Duane W. Roller

eign. Cleopatra’s teacher Philostratos may also have gone to the court
of Herod. 16
Th e kings who supported Cleopatra and Antonius had mixed fates.
Malchos and Herod could not both survive and bring any hope of stability
to the southern Levant, and Malchos vanishes from the historical record
shortly aft er the death of Cleopatra, either conveniently dying or being
deposed by Octavian. 17 Th e future career of Herod is well known: he
received back the territories that he had lost to Cleopatra, as well as her
bodyguard to be his own, but continued to be a problematic Roman ally
for the remaining quarter-century of his life. Ironically he was designated
to fund and build Nikopolis, the victory city that Octavian established
at Actium. 18 Archelaos of Kappadokia was the longest survivor
of the network of allied kings, lasting until around a.d. 17, one of the
last alive who had served with Cleopatra and Antonius. Artavasdes of
Media Atropatene lived until 20 b.c., but in reduced circumstances, and
he received back his daughter, Iotape, who eventually became the matriarch
of the royal line of Kommagene. 19
Th ree of Cleopatra’s children survived to leave Alexandria. Th e twins
Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene, about 11 years of age, and Ptolemy
Philadelphos, about six, were sent to Rome to the care of Octavia. 20 Th e
removal to Rome is the last time that Ptolemy Philadelphos appears in
the historical record. Presumably he died in the winter of 30/29 b.c., as
he did not feature in the triumph that Octavian celebrated in August
of 29 b.c., commemorating his victories of the past few years. But the
twins did participate, as the Sun and Moon, and there was also an effi gy
of their mother with the asp clinging to her. 21 Th is is the last mention of
Alexander, and he must have died shortly thereaft er since he was almost
of the age when marriage plans would need to be considered, and there
is no record of such eff orts. Th ere is no reason to believe that anything
suspicious happened to either of the boys: child mortality was high in
Rome, and the chilly damp winters would have been especially detrimental
to children from Egypt.
Th us by the early 20s b.c. Cleopatra Selene was the only living
descendant of Cleopatra VII. She too was close to marriageable age,
and before long Octavia found a suitable candidate within her own
household. For a number of years she had been raising another royal
refugee, Juba II. His father, the Numidian king Juba I, had died in 46
b.c. supporting the Pompeian cause. As a result of this, Julius Caesar
provincialized his kingdom, the territory south and west of Carthage,
Epilogue 153