- Pantheon: A New History of Roman Religion by Jorg Rupke (2018; ISBN 9780691156835) Intermediate Religious – Although this book covers a much longer period, from as early as the 9th century BC, it is at its best when looking at the first three centuries of the imperial period. Rupke works from the concept of ‘lived religion’ – the experiences of individuals rather than religion as an overarching structure – which gives his narrative of change and development in Roman religion an interesting and unique perspective. His arguments about the changing nature of religious authority in the Roman empire are particularly good.
- Battling the Gods: Atheism in the Ancient World by Tim Whitmarsh (2017; ISBN 978-0571279319) Entry-Level Religious – Whitmarsh begins in Ancient Greece and crosses over to the Roman world in the Late Republic and Imperial period. He demonstrates both the importance of Greek-speaking thinkers working within a Greek philosophical tradition inside the Roman empire, such as Lucian and the second-century Demonax of Cyprus, and the potential for various kinds of religious dissent, up to and including out-and-out atheism, within Roman belief. He is also good at linking this with political and ideological concerns, and showing how ideas about the gods had implications across these other spheres.