I'm hoping someone can give me a general overview of philanthropic practice in Ancient Rome and point me towards some texts on the subject.
Additionally, I'm curious as to how (or if) ongoing costs for philanthropic projects were passed on to the people. For example, if a wealthy Roman paid for the construction of a public bath would he also pay for the operational and maintenance costs of that bath? Or would those costs be passed on to the taxpayer?
Thanks!
It can only be loosely called philanthropy, as capitalist enterprise and the idea of charitable institutions did not and could not exist at that time.
Simply and briefly put, Roman society was held together by the patron and client bond, in which a patron would serve as a kind of legal and material guardian for clients, who in return provided services.
Providing the community with impressive buildings or circuses was a way for a patron to gain more clients and prestige. In many ways this is like philanthropy today, but perhaps not totally. For instance, the Gates foundation is more of a way for Bill Gates to liquidate his vast fortunes and do the greatest possible good with it. I think this would be quite strange to a Roman and was not something I've ever heard of them practicing.