'Let it be so.'
Saronia thought the request unusual, but the priest said:
'Foster the whim; no harm can come of it.'
It was past noon; the great sun shone out with refulgent glory. Not a cloud sailed the azure depths. The birds were sheltering from the heat between the branches of the citron-trees. An eagle flew by flapping its wings as Chios met the Roman at the gateway of the Sacred Shrine.
They moved towards the marble steps, and, ascending past pronaos and vestibule, went within the gates of ivory and gold and stood near the altar, around which were gathered the High Priest and Priestess and their attendants.
The Proconsul and Chios bowed lowly, and were saluted in return; and the proclamation ran:
'Whereas Chios, the Greek of Ephesus, has proved to the people of this city that he possesses heroic courage, and used it well on behalf of a fallen enemy of the Sacred Goddess:
'The Proconsul, the Council, and the People request that he be crowned with a crown of gold, and, further, that the Act be proclaimed at the festival of Dionysus at the Great Theatre, and a place be allotted to him in a Tribe and a Thousand:
'That he possesses the privilege of occupying a front seat at the games, and is exempt from paying duty on all articles imported or exported by him, and that he has right to leave or enter the city in time of peace or war.