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Cleopatra Seduces Antony, 41 BC
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The romance between Marc Antony and Cleopatra might have changed the world.
If Antony had succeeded in wining sole control of Rome with Cleopatra as his queen, he could have changed the course of the Roman Empire, making the world we live in today a different place.
However, their relationship ended in mutual suicide in 30 BC, eleven years after it started, when Roman troops engulfed the Egyptian city of Alexandria and threatened their capture.
The seed that spawned their relationship was sown with the murder of Julius Caesar in March 44 BC
Rome descended into anarchy and civil war.
By 41 BC Antony and Octavian (who would later change his name to Augustus) shared the leadership of Rome and had divided the state into two regions – the West (including Spain and Gaul) ruled by Octavian, the East (including Greece and the Middle East) ruled by Antony.
The Parthian Empire, located in modern-day Iraq, posed a threat to Antony’s eastern territory and he planned a military campaign to subdue them.
But Antony needed money to put his plan into action and looked to Cleopatra – ruler of Egypt and the richest woman in the world – to supply it.
In 41 BC he summoned Cleopatra to meet him in the city of Tarsus, modern-day Turkey.
In some Abrahamic traditions, the serpent represents sexual desire,
and Cleopatra was a seductive woman. She used her talents to maintain and expand her power.
Egyptian Asp Bracelet
Her first conquest was Julius Caesar in 47 BC.
He was 52, she was 22.
She the youngest Queen of Egypt, he a hardened war vet in charge of a revolution and an empire.
Their relationship ended only by Caesar’s assassination , had produced a son, Caesarion.
Her initial response to Antony’s summons was to delay her journey –
possibly to send the message to the Roman leader that as a queen in her own right, she was not at his beck and call.
Eventually, surrendering to the inevitable, Cleopatra sailed from Egypt to the city of Tarsus.
As she made the final leg of her journey up the river Cydnus
, she traveled in a magnificent barge filled with flowers and scented with exotic perfumes,
while she reclined on deck, surrounded by her servants and trappings of gold.
Antony enjoyed women, but once he saw her, he fell under her spell.
[Antony was] “…carried away by her to Alexandria, to keep holiday, like a boy, in play and diversion,
squandering and fooling away in enjoyment, with the most costly of all valuables – time.”
Plutarch was a Greek historian, who wrote a biography of Antony in the 1st century AD.
We join this story as Cleopatra receives Antony’s summons to join him:
“She had faith in her own attractions, having formerly recommended her to Caesar and a young Pompey, she did not doubt, it would prove more successful with Antony.
Their acquaintance was with her when a girl, young, and ignorant of the world, but she was to meet Antony in the time of life when women’s beauty is most splendid, and their intellects are in full maturity.
She made great preparations for her journey, money, gifts, and ornaments of value, such as so wealthy a kingdom might afford, but she brought with her her the surest of hopes – her own magic, arts, and charms.
…she came sailing up the river Cydnus, in a barge with gilded stern and outspread sails of purple, while oars of silver beat time to the music of flutes, fifes, and harps.
She herself lay all along, under a canopy made with cloth of gold, dressed as Venus, and young boys, like painted Cupids, stood on each side to fan her.
Her maids were dressed like Sea Nymphs and Graces, some steering at the rudder, some working at the ropes.
…perfumes diffused themselves from the vessel to the shore, which was covered with multitudes, part following the galley up the river, on either bank, part running out of the city to see the sight.
The market place was quite emptied, and Antony at last, was left alone sitting upon the tribunal; while word went through all the multitude, Venus was come to feast with Bacchus for the common good of Asia.
On her arrival, Antony sent to invite her to supper.
She thought it fitter he should come to her; so, willing to show his good humor and courtesy – he complied, and went.
He found the preparations to receive him magnificent, beyond expression, but nothing so admirable as the great number of lights; for suddenly there was let down altogether, a great number of branches with lights in them, so ingeniously disposed, some in squares, and some in circles, the whole thing was a spectacle, and has seldom been equaled for beauty.
