The Fate of Antony and Cleopatra - Research Paper Example

Cleopatra When people hear the Cleopatra, they generally tend to think of only one person – the character depicted by Elizabeth Taylor in old Hollywood films, the one thought to have been the lover of both Julius Caesar of Rome and his top general Mark Antony, and the woman who killed herself in grief by encouraging a deadly snake to bite her on the breast. This woman’s name was actually Cleopatra VII Philopator and, as her name indicates, she sprang from a long line of Cleopatras who comprised the ruling house of ancient Egypt under the Greeks (Dudley, 1960). Her family, the Ptolomies, had taken over the Egyptian throne after Alexander the Great won the territory. Although they continued the pharoic tradition of royal inbreeding, the family didn’t seem to adopt many of the other Egyptian traditions, continuing to speak Greek and maintaining their close ties with the Empire, but Cleopatra changed much of these customs. Unfortunately, though, she was to be the last pharaoh of Egypt, living her life from 69-30 BC. Her life and exploits became legendary as did her beauty, the tool she used to gain the degree of influence she had over the other rulers of her time. According to historic sources, Cleopatra began her reign in Egypt as a co-ruler, first with her father and later with her brothers, whom she married according to tradition. She was only 14 years old when she was first given a throne at her father’s side and 18 when he died, leaving the country to her and her 10 year old brother (Perry et al, 2004). At this time, the country had already been struggling for several years and the Egyptian throne, as always, remained an unstable place. From 51 BC to 48 BC, the brother-sister and husband-wife team officially ruled jointly over a country that was troubled by famine, floods, political conflict and economic issues, but Cleopatra made it clear on a consistent basis that she had no intention of giving her younger brother greater authority over her or in sharing his bed (Dudley, 1960). Troubles only escalated when she took her brother’s name off of official documents and his face off of the national coin finally instigating a rebellion against her among the eunuchs of the palace. Although she tried to resist their forces, she was eventually forced to flee with her sister Arsinoe as her brother Ptolemy was restored to the throne (Green, 1990). This might have been the end of her career had her brother been more mature or more politically astute, but it was largely through his actions that Cleopatra was able to reclaim her power. It was the events that occurred in Egypt following her banishment that gave Cleopatra the leverage she needed to reclaim Egypt with the support of Rome. While she was away, her brother Ptolemy established his throne near the harbor of Alexandria. From this throne, he agreed to receive the Roman general Pompey, who had become too involved in the Roman civil war and was seeking sanctuary from his former father-in-law, Julius Caesar. According to Green (1990), Caesar’s only daughter had died in childbirth but there had been a strong relationship within the family. When Pompey disembarked from his ship, though, he was immediately beheaded in front of his new wife and their children. The 15 year old Ptolemy presented the head to Caesar two days later, hoping to win Roman support but this action served instead to anger Caesar. Shortly after this presentation, Caesar seized the city and proclaimed himself arbiter between the ruling siblings. Seizing her own opportunity, Cleopatra had herself smuggled past her brother’s guards to Caesar’s rooms and became his mistress despite the near 30 year difference in age (Pomeroy, 1990). When she gave birth to his son nine months later, Caesar decided to award Cleopatra her kingdom rather than annex it to his empire. The resulting war with her brother’s supporters left Cleopatra in charge, co-ruling with another younger brother and the Ptolemy she’d squabbled with was drowned in the Nile. Despite the evidence that her son Caesarion was Caesar’s son, Caesar refused to acknowledge him and instead appointed Octavion as his successor. However, Cleopatra did not give up easily and even took her son to visit often, staying in one of Caesar’s Roman country houses. It has even been suggested that she was in Rome on the day that Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC causing her to flee back to Egypt with her family. Not long after this, her last younger brother died and she appointed her son to be her co-ruler. Following Caesar’s death, Rome erupted in civil war between those who assassinated Caesar and those who had supported him. Because of her history, Cleopatra had little option but to side with Caesar’s supporters – Mark Antony and Octavion. Within this battle, Egypt was strongly threatened and seemed to be saved simply by a change of mind on the part of Brutus who demanded his forces convene elsewhere. However, there were rumors that Cleopatra had managed to forestall attacks on her country by paying large sums of money to Cassius, the commander most intent on invasion (Jeffrey & Watton, 2005). Throughout the Roman civil war of 43 BC, Cleopatra’s ground forces remained relatively weak due to famine, pestilence and poor economics. She evidently