The Supreme Gods of the Bosporan Kingdom

This is the first systematic study of the cults of the Bosporan Kingdom, which existed in South Russia in the first centuries AD. The research is based on a variety of sources: archaeological evidence and inscriptions, largely unknown to the non-Russian readers, as well as historical and literary texts.
The religion of the Bosporus is viewed in this monograph as a blend of Greek and indigenous Iranian traditions. Its first part is dedicated to the cult of Celestial Aphrodite. The second part examines the controversial cult of the Most High God and its alledged Jewish affinities.
The book, illustrated with thirty figures, is an important contribution to the understanding of the religious life in Greek colonies, and the history of Eastern Mediterranean in Late Antiquity.

Yulia Ustinova, Ph.D. (1988) in Ancient History and Archaeology, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, is a Lecturer in Ancient History at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (Beer-Sheva, Israel). Her research focuses on the history of Greek religion.

'This tightly woven and all-encompassing book should be an excellent reference source for students of ancient religion…the extremely rich bibliography provided by Ustinova is probably the most complete one on the subject today.’
Valeriya Kozlovskaya, Bryn Mawr College.