'Hellenistic philosophy, we learn from Nussbaum's lengthy programmatic introduction to The Therapy of Desire, 'is hard to study partly on account of its success (...) one must deal, in effect, with six centuries and two different societies'. Nussbaum has decided to shape her investigation around a nexus of themes stemming from a central metaphor, that of philosophy as 'a way of addressing the problems of human life' and of the philosopher as 'a compassionate physician whose arts could heal many pervasive types of human suffering'. The metaphor, whose appearance Nussbaum traces in the three major Hellenistic schools, has deep roots in Greek thought; it is to be found in Homer's Iliad and in the Presocratics. While not perhaps specifically medical in focus, the notion of 'care of the soul' appears at least as early as Plato (epimeleisthai tes psukhes, e.g. Apology of Socrates 29d 30b). Nussbaum wastes no time in revealing one of the startling implications of the medical metaphor - that philosophy-as-therapy deals not only with cognitive but also with affective issues: not just with 'invalid inferences and false premises' but also with 'irrational fears and anxieties (...) excessive loves and crippling angers'. A key aspect of this - and thus of Nussbaum's whole enterprise here - is the Hellenistic assessment of the emotions as 'not blind surges of affect' but 'intelligent and discriminating elements of the personality that are very closely linked to beliefs, and are modified by belief'. Nussbaum asserts that the same is true of desire: hence her book's title. (...) One innovative aspect of Nussbaum's approach is to envision the education, in each school in turn, of an imaginary ancient: a woman (and a courtesan) named Nikidion. This characteristically 'nußbäumlich' device is intended to 'make readers attentive participants, until her encounters become their own' (p.45). By virtue of her gender and social class (both of which will change, although I will leave it to the reader to discover how and why!), Nikidion's tutelage becomes an index of how, and to what extent, the Hellenistic approach to philosophy achieves its therapeutic goals. (...) Overall, then, this book is a weighty achievement, worthy to take its place with the other volumes of the august Martin Classical Lectures series, and, I think, likely to play a significant role in the rehabilitation of Hellenistic philosophy in our time.' (JOHN T. KIRBY in Bryn Mawr Classical Review 95.03.15).