Battling the Gods

Tim Whitmarsh’s brilliant new book about ancient atheism makes a compelling case that various forms of religious disbelief have been with us for the past two and a half millennia, with greater and lesser degrees of cultural prominence ... This is an invigorating, urgent book that makes an important contribution to a central contemporary debate. '

As learned as it is intellectually thrilling. Covering the millenium and more that separates Homer from Theodosius the Great, Battling the Gods fills a gap that probably few of us had even been aware of, and does so comprehensively ... The great achievement of Battling the Gods is to trace in a manner that can be followed readily the evolution of sceptical attitudes towards the divine across the whole span of ancient history.

In the face of many crude modern discussions of atheism . . . , it's great to have Tim Whitmarsh's sophisticated exploration of various versions of ancient disbelief.

[A] lively, learned and cliche-busting book. In a work of openly committed scholarship, [Whitmarsh] aims to rescue ancient doubt and disbelief from a long tradition of slander and opprobrium. And he has an eye-opening story to tell.

A well-written and fascinating glimpse of the Greek philosophers and writers who are the founding fathers of modern atheism ... Whitmarsh is an adept historian, but perhaps a better matchmaker, as he introduces us to entertaining, savvy and sometimes raucous ancient thinkers who can be easily paired with the new atheists of the 21st century.

Excellent ... Whitmarsh's book deserves to be read for its verve and quality but also because the more the existence of the rich history and heritage of humanist thought is known by the public, the better it will be for society.