Roman Patronage
Roman society was set up as
a system of patron and clients.
In this system, a patronus
gave help and protection to
others less powerful/rich.
In return, these clientes
performed various services
for him in return.
Duties of a patron:
• provide for his clients
financially
• defend his clients legally
• represent their political
interests
• invite his clients to dinner
Duties of a client
• support his patron politically
• serve militarily under his
patron
• accompany his patron when
walking in town
In many instances, patrons
would take on artists and
writers as clients.
The patron would financially support
the artistic pursuits of his client,
while the patron would gain celebrity
fame by association.
Though a
patron would
have many
clients, a
client was
only allowed
to have one
patron.
A patron/client relationship
was a legal contract, which
extended to his entire family.
If a patron died, his heir was
bound to support his father’s
clients.
If a client died, a patron was
legally bound to take on the
client’s heir as a new client.
With the fall of the Republic and
dissolution of popular elections,
the patron/client system
declined.
Patrons no longer had any use
for clients politically.
When Augustus became
Emperor, he declared himself the
patron of all of Roman citizens.
Patrons soon began to look to
become clients of the Empire in
order to gain favors from the
Emperor.
Benefits of patron/client
System:
• created stability in Rome
• families remained loyal
to their patrons for centuries
• kept the social order of
Rome intact
Downfalls
• kept families “locked in” to
a system from which they
could not escape
• created a welfare system
in a state which did not have
the means to support the
poor
FINIS