A fundamental obligation of Athenian citizenship, as we have seen, was to serve the city in time of war and to perform this service honorably, even up to the point of death on the battlefield. The Attic funeral orations envision the sacrifice made by Athens' hoplites as a worthy and necessary “expenditure” on behalf of the city that all citizens should be willing to make. If good citizenship could entail this ultimate, metaphorical expenditure, it comes as no surprise that it could also require a man to put his financial resources at the city's disposal. This obligation, however, fell primarily on the city's wealthiest citizens, who were called upon to pay the irregularly imposed war tax (eisphora) and, more routinely, to perform expensive public services (liturgies), including the maintenance and supervision of a trireme (the trierarchy) or the financing and training of a chorus for one of the city's festivals (the chorēgia). Taxation in most societies is unpopular and a source of complaint and resentment; this was conspicuously the case in democratic Athens, where it fell exclusively on a small but powerful group of individuals. This chapter explores the often tense relationship between the city and its wealthiest citizens over financial obligations.