Benefaction and benevolence

The concept of the pure gift and realization of the community in Greece. An anthropological approach

Eleftherios, Alexakis

Glasnik Etnografskog instituta SANU

54

9

23

http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/Article.aspx?ID=0350-08610654009A

2006-2020/03/06/22:10:36

The study examines diachronically the phenomenon of benefaction and benevolence in Greece, and endeavors to interpret this through prevailing theories on gift and specifically of the competitive and the pure gift, as these have been formulated by distinguished sociologists, anthropologists and philosophers. It is argued that this offering is intended to strengthen the concept of the community, in the wider sense, either as an ethnic-national group or as a group with man as reference point.

philanthropy, ancient liturgy (leitourgia), benefaction, benevolence, bequest, community, gift, national benefactor, potlatch, voluntarism