After this affair Nero took him up to Rome and set the diadem upon his head. The entire city had been decorated with lights and garlands, and great crowds of people were to be seen everywhere, the Forum, however, being especially full. The center was occupied by the populace, arranged according to rank, clad in white and carrying laurel branches: everywhere else were the soldiers, arrayed in shining armor, their weapons and standards reflecting back the sunbeams. The very roof tiles of the buildings in this vicinity were completely hidden from view by the spectators who had ascended to these points of vantage. Everything was in readiness by the time night drew to a close and at daybreak Nero, wearing the triumphal garb and accompanied by the senate and the Pretorians, entered the Forum. He ascended the rostra and seated himself upon the chair of state. Next Tiridates and his suite passed through rows of heavy-armed men drawn up on each side, took their stand close to the rostra, and did obeisance to the emperor as they had done before.
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At this a great roar went up which so alarmed Tiridates that for some moments he stood speechless, in terror of his life. Then, silence having been proclaimed, he recovered courage and quelling his pride made himself subservient to the occasion and to his need, caring little how humbly he spoke, in view of the prize he hoped to obtain. These were his words: "Master, I am the descendant of Arsaces, brother of the princes Vologaesus and Pacorus, and thy slave. And I have come to thee, my deity, to worship thee as I do Mithra. The destiny thou spinnest for me shall be mine: for thou art my Fortune and my Fate."
Nero replied to him as follows: "Well hast thou done to come hither in person, that present in my presence thou mayest enjoy my benefits. For what neither thy father left thee nor thy brothers gave and preserved for thee, this do I grant thee. King of Armenia I now declare thee, that both thou and they may understand that I have power to take away kingdoms and to bestow them." At the end of these words he bade him come up the inclined plane built for this very purpose in front of the rostra, and Tiridates having been made to sit beneath his feet he placed the diadem upon his head. At this there was no end of shouts of all sorts.
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According to decree there also took place a celebration in the theatre. Not merely the stage but the whole interior of the theatre round about had been gilded, and all properties brought in had been adorned with gold, so that people came to refer to the very day as "golden." The curtains stretched across the sky-opening to keep off the sun were of purple and in the centre of them was an embroidered figure of Nero driving a chariot, with golden stars gleaming all about him. So much for the setting: and of course they had a costly banquet.
Afterward Nero sang publicly with zither accompaniment and drove a chariot, clad in the costume of the Greens and wearing a charioteer's helmet. This made Tiridates disgusted with him; but for Corbulo the visitor had only praise and deemed the one thing against him to be that he would put up with such a master. Indeed, he made no concealment of his views to Nero's face, but one day said to him: "Master, you have in Corbulo a good slave." The person addressed, however, did not comprehend his speech.--In all other matters he flattered the emperor and ingratiated himself most skillfully, with the result that he received all kinds of gifts, said to have possessed in the aggregate a value of five thousand myriads, and obtained permission to rebuild Artaxata. Moreover, he took with him from Rome many artisans, some of whom he got from Nero, and some whom he persuaded by offers of high wages. Corbulo, however, would not let them all cross into Armenia, but only the ones whom Nero had given him. That caused Tiridates to admire him all the more and to despise his chief.
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