To Bacchius, priest. (362)
The governor took part in your festival in the same way I did -- he missed nothing I had heard. When he learned about the armor, the sacrifices, the expense, and the splendor that ran through everything, he was so delighted -- rejoicing with both the priest and the city -- that he said the emperor himself would hear of what you have done.
What pleased him most was that you, alone and unaided, managed the recovery of the cult statue. Diomedes, after all, needed Odysseus [a reference to the theft of the Palladion from Troy -- Bacchius managed his recovery solo]. Through me, he now encourages you to restore the temple as well. He has already proclaimed that everyone may reclaim what is rightfully theirs, and he stands ready to cry out against any wrong done to the sacred precinct -- and to act on it.
The governor took part in your festival in the same way I did -- he missed nothing I had heard. When he learned about the armor, the sacrifices, the expense, and the splendor that ran through everything, he was so delighted -- rejoicing with both the priest and the city -- that he said the emperor himself would hear of what you have done.
What pleased him most was that you, alone and unaided, managed the recovery of the cult statue. Diomedes, after all, needed Odysseus [a reference to the theft of the Palladion from Troy -- Bacchius managed his recovery solo]. Through me, he now encourages you to restore the temple as well. He has already proclaimed that everyone may reclaim what is rightfully theirs, and he stands ready to cry out against any wrong done to the sacred precinct -- and to act on it.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.