The next day, Antony invited her to supper, and was very desirous to outdo her, as well in magnificence as contrivance; but he found he was altogether beaten in both, and was so well convinced of it, he was himself the first to jest and mock at his poverty of wit, and his rustic awkwardness.
She, perceived his raillery was broad and gross, and savored more of the soldier than the courtier anyway joined together, in the same taste, and fell into attractions at once, without any sort of reluctance or reserve.
For her actual beauty, it is said, was not, in itself, so remarkable that none could be compared with her, or that no one could see her without being struck by it, but the contact of her presence.
If you lived with her, was irresistible; the attraction of her person, joining with the charm of her conversation, and the character which attended all she said or did, was something bewitching.
It was a pleasure merely to hear the sound of her voice, like an instrument of many strings, she could pass from one language to another; so that there were few barbarian nations where she answered by an interpreter.
Antony was so captivated by Cleopatra, that while Fulvia, his wife, maintained his quarrels in Rome, against Caesar by actual force of arms, and the Parthian troops…were assembled in Mesopotamia – ready to enter Syria…still Antony, allowed himself to be carried away by her to Alexandria!
when Antony serious or disposed to mirth, she had at any moment, some new delight or charm to meet his wishes; at every turn she was upon him, and let him escape her neither by day nor by night.
She played dice with him, drank with him, hunted with him; and when he exercised in arms, she was there to see.
At night, she would go rambling with him to disturb and torment people at their doors and windows, dressed like a servant woman, for Antony also went in servant’s disguise, and from these expeditions, he often came home very scurvily answered, and sometimes even beaten severely, though most people guessed who it was.
However, Alexandrians in general, liked it all well enough, they joined in good humor and kindly allowed his frolic and play, saying they were much obliged to Antony, for acting his tragic parts in Rome, and keeping his comedy for them.”
In a speech to the Roman Senate on the first day of his consulship on 1 January 33 BC, Octavian accused Antony of attempting to subvert Roman freedoms and territorial integrity as a slave to his Oriental queen.
Before Antony and Octavian’s joint imperium expired , Antony declared Caesarion as the true heir of Caesar in an attempt to undermine Octavian.
Jan 1 32 BC the Antonian loyalists :
Gaius Sosius and Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus were elected as consuls.
Sosius gave a fiery speech condemning Octavian, now a private citizen without public office, and introduced pieces of legislation against him.
During the next senatorial session, Octavian entered the Senate house with armed guards and levied his own accusations against the consuls.
Intimidated by this act, the consuls and over 200 senators still in support of Antony fled Rome the next day to join the side of Antony.
Antony and Cleopatra traveled to Ephesus in , where she provided him with 200 of the 800 naval ships he was able to acquire.
Cleopatra refused Antony’s requests she return to Egypt, judging that by blocking Octavian in Greece she could more easily defend Egypt.
Cleopatra’s insistence that she be involved in the battle for Greece led to the defections of prominent Romans
During the spring of 32 BC Antony and Cleopatra traveled to Athens, where she persuaded Antony to send Octavia an official declaration of divorce.
This encouraged Plancus to advise Octavian that he should seize Antony’s will, invested with the Vestal Virgins.
Although a violation of sacred and legal rights, Octavian forcefully acquired the document from the Temple of Vesta, and it became a useful in the propaganda war against Antony and Cleopatra.
Octavian highlighted parts of the will, such as Caesarion being named heir to Caesar, the donation of Alexandria was legal, that Antony should be buried alongside Cleopatra in Egypt instead of Rome, and that Alexandria would be made the new capital of the Roman Republic.
In a show of loyalty to Rome, Octavian decided to begin construction of his ownmausoleum and went to war.
With Antony’s will made public, Octavian had his casus belli, and Rome declared war on Cleopatra, not Antony.
