Perhaps the most typical institution of Roman society was that of patron/boss and clients (clientela). The patrons/bosses (patroni), who hailed from Rome's upper socioeconomic levels, took their clients (clientes) under their wing. The clients in turn provided them in exchange with various services, the most important of which was political support.

The merging of patronage with the related Hellenic institution of benefaction, had an important effect on the social development of Hellenic populations under Roman rule. Greek writers of Roman times translate the term clientes as πελάται, a word derived (most scholars would agree) from the verb πελάζω and denoting a person who is 'close' to somebody, and not a person who is a subordinate. The semantic difference between the two words, added to the fact that the Greeks never fashioned a word whose meaning was equivalent to the Roman word patrοnus (preferring to translate it as πάτρων), is an indication that the two institutions were never identified, even if at many points they were equated.

With the founding of the Principate, the concentration of the two aforementioned institutions in the person of the Emperor and the members of his family, was intensified -now that he was exclusively the incarnator of Roman power. At the same time, the cult of the governor as benefactor was gradually abandoned in the cities of the Hellenic east.