9. West Portico Inscriptions

An inscription above the west portico quotes the Roman poet Horace: “DULCE ET DECORUM EST PRO PATRIA MORI” (“It is sweet and proper to die for one’s country.” The second line reads, “ARLINGTON MEMORIAL AMPHITHEATER,” and the bottom line is the year of construction in Roman numerals, “ANNO DOMINI MCMXV.” The inscription refers to 1915, the year that construction began on the Amphitheater, rather than 1920, the year of its completion.