[9]
Then to Zephyrium, which bears the same name as the place near Calycadnus.1 Then, a little above the sea, to Anchiale, which, according to Aristobulus, was founded by Sardanapallus. Here, he says, is the tomb of Sardanapallus, and a stone figure which represents the fingers of the right hand as snapping together, and the following inscription in Assyrian letters: "Sardanapallus, the son of Anacyndaraxes, built Anchiale and Tarsus in one day. Eat, drink, be merry, because all things else are not worth this," meaning the snapping of the fingers. Choerilus also mentions this inscription; and indeed the following verses are everywhere known:“Mine are all that I have eaten, and the delights of love that I have enjoyed; but those numerous blessings have been left behind.
”2
1 14. 5. 4.
2 The whole of the epigram, as found in some of the MSS., is as follows: "Well aware that thou art by nature mortal, magnify the desires of they heart, delighting thyself in merriments; there is no enjoyment for thee after death. For I too am dust, though I have reigned over great Ninus. Mine are all the food that I have eaten, and my loose indulgences, and the delights of love that I have enjoyed; but those numerous blessing have been left behind. This to mortal men is wise advice on how to live."
Strabo. ed. H. L. Jones, The Geography of Strabo. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924.
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