potential solution to its ownfood shortages, while inEgypt, domesticpolitical rivalriesmeant that shewas soon at warwith Ptolemy XIIIher younger bro<strong>the</strong>r(and husband, at leastin name). And, as ifthat were not enough,Cleopatra was a womanin what (internationally)was quite definitely aman’s <strong>world</strong>. For her evento survive required not onlytena<strong>city</strong>, ruthlessness anddiplomacy, but also luck – and32. The Death <strong>of</strong>Cleopatra by Jean-André Rixens, 1874.H. 200cm. W. 290cm.Musée des Augustins,Toulouse.3. Fragment <strong>of</strong> amarble relief showingan erotic scene ina boat, possibly asavage caricature<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> love-affairbetween Antony andCleopatra. Probablyfrom Italy. 1st centuryBC-1st century AD.H. 36cm. W. 40cm.British Museum.luck favoured her for 20 years.By chance, just when it seemed asthough her army was about to bedefeated by Ptolemy XIII, JuliusCaesar arrived in Alexandria andthrew his weight behind <strong>the</strong> queen.An inveterate womaniser as well asa consummate general, <strong>the</strong> victoriousCaesar subsequently left Egyptonly weeks before she gave birth to<strong>the</strong>ir son, Caesarion. For Cleopatra,it was a perfect outcome.With Caesar’s continuing support,her position, both domesticallyand internationally, was secured,and understanding perfectly <strong>the</strong>power <strong>the</strong>ir child bestowed onher, she twice made <strong>the</strong> long sea19
Cleopatravoyage to Rome, where she setup court in Caesar’s leafy villain Trastevere. But in March44 BC, on Cleopatra’s secondvisit to <strong>the</strong> <strong>city</strong>, <strong>the</strong> assassinsstruck. Caesar was cut downin Pompey’s Theatre and, ata knife-stroke, everything shehad worked so hard to buildwas suddenly under threat.For <strong>the</strong> next three years, while<strong>the</strong> Roman <strong>world</strong> was mauled bycivil war, Cleopatra played a waitinggame, watching to see whichside seemed likely to come out ontop, cautious lest she should be seento have supported <strong>the</strong> defeated.When, in <strong>the</strong> <strong>end</strong> Octavianand Antony emerged victoriousat Philippi, Cleopatraknew instinctively what shemust do; and when Antony, towhom had fallen <strong>the</strong> command<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Eastern Roman empire,summoned her to meet him inTarsus to account for her actions(or lack <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>m) during <strong>the</strong> war,Cleopatra drew on all her assets,political, intellectual and personal,to ensure that she won him over ascertainly as she had once won overJulius Caesar.Now aged 27 (‘<strong>the</strong> age’, accordingto Plutarch, ‘when women are mostbeautiful and <strong>the</strong>ir minds are mostacute’), and dressed as Aphrodite,goddess <strong>of</strong> desire, Cleopatra, recliningin a golden barge, accompaniedby her ‘fairest handmaids’, withclouds <strong>of</strong> perfume drifting sensuouslyacross <strong>the</strong> waters, sailed up<strong>the</strong> River Cydnus to meet Antony.She had pitched it perfectly. Antony,she knew, had an eye for <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>atrical– and for women, too. In <strong>the</strong>words <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> historian Appian, ‘…as soon as he saw her, Antony losthis head to her, as if he was a youngman, although he was 40 years old’.That he became infatuated withCleopatra seems incontrovertible.That his feelings were reciprocatedis far from certain. For a while,<strong>the</strong> union proved fruitful. As withCaesar, Cleopatra’s alliance with44. The head <strong>of</strong> ayoung Cleopatraappears on asilver tetradrachm,struck at Ascalon,Palestine. 50-49 BC.D. 2.6cm.5.Marble head (froma statue) <strong>of</strong> Octavian.Circa 30-25 BC.H. 35.5cm.6. Limestone head <strong>of</strong>a woman resemblingCleopatra. Italy.Circa 50-40 BC.7. Silver cistophorus,struck in Asia Minor,showing Antony andhis wife Octavia.Circa 39 BC. D. 2.6cm.8. Bronze Egyptianstatue <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> godSobek in <strong>the</strong> form <strong>of</strong>a crocodile wearingan Atef crown.Circa 600 BC.H. 12.5cm. L 10cm.5 6Antony brought security. Indeed,such was <strong>the</strong> Roman’s devotionthat he even ceded to her territorieswhich it was not in his powerto cede. But 10 years (and threechildren) later, Antony’s increasinglyerratic behaviour brought himinto conflict with his erstwhile allyOctavian, and <strong>the</strong> Roman <strong>world</strong>was plunged once more into abloody war.This time Cleopatra did not have<strong>the</strong> luxury <strong>of</strong> sitting on <strong>the</strong> fence.This time, indeed, to make it seemat least that he was not embarkingon civil war, Octavian had declaredhis enemy to be not Antony butCleopatra herself. For <strong>the</strong> Egyptianqueen <strong>the</strong> campaign was disastrous.Antony’s generalship proved catastrophic.At <strong>the</strong> Battle <strong>of</strong> Actiumin western Greece on 2 September,31 BC, he and Cleopatra abandoned<strong>the</strong>ir burning fleet, while <strong>the</strong>y <strong>the</strong>mselvestook f<strong>light</strong> for Alexandria.Less than a year later, with <strong>the</strong> raveningOctavian at that <strong>city</strong>’s gates,7<strong>the</strong> tables turned. Antony’s fleet andarmy abandoned him. For Antony,at least, <strong>the</strong> game was clearly up.It is now that truth diverges fromromantic leg<strong>end</strong>. We like to thinkthat Antony and Cleopatra, passionatelovers to <strong>the</strong> <strong>end</strong>, committedsuicide in each o<strong>the</strong>r’s arms. <strong>Not</strong>so – in fact, for some time <strong>the</strong> hardheadedCleopatra had been negotiatingwith Octavian. Just what <strong>the</strong>terms <strong>of</strong> those negotiations werewe do not know, but <strong>the</strong> writings<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Greek historian Dio containtantalising hints: ‘Cleopatra sentOctavian <strong>the</strong> golden sceptre, goldencrown, and royal throne <strong>of</strong> Egypt,as if through <strong>the</strong>se symbolic giftsshe was <strong>of</strong>fering him her kingdom,and at <strong>the</strong> same time to ensure that,even if Octavian hated Antony, hewould at least feel sympathy for her.Octavian considered <strong>the</strong>se gifts tobe a good omen and accepted <strong>the</strong>m.His public response was combative,insisting that only when Cleopatradisbanded her army and steppeddown from <strong>the</strong> throne would heconsider what should be done withher. But he communicated with herprivately that, if she killed Antony,he would pardon her and let herkeep her kingdom undisturbed.’Once, Antony had <strong>of</strong>fered hersecurity; now he was nothing but aliability; and, as he stumbled backthrough <strong>the</strong> gates <strong>of</strong> Alexandria,chafing at his troops’ desertion,Cleopatra sent a servant to tellhim she was dead. The news, she20Minerva November/December 2012
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