The Second Triumvirate: Marc Antony and Cleopatra

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Mark Antony

• 82-30 BCE
• in sole command after Caesar’s death
• Boisterous, extravagant, at drinker
• A gambler (aleator)
• March 17^th: the Senate’s comprimise
• Assassins granted immunity and provinces; Caesar’s acta were confirmed
• Senate trying to avoid civil war
• Civil war averted (temporarily)
• Urban plebs and the army loyal to Caesar however
• Caesar’s will: left land and money to every Roman citizen
• Mark Antony tried to mobilize the populace in his interest
• Caesar’s public funeral
• Antony’s speech causes a riot which enables him to take control of Rome
• Cassius, Brutus and Cicero leave (in fear)
• Antony in firm control May 44 BCE

Marcus Tullius Cicero (death 43 BCE)

• politician and orator

Octavian

• Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus
• 63 BCE – 14 CE
• Caesar’s great-nephew and adopted son and heir
• ¾ of Caesar’s estate
• (Caesar was very rich from time in Gaul)
• Turned to Antony but Antony rebuffed him
• Octavian realized he had more to gain from the Senate’s support
• Very young: 19 years old
• So young that he is underrated as a politician, everyone underestimates him
• Brutus and Cassius were overseas trying to get control of the eastern legions
• Control of the East would be crucial
• Next few months: shifting alliances
• October 44 BCE: Antony goes to Gaul, Octavian into Italy to raise troops
• Senate refuses to let Octavian stand for consul; thereby losing his support
• Octavian marched on Rome: Aug 43 BCE
• Declares himself consul
• The Senate has no armed forces with which to oppose him

The Second Triumvirate

• A modern name
• Octavian; Antony; M. Aemelius Lepidus (death 13 BCE)
• ‘triumvirs for the purpose of restoring the Republic’
• 5-year period
• Authority to legislate and name magistrates
• The First Triumvirate had been an informal agreement with no legal ratification
• But this was a formal union; legally appointed by the Senate
• But could, like the first, dominate the Senate

Proscriptions

• Raise money to pay the troops
• Certain political security
• 300 senators and 2000 equestrians
• Cicero killed Dec 7^th, 43 BCE
• Lepidus consul for 42 BCE
• Octavian and Antony go east to attack the ‘Republican’ forces

War

• Octavian and Antony: 28 legions
• = 140,000 men
• Battle of Philippi, 42 BCE
• Republicans defeated (Brutus and Cassius commit suicide)
• Their supporters surrendered or scattered
• Caesar’s murder was avenged
• The triumvirs disbanded their legions
• Octavian to stay in Italy
• Antony to go East to raise funds and re-establish order (boarder rebellions)
• For years the two oscillate between enmity and alliance
• They competed with each other fiercely
• Patched up their alliance by repeated pacts and comprimises
• Octavia, sister of Octavian, married to Antony in 40 BCE
• Strain soon becomes evident between the dynasts

Ptolemy XI

• Ptolemy Auletes – Cleopatra’s father
• Ascended 80 BCE but his reign marred by internal disputes
• Appealed to Rome in 59/58 BCE
• Rome put him back on the throne in 55
• He survived until 51 BCE
• Cleopatra VII (69-30 BCE) then ascended the throne, at 18 yrs old
• Along with her brother Ptolemy XIII (Married)
• Daughter of Ptolemy XI and Cleopatra V

Cleopatra’s VII’s early rule

• The snake pit
• She was 18; her brother and husband was 11
• Aimed for a position of strength
• Learned Egyptian (previously the royal family spoke Greek); cared about the economy
• Supported Rome in 49 BCE
• (Supplies Pompey with ships and supplies)
• Exiled in 48 BCE (by her brother’s supporters)
• Goes into Arabia and Palestine to raise an army
• Caesar puts her on the throne; they become lovers and have a son
• She travels to Rome in 46
• And stays there until March of 44 BCE (Caesar’s assassination)
• Antony approaches Cleopatra for troops and supplies to conquer Parthia
• He had met her while she was in Rome
• Antony’s seduction
• The barge scene

