. Prior to this, conceptions of ancient Greek architecture were characterised by an archaising idealism which stemmed from Humanist notions. Salmon nevertheless shows how architects such as eighteenth-century Neoclassicist James Stuart who, despite traveling to the Mediterranean and being aware of the physical dimensions of ancient buildings, continued to propagate idealised frameworks of classical architecture. This consideration of architectural practices in England and Scotland is followed by a more conceptual chapter by A. Leoussi, which examines ideals of nationhood in Britain, France and Germany in the nineteenth century, many of which were grounded in Hellenomanias (Chapter 5). Through a study of two types, which she calls ‘civic’ and ‘ethnic’ (stemming from H. Kohn's seminal formulations in The Idea of Nationalism [1944]), Leoussi illustrates the manner in which Greek idealisations of citizenship and athleticism held sway over modern European politics and culture. Her discussion ranges impressively from physical buildings, such as the Austrian Reichsrat, to the human body in real and imagined forms, including its representations in the French Impressionists. L. Lambrinou's analysis of the impact of the Parthenon in the nineteenth century (Chapter 6) develops Leoussi's discussion. She argues that this iconic building took on an increasing symbolism in this period, in light of the intense interest in all matters Greek across a wide variety of contexts, from Britain to Australia. D. Watkin's exploration of the ‘timeless’ Greek imprint in English architecture and sculpture (Chapter 7) closes Part 2. He examines a variety of Greek influences in present-day English architecture in elite spaces, from Oxford's Sackler Library to the Queen's Gallery at Buckingham Palace. Overall, the chapters illustrate the unique nature of architecture as a site of reception as well as its enormous power, given its ability to readily transmit ideological and political notions. In this section it is clear that the editors have ordered the chapters chronologically, but perhaps chapters organised by geographical location would have worked better, as the transition from Salmon's piece on British idealist appropriations of ancient architecture to Leoussi's examination of the conceptual Hellenomaniac frameworks behind the construction of public buildings is rather awkward. The move from Lambrinou to Watkin likewise feels forced. A better option would have been to open with Leoussi and Lambrinou's wider-ranging pieces, which would then be followed by Salmon and Watkin's examinations of the British context.

Part 3, ‘Hellenomania Comes to Life – Colour, Movement, and The Body’, is the longest section with five chapters. C. Ribeyrol analyses the manner in which Victorian understanding of classical art changed following advancements in archaeology, in particular the manner in which artists embraced sculptural polychromy (Chapter 8). In a fascinating chapter P. Michelakis examines ‘Grecian dance’ in early cinematic modernity, and how it helped reconceptualise ancient Greece, transforming a previously inaccessible world into a lived experience (Chapter 9). A. Leontis explores Eva Palmer Sikelianos, who designed various Greek-inspired dresses (Chapter 10). Leontis proposes that Sikelianos' aim was not high fashion, but rather the intriguing notion of ‘making her body a site of classical reception’ (p. 213). Leontis's suggestive chapter is followed by a response from Sikelianos's great-granddaughter, Eleni, which includes various photographs (Chapter 11). The section concludes with M. Winkler's exploration of the Venus de Milo statue in twentieth-century film and popular culture (Chapter 12).

Consisting of only two chapters, the fourth and final part, ‘Beyond Hellenomania?’, turns to the reception of ancient Hellas in present-day Greece, a welcome ending point for a volume predominantly focused on northern Europe. E. Solomon and S. Galiniki offer an in-depth exploration of the Incantadas, second-century ce statues from Thessaloniki currently in the Louvre, and their larger, wide-ranging context (Chapter 13). E. Yalouri concludes the volume with an afterword in which she reviews the various contributions (Chapter 14). She ends provocatively with a discussion of a new ‘Graecomania’ which has emerged in recent years after the current ‘Greek crisis’ and centred on Greece's ‘modern ruins’.

The volume delivers what it promises, and it frequently does so quite well. The reader is treated to wide-ranging and often nuanced discussions of the physical remains of Greek antiquity, and the manner in which these buildings and their idealisations have inspired political and cultural movements. As noted above, however, there is a slight emphasis on British contexts and audiences, which is curious when one considers the book's origins as a collaboration that was led by the École française d'Athènes. Despite this skew towards Britain, readers wishing to investigate the reception of Greek antiquity beyond texts will not be disappointed.