There simply is, however, no overview that takes into account the multifarious progress that has been made in the past thirty-odd years. The purpose of this handbook is twofold.

Discussion of a subject central to the society of the ancient Mediterranean. Patronage in Ancient Society was awarded the Croom Helm Ancient History Prize for 1988.

An examination of the nature of friendship in Greece and Rome from Homer to the Christian Roman Empire of fourth century AD.