Background and rise to prominence
Family background and feuds
In June 323 BC, Alexander the Great died and his general Ptolemy desired to have the land of Egypt, the richest of all of Alexander’s conquests. In the span of a hundred years of so of successful rules, the first three Ptolemies had bound their family into a close-knit dynasty and had bound that dynasty into the fabric and being of Egypt.
The Ptolemies give the appearance of having adapted excellently to the traditions and practices of Egypt. From the loft view of the court at Alexandria, the Ptolemaic kings had preserved the integrity, stability and prosperity of the county. However, to the native Egyptians, the Greeks were the masters who imposed upon their lives.
In 80BC, Sulla (Roman dictator) intervened in Egypt and forced the then queen of Egypt, Cleopatra-Berenice, to marry her nephew, Ptolemy XI. This relationship ended with the assignation of the pharaoh after he had ordered his wife to be killed. The throne was then occupied by a natural son of Ptolemy X, Ptolemy XII (Cleopatra’s father) later nicknamed Auletes.
When Caesar arrived in Egypt in 48BC, he was pursuing Pompey, who had fled there after his defeat at Pharsalus. Auletes owed his throne to Rome, specifically Caesar and Pomepy, through whose good graces he ruled. During Caesar’s consulship in 59 BC, the king had guaranteed his shaky hold on Egypt by paying an outrageous price to confirm him as friend and ally of Rome. This payment forced Auletes to borrow the funds from a Roman financier, but he was still unable to pay this back when he died in 51 BC.
Auletes’ gamble caused the Egyptians to resent the additional taxes and to view Auletes as a Roman stooge. Other members of the family were favored over him and eventually this led to Auletes being run out of Egypt and tow of his daughters then fought over his throne. It’s possible that Cleopatra fled to Italy with him. For economical and political reasons, Caesar invaded Egypt in 55BC and placed Auletes back on the Egyptian throne.
Auletes had one of his own daughters killed for plotting against him. This meant that Auletes will stated that his kingdom, under the Roman supervision, was to go to his children Ptolemy XIII and Cleopatra VI (aged 18).
Education
Cleopatra was a keen learner. The educational curriculum of the princess would have bee the same or similar to her brothers’ and would have been extremely Greek. She was very intelligent, spoke 9 or 10 languages (including Egyptian), studied the classics and histories, showed great ability and interest in science, and was a very athletic child who was accomplished at dancing and horse riding.
The greatest diplomatic lesson would have been recognizing the importance of Rome. Although hated, its presence was real. She watched the Roman army enter Alexandria and her Father bribing Caesar and Pomepy for their support.
From her father and her lively imagination she developed a political and personal ambition: to recover the greatness of the Greek Kingdom of Egypt, to restore the glory of the Ptolemaic Empire and secure Egypt and the Egyptian throne for her descendants. For this she would need the support of Rome. Her cunning, her intelligence, her seductiveness, her physical endurance and her diplomacy helped her in securing the empire and her survival.
Not only did Cleopatra have to contend with Rome, but also with her own courts and her half brothers and sister and their supporters (the Regency Council of Ptolemy XII led by the devious Pothinus, supported by Achillas). Keeping Egypt independent was one challenge, but staying alive was another one.
Marriage practices of the Ptolemies
The marriage customs of the Ptolemies allowed power to remain in the family, furthered political careers, reflected the Egyptian idea of the union between brother and sister, Isis and Osiris, and allowed the women to be identified with the cult of Isis and fuse this with Aphrodite, a Greek cult.
There were many inter family marriages amongst the Ptolemies usually between brother and sister or half-brothers and sisters. These marriages allowed the Ptolemies to keep Greek lineage and to continually build on the high status and power the family held in Hellenistic Egypt. Marriages between Ptolemy II and Arsinoe II, Cleopatra V and Ptolemy XII, and Cleopatra VII and Ptolemy XIII are all examples of alliances between sisters and brothers to keep power in the Greek family.
Female rulers, such as Cleopatra VII, were required to have a consort, either a brother or son of any age, during their reign, according to Egyptian custom. Cleopatra VII and her younger brother Ptolemy XIII were announced joint-rulers after Ptolemy XII Auletes’ death. “The young joint-rulers, who married one another” did not have an equal alliance, as shown by archaeological evidence. Cleopatra constantly ignored her co-regent’s presence by excluding his name from any official decree regardless of the Ptolemaic insistence that the male presence be first among co-rulers. Numismatic evidence shows that Cleopatra also had her own portrait and name on coins of that time, ignoring her husbands and co-regents.
The Egyptian idea of the union between Isis and Osiris, which Cleopatra and her husbands emphasised, connects to the marriage customs of the Ptolemies as the deities were supposed to have been brother and sister. Female gods of Hellenistic Egypt were identified with Isis who was the mother goddess of Egypt. Isis’ cult was assimilated with the cult of Aphrodite. Isis eventually became the patron of the Ptolemies, as she had been for the pharaohs, which symbolised a religious union between the past and present rulers of Egypt.
Role and image of royal Ptolemaic women
The royal Ptolemaic women were regarded as daunting and indomitable. They inherited a culture of survival, of Macedonian energy, passion, ruthlessness and ambition. There was very little promiscuity among Ptolemaic queens and there is no evidence that Cleopatra was immoral, despite her seductive image.
Although ruthless and bloodthirsty and vicious in the practice of the times, these women were also capable heads of states. Arsinoe II displaced Arsinoe 1 in 275 BC, murdered her brother’s half brothers and took over the throne. She then ruled with Ptolemy II, and controlled foreign affaires. Her reign was strong and prosperous for Egypt, which regained its previous losses to Syria. Ptolemaic women also had the image of being murderous. Cleopatra VII Philopator ordered the murder of her sister, Arsinoe IV and possibly her second brother-husband, Ptolemy XIV.
