"This original study examines the economic and political role of sanctuaries in Hellenistic and Roman Asia Minor. It proposes a triangular relationship of city, cult, and ruler, and explores the cults as entities with independent interests and powers, different from those of the cities that host them. This 'triangle' represents a challenge to our standard model of civic religion, which emphasizes the cults as fully institutionalized within the Greek polis and in general perceives city and cult as one and the same agent."--BOOK JACKET.