It is a great pleasure to acknowledge those who have generously afforded me their time and insights during the composition of this study.

My gratitude to Prods Oktor Skjærvø, Richard N. Frye, and Ernst Badian for their comments on earlier parts of this book. I owe a great debt of thanks to Clarisse Herrenschmidt, Olga M. Davidson, Daniel T. Potts, and Gregory Nagy, for their unfailing friendship and their trusted guidance. My thanks to colleagues and friends at UCLA upon whose wise counsel I depend: Michael Cooperson, Lothar von Falkenhausen, Sharon Gerstel, Christine Littleton, Joseph Nagy, David Schaberg, and William Schniedewind. My great appreciation for the astute advice of Jaleh Amouzegar, Vesta Sarkosh Curtis, Touraj Daryaee, Maria Macuch, Mahnaz Moazami, and Josef Wiesehöfer.

I am much indebted to Gregory Nagy and the editoral board of the Hellenic Studies series for accepting this unorthodox study. My gratitude to Jill Curry Robbins for her superb stewardship during the production process; and to Kerri Cox Sullivan, my copy editor, for her expert knowledge and obliging patience, which helped greatly improve the present volume.

I would like to express my appreciation for friends of old, whose fellowship has been most precious all along: Babak Afkhami, Marjan Ehsassi, Babak Farzami, HIH Alireza Pahlavi, and Amir Soltani.

My deep affection for my sisters, Roxaneh and Taraneh, as well as my nephews, Cyrus and Darius. My love for our daughters, Turandot the Magni-ficient and Anusha the Invincible, for being the source of endless joy and sundry calamities; and to Shiva, whose fierce intelligence and commanding presence let us safely navigate the furious waters of life.

This work is dedicated to my parents, Farideh and Daryush, for whom my love is boundless. May we once more be united in patria nostra.