North American and European classicists explore the relationship between religion and the construction of cultural identity in the hero-cult dialogue Heroikos, contending that its religious interest are intimately related to Philostratus' interests in the literary act of re-creating a coherent Greek identity for the Greek elites of the Roman Empire

Between Magic and Religion represents a radical rethinking of traditional distinctions involving the term 'religion' in the ancient Greek world and beyond, through late antiquity to the seventeenth century. The title indicates the fluidity of such concepts as religion and magic, highlighting the wide variety of meanings evoked by these shifting terms from ancient to modern times. The contributors put these meanings to the test, applying a wide range of methods in exploring the many varieties of available historical, archaeological, iconographical, and literary evidence. No reader will ever think of magic and religion the same way after reading through the findings presented in this book. Both terms emerge in a new light, with broader applications and deeper meanings.