Mediation

The benefits of mediation
Cost
Confidentiality
Control
Compliance
Mutuality
Support

The history of mediation
Phoenician commerce.
Ancient Greece (the non-marital mediator - a proxenetas).
Roman civilization (Roman law, starting from Justinian's Digest of 530 - 533 CE). The Romans called mediators by a variety of names, including internuncius, medium, intercessor, philantropus, interpolator, conciliator, interlocutor, interpres, and finally mediator.
Some cultures regarded the mediator as a sacred figure, worthy of particular respect; and the role partly overlapped with that of traditional wise men or tribal chief. Members of peaceful communities frequently brought disputes before local leaders or wise men to resolve local conflicts.
Confucians and Buddhists.