The topic of Graeco-Egyptian interactions has long been neglected. This research area lies between Classics and Egyptology, and collaboration between specialists from the two subjects has typically remained the exception. To this, add: within Classics, the long-held belief in the Greek miracle (or, more recently, the mistrust generated by opposite excesses à la M. Bernal) and the priority accorded to the study of Graeco-Anatolian/Mesopotamian interactions; within Egyptology, a long-lived bias against the later phases in Egypt's history, considered a period of decline vs allegedly more ‘classical’ ages of pharaonic history.

Recently, attitudes have changed, as exemplified by this volume of essays, a welcome addition to Graeco-Egyptian scholarship that stands out for its literary focus, on ‘the relationship between Greek literature and the [Egyptian] literary and cultural traditions’ (p. 2). R.’s introduction presents the issues discussed in the book, highlighting how new discoveries in Egyptian (Demotic) textual studies are dramatically modifying our understanding of the relationship between Egyptian and Greek literature. One example is the collapse of the ‘liar-school’ of Herodotus (p. 17), as an increasing number of Egyptian sources (narrative texts starring historical figures) confirms his accounts. As a point of terminology, I would rather talk of ‘Egyptian literature in Demotic’ than of ‘Demotic literature’ as separate from earlier ‘Egyptian literature’ – the latter being reminiscent of the attitude of past scholarship, opposing a ‘real’ (pharaonic) Egypt to an ‘other’ (Graeco-Roman) Egypt.

S. Stephens gives an alternative interpretation of Plato's political thought in the Republic, finding one of its inspirations in Egypt's perceived ‘class system’. She raises interesting points; yet her core thesis is substantially speculative and sometimes far-fetched (p. 56, on the Myth of Er and Egyptian eschatology), and ancient authors/traditions clashing with her view (Crantor of Soli, p. 46) are hardly addressed. On the Egyptological side, oversimplification (about Maat, p. 52) or mistakes occur (p. 47: in Persian times, the pharaoh was not the satrap, but the Persian king).

A. von Lieven focuses on wider cultural, rather than literary, interactions, consisting of a catalogue of the Egyptian pantheon with exemplification of the mechanisms underpinning its interpretatio Graeca.

R. tackles the issue of the Demotic Inaros Cycle, a group of narratives resembling Greek epics. He suggests that they may owe more to Near Eastern rather than Greek epic traditions, trickling into Egypt through Aramaic speakers (at p. 98, ‘25th dynasty’ should read ‘26th’).

J. Dillery discusses cases of synchronisms in Manetho, linking figures/events of the Egyptian past with those of Greek history. Dillery's article is rather speculative (by his own admission, pp. 117, 131), and its reasoning is sometimes hard to follow (inconsistency does not help, e.g. the fluctuation in terminology between ‘internal’ [p. 110] and ‘implicit’ [p. 124] synchronisms). Dillery's thesis, which stresses Manetho's engaging with contemporary Greek historiographers, is noteworthy in challenging the traditional view of Manetho as exclusively rooted in an Egyptian intellectual milieu.

L. Llewellyn-Jones and S. Winder offer a literary-iconographical study of the ideology of queenship of Berenice II, stressing the importance of its Egyptian aspects, specifically linked with the goddess Hathor. Closer use of the Egyptological literature would have benefited their discussion of Hathor's theology (pp. 150–6). Issues in understanding the Egyptian sources are apparent: for example, rekhyt cannot be translated, even freely, as ‘all lands’ (p. 152), and the supposed aspect of Hathor labelled as ‘Het Heret’ (p. 153) is in fact Hathor Weret/the Great (C. Leitz [ed.], Lexikon der ägyptischen Götter und Götterbezeichnungen [2002], 5.81/20).

I. Ladynin discusses Egyptian apocalyptic/prophetic literature by focusing on the Potter's Oracle. In a convoluted essay dotted with inexactitudes (at p. 163 n. 3, all papyrus manuscripts should be dated as a.d.), he interprets this text as an isolationist utopia, as opposed to literary paradigms where Egypt rises anew under a kosmokrator (cf. Alexander Romance). A substantial issue with Ladynin's study is his disregard for contemporary apocalyptic texts in Demotic, which leads him to compare the Oracle with much earlier, less pertinent Egyptian texts (Prophecy of Neferti). Other issues (pp. 172–3 n. 35) include his downplaying the issue of the Oracle's supposed Demotic original and his belief that apocalyptic themes in Middle Egyptian were obsolete by Ptolemaic times (but cf. Sehel's Famine Inscription).

