This volume contains nine articles on the geographic and even confessional diversity on Mount Athos. The contributions and occasional conflicts of individual nationalities stand next to broader discussions of the role of Mount Athos in the broader Byzantine world and in the context of holy mountains in general. Rather than simply describing the many different communities on Athos over time, the volume challenges a number of preconceptions and offers fresh perspectives. Particularly valuable is Averil Cameron's suggestion that, as the fortunes of the Byzantine Empire changed, Athos came to embody not only Orthodoxy, but the essence of Byzantium itself. This would, as Graham Speake suggests, have implications for Mount Athos and the Greeks under Turkish rule. Tamara Grdzelidze describes Georgians; Kyrill Pavlikianov, Bulgarians; Vladeta Jankovic, Serbs; Constantin Coman, Moldavians, Wallachians and Romanians; Nicholas Fennell, Russians. Marcus Plested notes that, besides the pan-Orthodox character of Athonite monasticism, a Latin and Benedictine monastery flourished for centuries on the Holy Mountain as well. Finally, Kallistos Ware identifies several distinctive Athonite features, noting that some are now under threat. This book serves both as a succinct introduction to Mount Athos – and as a source of new information and perspectives for those already familiar with the subject. It would be a useful addition to courses on monasticism, empires, the geography of religion and religion broadly speaking.