ZEUS 
Splendid, Hermes! an excellent proclamation,
that. Indeed, they are coming together already, so
take them in charge and seat each of them in his
proper place according to his material and workmanhip, those of gold in the front row, then next to
hem those of silver, then all those of ivory, then
hose of bronze or stone, and among the latter let
he gods made by Phidias or Alcamenes or Myron
t Euphranor or such artists have precedence and
et these vulgar, inartistic fellows huddle together

 

in silence apart from the rest and just fill out the
quorum.

 HERMES 
It shall be done, and they shall be seated properly ; but I had better find out about this; if one
of them is of gold and very heavy, yet not precise
in workmanship but quite ordinary and misshapen,
is he to sit in front of the bronzes of Myron and
Polyclitus and the marbles of Phidias and Alcamenes,
or is precedence to be given to the art?
 ZEUS 
It ought to be that way, but gold must have precedence all the same.
 HERMES 
I understand : you tell me to seat them in order
of wealth, not in order of merit; by valuation.
Come to the front seats, then, you of gold.

It is
likely, Zeus, that none but foreigners will occupy
the front row, for as to the Greeks you yourself see
what they are like, attractive, to be sure, and good
looking and artistically made, but all of marble or
bronze, nevertheless, or at most in the case of the
very richest, of ivory with just a little gleam of
gold, merely to the extent of being superficially
tinged and brightened, within while even these are
of wood and shelter whole droves of mice that keep
court inside. But Bendis here and Anubis over
there and Attis beside him and Mithras and Men
are of solid gold and heavy and very valuable
indeed.