N. Lazaridis focuses on theoretical issues – the definition of what is a parallel between literary traditions (at p. 198, third-to-last line, correct ‘Setne’ to ‘Siosire’).

I. Moyer gives an excellent analysis of the first-century b.c. hymns of Isidorus in Narmouthis’ temple. He studies them both as texts and as artefacts in their spatial context, showing Isidorus’ negotiation between syncretic/Hellenistic motives and local/Egyptian themes (at p. 231, the translation's last two lines are inverted).

S. Vinson addresses the relationship between Egyptian narratives and Greek novels, using their female characters as a hermeneutic key. Attempting to reconcile R. Merkelbach's ‘mythological’ and J. Barns’ ‘historical’ theories, Vinson identifies echoes of the Osirian myth in both Greek novels and Demotic narratives.

J. Quack discusses fragments of a Greek version of the Book of the Temple, an Egyptian manual about the ideal temple, as a case study for Greek translations of Egyptian texts. He gives a first edition of this section's hieratic original, highlighting the translation's faithfulness (based on the Greek parallels, I would opt for the past tense in the translation of PSI-I-89.1.2 and double-check the hieratic in PSI-I-89.2.x+2, to see whether a past tense is possible). The provenance of this and other Greek translations of Egyptian texts from Oxyrhynchus is a reminder of how this was culturally not only a Hellenised, but also a deeply Egyptian town.

G. Tallet discusses a group of Greek ‘poetical’ inscriptions in Talmis’ temple of Mandulis, dating to the first–third centuries a.d. She surmises a practical reason behind such inscriptions celebrating the temple's oracle: the need to attract visitors at a time of economic decline for Egyptian temples. Some of her arguments (e.g. that the Talmis’ texts are peculiar in describing divine revelations that normally should have been ‘kept secret’, p. 309) fall short of convincing. Her interesting discussion about the blend of Hellenistic and Egyptian cultural elements in these hymns would have been easier to follow had she reproduced the texts or given substantial excerpts. The discussion of Egyptian religion is sometimes oversimplifying: for example, it seems inappropriate to talk of ‘[i]conographic and onomastic confusions’ (p. 297) with regard to the different aspects of an Egyptian god.

R. Jasnow gives an introduction to the Demotic Book of Thoth (note his warning, p. 317 n. *, about the contribution's partial outdatedness). This is a complex and fascinating composition dealing with initiation and the impartation of secret knowledge amongst the Egyptian priesthood. ‘Classicists or Egyptologists … neglect such texts as the Book of Thoth at their own peril’ (p. 319), for this text shows probable connections with both the origins of Hermetism and other Egyptian traditions mentioned in classical authors.

G. Bohak deals with the diffusion of Graeco-Egyptian magic through the Mediterranean world in Late Antiquity. He identifies in its written nature one of the secrets of its success and fast spreading.

The book is successful in targeting its main topic from a multitude of angles. It does not mean to be a systematic introduction to the subject: rather, it intends to start a conversation, bringing to the reader's attention a wealth of material often neglected or unknown. Target-readers are both Classicists and Egyptologists. The challenge of making Egyptological papers accessible to Classicists and vice versa is met with different degrees of success: papers by Egyptologists are probably more reader-friendly than those by Classicists, which, for instance, sometimes cite Greek texts without translation.

There is a certain lack of editorial care, including numerous typographical mistakes, inconsistencies in bibliographical conventions, and quotes of original texts in Greek or Egyptian, which vary between specific fonts (Greek/Egyptian transliteration) and renderings in Latin alphabet. The poor quality of some images is also lamentable (e.g. p. 299). One would have expected higher standards from OUP, especially in view of the volume's price. The book collects a mix of conference papers delivered in 2007 and more recently submitted contributions, which regrettably produces a lack of uniformity, especially in how up to date each chapter's bibliography is – a critical point in such a fast-moving field as Demotic studies. Even basic cross-references are virtually absent.

These minor criticisms notwithstanding, we must be grateful to R. for such an important contribution to an innovative and ever-developing field, which should become a significant addition to Classical and Egyptological libraries alike.