Religion And Statecraft Among The Romans.

This utterly brilliant work combines a quite complete look at Roman religion with a fine analysis of the intertwining of politics with said religion. I came across it whilst researching Emperor worship for another project, and was extremely impressed by its comprehensiveness (Wardman leaves few stones unturned) as well as by Wardman't dense yet highly readable style. He lends a supremely knowledgeable air to his subject and writes in a charming (but not cutesy), low-key manner that quietly displays his immense erudition. I can think of a few better prose stylists in the historical field. His coverage of Emperor worship ALONE is stunning and worthy of purchasing the book, much less his explanation of everything else involving the nexus of religion and politics in the Roman world. His study of Christian!ty's success is extremely even-handed too.