The legal argument for war was based on the fact that she was providing military support to a private citizen now that Antony’s triumviral authority had expired.
Antony and Cleopatra set up their winter headquarters in Greece.
Cleopatra and Antony had the support of various allied kings, but Cleopatra had already been in conflict with Herod, and an earthquake in Judea provided him with an excuse to be absent from the campaign.
Antony and Cleopatra lost several skirmishes against Octavian, during the summer of 31 BC, while defections to Octavian’s camp continued which proved to have strategic consequences.
While Octavian occupied Athens, Antony and Cleopatra landed in Egypt.
The couple then went separate ways, Antony to Cyrene to raise more troops and Cleopatra sailing into the harbor at Alexandria, in a misleading attempt, to portray the activities in Greece as a victory.
Lucius Pinarius, Mark Antony’s appointed governor of Cyrene, received word that Octavian had won the Battle of Actium before Antony’s messengers arrived at his court.
Pinarius had the messengers executed and then defected to Octavian’s side, surrendering to him the four legions under his command that Antony desired.
Antony nearly committed suicide after hearing news of this but was stopped by his staff officers.
Herod, who personally advised Antony after the Battle of Actium ,he should betray Cleopatra, traveled to Rhodes to meet Octavian and resign his kingship out of loyalty to Antony.
Herod
Octavian impressed by his speech and sense of loyalty, he allowed Herod to maintain his position in Judea, further isolating Antony and Cleopatra.
Cleopatra perhaps started to view Antony as a liability, by summer of 31 BC, she prepared to leave Egypt to her son Caesarion.
Cleopatra planned to relinquish her throne, taking her fleet from the Mediterranean into the Red Sea and setting sail to a foreign port, perhaps in India, where she could spend time recuperating, but they were abandoned when Malichus I, as advised by Octavian’s governor of Syria, Quintus Didius, managed to burn Cleopatra’s fleet in revenge for his losses in a war with Herod that Cleopatra had largely initiated.
Cleopatra had no other option but to stay in Egypt and negotiate with Octavian.
Although most likely later pro-Octavian propaganda, it was reported that at this time Cleopatra started testing the strengths of various poisons on prisoners and even her own servants.
Cleopatra had Caesarion enter into the ranks of the ephebi, which, demonstrated Cleopatra was now grooming her son to become the sole ruler of Egypt.
In a show of solidarity, Antony also had Marcus Antonius Antyllus, his son with Fulvia, enter the ephebiat the same time.
Separate messages and envoys from Antony and Cleopatra were then sent to Octavian, at Rhodes, although Octavian seems to have only replied to Cleopatra.
Cleopatra requested her children to inherit Egypt and Antony be allowed to live in exile in Egypt, offering Octavian money in the future and immediately sending him lavish gifts.
Octavian sent his diplomat Thyrsos to Cleopatra after she threatened to burn herself and vast amounts of her treasure within a tomb already under construction.
Thyrsos advised her to kill Antony, so her life would be spared, but when Antony suspected it, he had this diplomat flogged and sent back to Octavian without a deal.
After lengthy negotiations that ultimately produced no results, Octavian set out to invade Egypt in the spring of 30 BC,stopping at Ptolemais in Phoenicia, where his new ally Herod provided his army with fresh supplies.
Octavian moved south and swiftly took Pelousion, while Cornelius Gallus, marching eastward from Cyrene, defeated Antony’s forces .
Octavian advanced quickly to Alexandria, but Antony returned and won a small victory over Octavian’s tired troops outside the city.
However, on 1 August 30 BC Antony’s naval fleet surrendered to Octavian, followed by his cavalry.
Cleopatra hid herself in her tomb with her close attendants, sending a message to Antony , she had committed suicide.
In despair, Antony responded to this by stabbing himself in the stomach and taking his own life at age 53.
According to Plutarch, he was still dying when brought to Cleopatra at her tomb, telling her he died honorably, and that she could trust Octavian’s companion Gaius Proculeius over anyone else in his entourage.
