Juppiter Tragoedus
Lucian of Samosata
Lucian, Vol. 2. Harmon, A. M., editor. London: William Heinemann, Ltd.; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1915.
APHRODITE Well then, Hermes, take me and seat me in the front row somewhere, for I am golden.
HERMES Not as far as I can see, Aphrodite: unless I am stone blind, you are of white marble, quarried on Pentelicus, no doubt, and then, the plan having approved itself to Praxiteles, turned iuto Aphrodite and put into the care of the Cnidians.
APHRODITE But I'll prove it to you by a competent witness, Homer, who says all up and down his lays that I am “golden Aphrodite.”
HERMES Yes, and the same man said that Apollo was rich in gold and wealthy, but now you'll see that he too is sitting somewhere among the middle class, uncrowned by the pirates and robbed of the pegs of his lyre. So be content yourself if you are not quite classed with the common herd in the meeting.