The introduction to this handbook lays out the aims and objectives of the volume—as a research and orientation tool for students of the ancient world, and a key contribution to ongoing scholarship on ancient Greek religion. The editors introduce the major themes of the book and give an overview of the task they set their authors: to include information on approaches and methodologies used in their particular topic, as well as a summary of the history of the scholarship; then to explore recent developments in research on that topic, with a special focus on problems and debates. The introduction goes on to explain the structure of the book, along with summaries of the chapters. It also explains how some themes, such as hymns, women, and pollution, which do not appear as the subject of a specific chapter may be traced through a number of chapters.