It was Proculeius, however, who infiltrated her tomb using a ladder and detained the queen, denying her the ability to burn herself with her treasures.
Cleopatra was then allowed to embalm and bury Antony within her tomb before she was escorted to the palace.
Octavian entered Alexandria, occupied the palace, and seized Cleopatra’s three youngest children.
When she met with Octavian, she told him bluntly
“I will not be led in a triumph”
according to Livy, a rare recording of her exact words.
Octavian promised he would keep her alive, but offered no explanation about his future plans for her kingdom.
When a spy informed her Octavian planned to move her and her children to Rome in 3 days, she prepared for suicide, as she had no intentions of being paraded in a Roman triumph like her sister Arsinoe IV.
It is unclear if Cleopatra’s suicide in August 30 BC, at age 39, took place within the palace or her tomb.
It is said she was accompanied by her servants Eiras and Charmion, who also took their own lives.
Octavian was said to be angered by this outcome, but buried her in royal fashion next to Antony, in her tomb.
Cleopatra’s physician Olympos did not explain her cause of death, although popular belief is she allowed an asp, or Egyptian cobra, to bite and poison her.
Plutarch relates this tale, but then suggests an implement was used to introduce the toxin by scratching, while Dio says that she injected the poison with a needle , and Strabo argued for an ointment of some kind.
No venomous snake was found with her body, but she did have tiny puncture wounds on her arm.
Cleopatra decided in her last moments to send Caesarion away to Upper Egypt, perhaps with plans to flee to Nubia, Ethiopia, or India.
Caesarion, now called Ptolemy XV, would reign for a mere 18 days, until executed on the orders of Octavian , after returning to Alexandria under the false pretense that Octavian would allow him to be king.
Octavian was convinced by the advice of the philosopher Arius Didymus -there was room for only one Caesar in the world.
With the fall of the Ptolemaic Kingdom, the Roman province of Egypt was established, marking the end of the Hellenistic period.
In January 27 BC Octavian was renamed Augustus (“the revered”) and amassed constitutional powers that established him as the first Roman emperor, inaugurating the Principate era of the Roman Empire.
After her suicide, Cleopatra’s three surviving children from Antony,
Cleopatra Selene II, Alexander Helios, and Ptolemy Philadelphos
were sent to Rome with Octavian’s sister Octavia the Younger, a former wife of their father, as their guardian.
Cleopatra Selene II and Alexander Helios were present in the Roman triumph of Octavian in 29 BC.
The fates of Alexander Helios and Ptolemy Philadelphus are unknown after this point.
Octavia arranged the betrothal of Cleopatra Selene II to Juba II, whose North African kingdom of Numidia had been turned into a Roman province , in 46 BC by Julius Caesar .
The emperor Augustus installed Juba II and Cleopatra Selene II, after their wedding in 25 BC, as the new rulers of Mauretania, where they transformed the old Carthaginian city of Iol into their new capital, renamed Caesarea Mauretaniae (modern Algeria).
Cleopatra Selene II imported many important scholars, artists, and advisers from her mother’s royal court in Alexandria to serve her in Caesarea, now permeated in Hellenistic Greek culture.
She also named her son Ptolemy of Mauretania, in honor of their Ptolemaic dynastic heritage.
Cleopatra Selene II died around 5 BC, and when Juba II died in 23/24 AD he was succeeded by his son Ptolemy
However, Ptolemy was eventually executed by the Roman emperor Caligula in 40 AD, perhaps under the pretense that Ptolemy had unlawfully minted his own royal coinage and utilized regalia reserved for the Roman emperor.
Ptolemy of Mauretania – last known monarch of the Ptolemaic dynasty.
A cult dedicated to Cleopatra still existed as late as 373 AD.
Petesenufe, an Egyptian scribe of the book of Isis, explained that he”overlaid the figure of Cleopatra with gold.”