 Accordingly, by overt implication, Lorenzo becomes the new Alexander the Great with an implied link to both Augustus, the first Roman emperor, and even to Florence's legendary founder, Caesar himself.Lorenzo, furthermore, is not only magnificent but, as was Alexander in Pliny's story, also magnanimous, as well.Ultimately, these readings of the "Birth of Venus" flatter not only the Medici and Botticelli but all of Florence, home to the worthy successors to some of the greatest figures of antiquity, both in governance and in the arts.