This volume presents for the first time an in-depth analysis of the origins of Greek euergetism. Derived from the Greek for 'benefactor', 'euergetism' refers to the process whereby citizens and foreigners offered voluntary services and donations to the polis that were in turn recognised as benefactions in a formal act of reciprocation. Euergetism is key to our understanding of how city-states negotiated both the internal tensions between mass and elite, and their conflicts with external powers. This study adopts the standpoint of historical anthropology and seeks to identify patterns of behaviour and social practices deeply rooted in Greek society and in the long course of Greek history. It covers more than five hundred years and will appeal to ancient historians and scholars in other fields interested in gift exchange, benefactions, philanthropy, power relationships between mass and elite, and the interplay between public discourse and social praxis.

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The Inscribed Pillar of Xanthos remains one of the most enigmatic monuments of ancient Lycia. This article addresses the problem of the monument's authorship, but tries also to shed some light on the relative chronology of its inscriptions (a Greek epigram, a long inscription in Lycian A and a short Lycian B inscription), the relationship between the decorative sculptures of the monument and the content of the inscriptions, the political intention of the Lycian A text, and the significance of the Greek epigram for our understanding of the process of Greek acculturation. We argue that the Pillar results from the interventions of different individuals at different times and its overall design, therefore, does not represent a single and unified concept. Viewed from this perspective, several aspects of the monument, while apparently inconsistent at first glance, reveal their own ‘consistency’, which allows us to resolve the contradictions of previous interpretations.

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