Benefactors in the Roman East: ‘Spiritual Euergetism’?

Abstract

This article analyses a novel aspect of euergetism or civil munificence in the Greek cities of the Roman Empire. A spiritual component is observed in this relations between the elite and the rest of the demos; indeed, since charitable actions are appreciated and reciprocated with representations and honours similar, sometimes, to those paid to the gods highlighting that they are close, they attend to their prayers and resolve their hardships. This perspective is structured around three elements: the non-elite citizen needs the physical presence of someone who cares about them; the euergetes is a benefactor, especially in terms of the material goods that he distributes among the community and, above all, those that enable what is considered the life of a true Greco- Roman citizen; the power of the elite is legitimized through symbolism and its representation. The phenomenon, which had been defined in the Hellenistic era, gained momentum and found its true expression during the Roman Empire, peaking in the second century A.D.