Anthony and Cleopatra

• Thus Cleopatra retained her kingdom and the support of Rome
• Twins were born in autumn 40 BCE: Alexander Helios (the sun) and Cleopatra Selene (the moon)
• Antony to marry Octavia (sister of Octavian) to cement their political alliance (40 BCE)
• By 37, the marriage AND the political alliance were breaking down
• Antony goes east to Cleopatra
• 37/36 BCE: Antony adds some of his conquests to Cleopatra’s domain
• In 36 she gives birth to their third child Ptolemy Philadelphus
• 34 (important year): he formally married her (under Macedonian law) and recognizes their children (makes them his heirs)
• large tactical error
• he is still married to Octavia at this point
• And gives them control over parts of the Roman empire
• Results in mistrust from the Romans
• 33 BCE: campaign of mutual slander
• Antony is painted as a drunkard, demoralized, soft, in sexual thrall
• 32: alliance at end; Antony divorced Octavia
• Incensed, Octavian seized Antony’s will and made it public
• The terms of the will outraged the Roman people
• Antony had instituted Cleopatra and his children of his heirs (and cut out his legitimate Roman children) also requested to be buried in Egypt with Cleopatra

War

• War is declared (be Octavian) against Cleopatra
• Not on Antony, because didn’t want to start a civil war
• Octavian crosses to Greece
• Antony had the strong support of many, but desertions were high
• Battle of Actium: September 31 BCE (naval battle)
• Cleopatra and Antony defeated; their troops surrender or are captured
• Octavian left sole master of Rome and all her territories
• They retreat to Egypt
• Octavian follows
• Numerous pleas from the pair to Octavian are rejected

After Actium

• Octavian follows the pain to Egypt
• Alexandria capitulates in 30 BCE
• Antony and Cleopatra commit suicide
• Antony: by his sword
• Cleopatra: snake bite
• Luxurious supper-parties with plenty of drinking (put on by Antony and Cleopatra)
• Elegant and extravagant lifestyle
• Cleopatra reportedly tested out various poisons on her slaves
• Bite of an asp (snake) produced lethargy and numbness
• Egyptians also believed the bite deified the victim

Antony’s Death

• Ghostly Bacchic possession out of Alexandria
• The god Dionysus was abandoning him  (i.e., so bad things were going to happen)
• His navy and cavalry deserted; he blamed Cleopatra (for being Egyptian)
• She fled to her funerary monument
• Antony thinking she was dead plunged his sword into his belly
• Cleopatra took him into her monument
• He died in her arms
• Octavian wept upon hearing of Antony’s death

Cleopatra’s death

• Octavian worried she would kill herself
• Interview with Octavian before her death (she did not come off as very brave)
• She visits Antony’s tomb one last time, bathes and eats
• Basket of figs containing an asp
• Addressed a letter to Octavian (basically saying she would be dead once he read this)
• Dismisses all her servants except Charmian and Iras
• Slips her wrist into the basket (and asp bites her wrist)
• Octavian ordered her to be given a royal burial
• Caesarion (Caesar’s son) executed on Octavian’s orders
• Her children by Antony brought up by Octavia in Rome

Cleopatra’s story

• Cleopatra of myth and fantasy as well as history
• Cleopatra’s story is one of sex, death, and power
• Can be treated in witty or tragic fashion
• Disgrace? Temptress? Victim? Great leader?
• Gets re-invented from generation to generation
• (according to their own ideas of women and power)
• Examples of some portrayals:
• Theda Bara, 1917 (silent film): exotic temptress
• Claudette Colbert, 1934; witty society lady
• Elizabeth Taylor, 1963: political visionary
• Lindsay Marshal, 2005 (show we watched in class); characterized as very young, aggressive, sexually promiscuous, opium addict, indulgent, spoiled
• Exceptionally able, ambitious, intelligent women
• She was not conventionally beautiful
• 5’2”, chunky and hawk-nosed
• But charismatic, witty, a great conversationalist
• Sexually compelling

Cleopatra in European Art

• France, 1480: Antony and Cleopatra’s death (he is stabbing himself, she is getting bit in both breasts by two snakes; dressed in medieval clothing)
• 1630, Barbieri, Italian: sketch of her, no shirt
• Renault, 1790, France: wrapped in cloth, but bare breasts, holding her breast
• Rixens, 1876: her death (she is naked) with her two servants Charmian and Iras
• Even today still using her in portrayals such as advertisements

Related Posts

1. Fall of the Roman Republic: Caesar & Mark Antony
2. Cleopatra Vll: Biography & Last Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt
3. Julius Caesar: Brutus and Mark Antony Comparison
4. Key Figures of Ancient Egypt (New Kingdom)
5. Assassination: Gaius Julius Caesar