Endowments (or foundations) are a widespread phenomenon in antiquity. The present work assembles all known ancient Greek endowments from the Classical and Hellenistic periods, presenting the texts in Greek and in translation. The main aim of the volume is to discuss endowments in their political, social, economic, cultural and religious contexts, thus contributing to our understanding of society and economy of these periods. Endowments were donations or bequests of property whose income was intended to fund specific purposes defined by the donors. The donated property was to be preserved intact, in order to guarantee that the intentions of the sponsor would be served in perpetuity. The recipients of the endowments were usually civic communities, sanctuaries or associations.
The book discusses important aspects on the vocabulary and terminology of the endowments, their legal, economic and administrative characteristics, the identity of the donors (Hellenistic kings or private individuals), and the various purposes served by them. This analysis shows that the endowments fall within the broad phenomenon of euergetism that offered benefits to both the endowers and the recipients.