"Ustinova's book on divine mania is an excellent and highly innovative contribution to the study of Greek culture. By applying a cognitive approach, she explores embodied experiences of Greek religion. As "people are biological and cultural creatures at the same time" (p. 18), an unbridgeable dichotomy of these categories can no longer be presupposed. The book is a successful example of how the application of cognitive sciences to a historical study of Greek culture can lead to new insights into complex cultural phenomena." - Bryn Mawr Classical Review "Ustinova builds on the growing interest in cognitive science approaches to Greek religious thought. This monograph displays careful attention to philological detail and a wide range of theoretical toolkits, founded on the interdependence of humanity's biological and cultural dimensions." - American Journal of Philology "Yulia Ustinova's Divine Mania is the first comprehensive overview of the source evidence for alterations of consciousness in ancient Greece.

Whereas earlier generations often fell into the trap of cherry-picking "rational consciousness" in ancient Greece, Ustinova succeeds admirably in avoiding that temptation in this splendid overview of its counterpart, alterations of consciousness. Divine Mania recovers a treasure trove of rejected knowledge that gives access to some of the most important esoteric origins of Western culture." - Aries - Journal for the Study of Western Esotericism.