This book is great! It is a must own for anyone interested in Hellenism. It is the best book on ancient Greek religion that I have ever read. It includes detailed information on both the major and minor Greek Gods and Goddesses. And most importantly, it gives a good idea of what you need to do to worship Them and keep in Their good graces.

I was thrilled when a friend had suggested i pick up this book. having wandered my way in an effort to combine Wicca with the Ancient Greek Gods, and being thoroughly disgusted with what i read, i was pleased to find a book which does it's best to tell the reader how the Ancient Greeks worshiped their Gods.
There is a lot to this book. If you are looking for some basic mythology, it's in there. if you want basic values, it's in there. basic ritual, it's in there. holidays, it's in there. diversity of philosophy and religious practice, it's in there. links and other info, it's in there. obviously there are other books, such as Burkert's Greek Religion, which are much more in depth, but that isn't the point of this book. The point of this book is that it is an understandable introduction to Reconstructionist Hellenism. Once one has gone through this book and understands what is contained in it, perhaps s/he will be interested in pursuing Recon Hellenism further.
in response to one review....there is no book which can tell you how to incorporate religion into your daily life. that's your job. these authors can only point you in the right direction....

I had been trying and trying to get this book for what seemed like forever. When I finally got it, it took me all of 3 days to read through it. Right off, that's not a good sign to me if it's *that* easy to read. For some, however, that might be a good point-- very reader-friendly. What disappointed me about it was 1.there was not enough research into it 2.the list of Greek words was not written in Greek font 3.there is no index and 4.just a general feel of "cuteness" that I was suprised to find. But, the good news is that there will be a new edition coming out soon, and I'm confident that the organization responsible for that (the original author is no longer working on this) will do an excellent job, and I plan to buy the new one as soon as it is available. One the whole I would recommend this book, but just don't have expectations that are too high as I did.

I bought this book with an expectation of something grandly overstated and full of redundant fact, but was surprised to find myself enjoying this book which covered so much I already knew, as well as things I had never truly thought of.
As a follower of this faith, I am proud to see so fine a work be so straight forward and to the point on our religion and not bash the faiths that surround and sometiumes oppress us.
Though not an in depth look at the religion, it is a good foundation work for anyone interested in it, from the would be follower to the simply curious to know. Our faith is a growing seed in a field of spirituality, and this book may be the water it needs to sprout and grow into a magnificent tree.
Blessings of the Gods go with you...
Isxios

When this book was first published, I was extremely excited because it was the only book of its kind on the market. As a Hellenic Reconstructionist, I wanted to show my support for Drew Campbell and I hoped that this book would lead many others to Hellenic Reconstruction. Despite my initial excitement, the contents of this book make it a mixed bag for me.
The main problem is; this book isn't Silver Ravenwolf-bad, it's just not very good, either. Although Drew mentions in his introduction that this book was not meant for an audience of scholars, as a fellow Classicist, I found that the scholarship was shallow, misleading or downright poor. As another reviewer pointed out, instead of going to the trouble to research rituals properly, Drew seems to have concocted rituals wholecloth. As a Classicist, this is irresponsible - but, frankly, it isn't Reconstructionist, either.
In addition to the made-up cookbook-style rituals, the book has a section on incense (primarily from Scott Cunningham's books) and several feel-good exercises are suggested where you ask yourself; what is a hero (page 84) or how you feel about 'channeling' (page 64). The exercises, incense recipes, cookbook rituals and shallow scholarship really make this book a slim notch above some titles published by the rightfully-maligned Llewellyn Publications.
In many ways, this book has become a microcosm of everything that has gone awry in Hellenic Reconstruction - from the influence of new-age practices to reliance upon unsubstantiated personal gnosis at the expense of scholarship. Hopefully, responsible scholars who are also Recons can write new books that are reliable, exciting and a good foundation for those new to our religion. Perhaps Hellenic Reconstructionism will actually become *Reconstructionist* instead of thinly-veiled Hellenic Wicca/Paganism/Hermeticism etc.

This book has really found its way into my heart & my spiritual life!
It has taken the "complicated" issues of the ancient Greek religion and simplified them into "doable" terms for every modern follower!
It outlines the major festivals, the meanings of the epithets of each deity, gives examples of how a Public ceremony/ritual ought to be conducted and also gives the hymns & proper aromatics (incenses) for each deity.
It's a very important HANDBOOK for Greek Polytheism! Once you read it, you'll make it a point to buy it right away!
Speaks to the average, intelligent reader and has lots of sources in the back (good bibliography)!