intended to combine her sailing fleet with the Caesarian forces but the fleet was crippled by a storm in the attempt and Cleopatra, who had sailed with them, also became seriously ill during the campaign and was forced to return home (Jeffrey & Watton, 2005). This failure on her part, in combination with the money that she had given over to the opposing forces, called her loyalties into question and she was soon summoned to Rome to meet with Mark Antony regarding these questions. Realizing her precarious position, Cleopatra opted to travel to Rome in full royal state and thus managed to convince Antony that he had her full support. By winter of that same year, 41 BC, it seems Antony had also fallen victim to Cleopatra’s charms and had taken her as a lover as he spent that winter in Alexandria. This status of their relationship is proven in the fact that Cleopatra gave birth to twins early in the year 40 BC whose father was claimed to be Antony (Jeffrey & Watton, 2005). These twins were named Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene II. Her ruthless nature came into full fruition in this period as she ordered, through Antony, the murder of her remaining sister Arsinoe and several of her advisors who she claimed had violated her wishes and supported Cassius (Pomeroy, 1990). The murder of her sister was particularly troubling to the Romans because Arsinoe had been living in the temple of Artemis in Ephesus and her murder had been carried out on the sacred steps to the temple. Although Antony left shortly after the twins were born, he would again return to Alexandria and Cleopatra in 36 BC on the way to war with the Parthians and it was during this visit that he apparently decided this was the home of his heart despite being already married to Octavion’s sister back in Rome (Jeffrey & Watton, 2005). Together, they had another child, this one named Ptolemy Philadelphus. All of these children would be given crowns of their own within two years, but this development caused many in Rome to fear her aspirations. They felt sure she “was planning a war of revenge that was to array all the East against Rome, establish herself as Empress of the world at Rome, cast justice from Capitolium and inaugurate a new universal kingdom” (Syme, 1962). These fears were likely elevated by the common depiction of Cleopatra as a reincarnation of the goddess Isis and the common association among Egyptians of her son Caesarion as Horus, king of kings and son of god. The Roman fears regarding the Egyptian queen’s intentions coupled with the negative feelings engendered by Antony’s abandonment of his wife and Octavion’s sister in Rome eventually served to sever the relationship between Octavion and Antony. By 33 BC, Octavion had convinced the Roman Senate to declare war on Egypt. With his own forces, Antony sailed to meet Octavion in the waters off Actium in 31 BC, but his ships were poorly equipped and sparsely manned. He was reportedly accompanied by Cleopatra and her fleet as a form of backup force, but the queen again ran from battle when it became clear that Octavion had the advantage (Pomeroy, 1990). While this is not verified information, this would have essentially guaranteed Antony’s loss. It is known that he survived the sea battle, giving some credence to the legend that he abandoned the battle as well in order to follow his queen, but he did take the field again commanding ground troops against Octavion’s invasion of Egypt. On the first day of August in 30 BC, Octavion’s troops reached Alexandria and Antony’s army determined en masse to defect to the enemy. Egypt then became the Roman province of Aegyptus. The fate of Antony and Cleopatra is a legend in and of itself. According to the ancient texts, Antony’s losses led him to commit suicide by plunging a dagger into his side. Other sources suggest he only engaged in this act after being falsely informed of Cleopatra’s death. Although the stories of her death being caused by an asp bite were immediate and widespread, modern day historians have raised doubts about the truth of the story, suggesting that she more probably died by an infusion of poisons or was killed in more mundane fashion by her enemy captors (Jeffrey & Watton, 2005). Following her death, her son Caesarion was proclaimed pharaoh but was not given a chance to rule as he was murdered soon after on the orders of Octavion. Cleopatra’s other children were sent to Rome to be raised by Antony’s first wife. From that time to this, the story of Cleopatra and Antony have continued to fire the imaginations of lovers and inspired poets, playwrights and artists. Works Cited Dudley, Donald R. The Civilization of Rome. New York: Plume, 1960. Green, Peter. Alexander to Actium: The Historical Evolution of the Hellenistic Age. Berkeley: University of California Press, (1990). Jeffrey, Gary & Ross Watton. Cleopatra: The Life of an Egyptian Queen. Rosen Publishing Group, 2005. Perry, Marvin; Margaret C. Jacob; James R. Jacob; Myrna Chase & Theodore H. Von Laue. Western Civilization: Ideas, Politics and Society, Vol. 1 to 1789. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2004. Pomeroy, Sarah B. Women in Hellenistic Egypt: From Alexander to Cleopatra. Wayne State University Press, 1990. Syme, Ronald. The Roman Revolution. Oxford University Press, (1962) . Read More