Focusing on the Eastern Mediterranean world in the Hellenistic and Roman periods, this collection of essays draws on new discoveries in archaeology and epigraphy. It illustrates how methods and interpretations have developed over the last two decades. The essays cover a wide range of social and historical issues, including processes of Hellenization and acculturation, the permeability and flexibility of political boundaries, the interaction of civil and religious authority, and the operation of networks of patronage and power.