MYNOTT, J, — Birds in the Ancient World. Winged Words.

Oxford University Press, 2020, XXV,451p. ills.(Full colour photographs and reproductions as well as B&W line drawings). Paperback. Nice copy. Like new. 'M.'s book provides a comprehensive introduction and overview of the role of birds within ancient society. The book is distinct from previous scholarship on birds in the ancient world with its approach to the material. (...) M. organises the material into six thematic parts.[ND: I. Birds in the Natural World; II. Birds as a Resource; III. Living with Birds; IV. Invention and discovery; V. Thinking with Birds; VI> Birds as Intermediaries]. These parts follow a logical progression from birds as physical actors in the natural world to the abstract use and interpretation of birds in ancient societies. This structure allows M.'s work to act as a companion to its more encyclopaedic predecessors, as shis thematic structure provides a more holistic approach to the role of birds. Additionally, through M.'s original translation and presentation of large extracts of ancient texts, it also serves a a valuable sourcebook for the role of birds in the ancient world. (...) M. outlines his aim for the book in the preface, where he states his hope that it 'may in a way serve both as a contribution to the cultural history of birds and as an introduction for non-classicists to this formative period of Western history and some of its greatest literature' (p.VI). The book certainly achieves these aims. (...) However, I also believe this book could work as a set-text for undergraduate students, particularly for modules that discuss the interaction between ancient societies and the natural world. It not only serves as a sourcebook for birds in the ancient world, but M.'s discussion of the source material introduces the reader to some of the larger issues in the study of the ancient world, such as the definition of ancient terms and ancient conceptions of time. Additionally, through M.'s inclusion of both a timeline and brief biographies of each included author, it allows both students and non-Classicists to contextualise their knowledge without resorting to an outside text.' (BEN GREET in The Classical Review (New Series), 2019, pp.294-295).