The Hecatomnids, the Carian dynasts who ruled southwestern Asia Minor as Persian satraps during the fourth century B.C., are often perceived as philhellenes, active agents in the hellenization of inland Caria and neighboring regions in the generations preceding Alexander the Great and the Seleucid successors. Archaeological and epigraphical evidence from Labraunda, when examined in the context of Hecatomnid patronage elsewhere in western Asia Minor, helps to provide another perspective on the cultural affiliations and social institutions of this Carian dynasty. This analysis questions the traditional view of Hecatomnid patronage as a rehearsal for Hellenistic philhellenism and hellenization, offering instead a new interpretation of the dynasty's artistic and religious patronage as an expression of cultural orientation and aims.