Book 1
11.97
Believe me, Roman, the Cyprian goddess cares for the race of Aeneas and has given it great power. Render yearly gifts to all the immortals, and do not forget them. Convey gifts to Delphi. There is also a place where men go up under snowy Taurus, a wide-reaching city of the Carians,The town of Aphrodisias in Caria, dedicated to Venus. It is mentioned in the Annals of Tacitus (iii. 62) as one of those whose title to be considered a lawful sanctuary and refuge for criminals was investigated during the reign of Tiberius. whose inhabitants have named it for Aphrodite. Give the goddess an axe and you shall gain sovereign power. Πείθεό μοι Πωμαῖε, κράτος μέγα Κύπρις ἔδωκεν Αἰνείου γενεῇ μεμελημένη. Ἀλλὰ σὺ πᾶσιν ἀθανάτοις ἐπέτεια τίθει· μὴ λήθεο τῶνδε. Δελφοῖς δῶρα κόμιζε. Καὶ ἔστι τις ἀμβαίνουσι Ταύρου ὑπὸ νιφόεντος, ὅπου περιμήκετον ἄσγυ Καρῶν, οἱ ναίουσιν ἐπώνυμον ἐξ Ἀφροδίγης· καὶ πέλεκυν θέμενος, λήψῃ κράτος ἀμιφλαφες σοι.
11.97
Whichever decree the Romans voted when they erected the statue, they seem to me to have made the inscription by way of jest or cajolery. However, Sulla sent a golden crown and an axe to Venus with this inscription:—
11.97
The dictator Sulla dedicates this to thee, Venus, because in a dream he saw thee in panoply setting the army in order of battle and fighting with the weapons of Mars. Τόνδε σοι αὐτοκράτωρ Σύλλας ἀνέθηκ’, Ἀφροδίτη, ὡς εἶδον κατ’ ὄνειρον ἀνὰ στρατιὴν διέπουσαν τεύχεσι τοῖς Ἄρεος μαρναμενην ἔνοπλον.