Achievable ambition was the burning passion of the royal Ptolemaic women. Cleopatra I married Ptolemy V as a diplomatic marriage to end Egyptian0Syrian conflict. She was ruler for four years, and diplomatically kept peace with Syria and Rome. Her reign signaled the right of the Ptolemy women to rule.
Ambitions, ruthless, scheming, diplomatic, militaristic, intelligent, energetic and capable rulers who enjoyed power – this is the image that is presented by the Ptolemaic women and an image that is shown of Cleopatra VII.
Their role was to co-rule, or to be co-regent, to marry their brothers, to keep the Ptolemaic line pure, to serve at ceremonies, to receive envoys, manage state affairs and to promote their own cause and that of their offspring.
Significance of the ruler cult in the East
The Hellenistic ruler cult was a theory of kingship that probably grew out of the divine honors granted to Alexander the Great in 324BC. It followed the Eastern cult of kingship long established in Egypt, where the king was worshipped as a god.
Cults were established to the Ptolemies and their families, who adopted the role of successors to the pharaohs. These were full-blown cults with priests and priestesses, temples, statues and festivals. The union with people and monarch was thus solidified in the fashion of eastern monarchies. For the Greeks it represented a fundamental change in their religious behavior. The classical period in Greece would have considered personal worship as the height of vanity.
The ruler cult expressed the relationship between the ruler and the ruled and was the continuation of the divine worship of the pharaoh. It perhaps prefigured the imperial ruler cult of the Roman Empire, but at the time the Romans abhorred the idea of divine worship of an individual, implying as it did, monarchial power and authority.
Being a woman was no impediment to monarchy. Egyptian women had freedom and opportunity compared to their Roman counterparts. They could be poets, philosophers, artists or rulers and were valued for their intelligence as well as beauty. Ptolemaic queens were identified with Isis. Isis was patron of other Ptolomies, which extended native tradition to the new rulers. Isis was a mother figure and protectoress.
Career
Civil war in Rome and Pompey’s murder
Cleopatra’s mercenary forces and the Alexandrians, under Ptolemy XIII and commanded by Achillas, met near Pelusium in 47BC. Neither side wanted to initiate hostiles. Cleopatra hesitated because she probably could not win a battle against the Gabinians who were in Ptolemy’s army. However, just as significantly, she had heard about the battle of Pharsalus, in August of 48BC, in which Pompey was soundly defeated by Caesar, effectively ending the Roman Civil Ear and leaving Caesar the “master of the world” (Cicero).
Ptolemy XIII, deceitfully turning on his friend and protector, had murdered Pompey, and Caesar had entered Alexandria four days later. These developments caused Cleopatra to seek Caesar’s asylum, as he had demanded that both Cleopatra and her brother should return to Rome for conciliation. Sources tell that she was taken to Caesar across enemy lines wrapped in a rug or carpet, buy her servant Apollodorus and then rolled out for Caesar in his quarters in the royal palace. It was a bold move by Cleopatra but it worked. Caesar was impressed with this present much more than the one sent to him by Ptolemy XIII (the severed head of his good friend Pompey). Caesar and Cleopatra became instant lovers and in that morning Ptolemy XIII knew that his cause was lost.
Caesar was in control of Alexandria and its was his to command. The Alexandrians, however, resented his assumed authority and his Roman arrogance in descending on the city with Roman insignia, as a conqueror, even though his fighting force was only 3200 infantry. Caesar, as he assured them, had come to restore order, not to impose Roman authority on Egypt. He gave Cyprus to Arsinoe and Ptolemy XIV to rule jointly as an act of good will.
Co-regency with Ptolemy XIII and Alexandrian civil war
The renewed joint rule of Ptolemy and Cleopatra was never going to succeed. Ptolemy had the support of the Alexandrians but his army was still in Syria, and he knew of the liaison between Cleopatra and Caesar.
Pothinus, the head of the Regency Council, had ordered Ptolemy’s army of 20 000, still under Achillas, to march on Alexandria. This began the Alexandrian War. Though Caesar was hopelessly outnumbered he burnt the royal warships in Alexandria’s harbor once the royal compound was under attack, and then had Ptolemy arrested.
Arsinoe IV then escaped to Achillas taking her own advisor and commander, Ganymedes. As he could not be accommodated with Achillas, Arsinoe IV had Achillas killed. Arsinoe IV was hailed in Alexandria as the true queen, a real Alexandrian who was not a puppet of Caesar. Caesar killed Pothinus for his treasonous support of Ptolemy’s army and his plan to smuggle Ptolemy to his troops.
The Alexandrian War dragged on under Ganymedes but Ptolemy XIII deposed him after being released by Caesar. Ptolemy and Arsinoe allied, which was surprising for the Ptolemies and for Caesar knowing the reputation of Ptolemies for jealous ambition.
Reinforcements for Caesar arrived in March of 47BC under the command of Mithradates of Pergamum. At first successful, they could have been routed at Lake Mareotis except that Caesar had rushed to join them, caught Ptolemy’s forces in a wedge, and destroyed them. Ptolemy drowned trying to escape along the Nile and Arsinoe was captured.
The Alexandrian War was over and Cleopatra was secure as queen of Egypt, with her half-brother Ptolemy XIV as consort. Egypt was still independent. This was achieved despite what the Alexandrians thought of her passivity and collaboration with Caesar.
Relationship with Julius Caesar
Caesar left Alexandria in June 47BC with an occupying force under Rufio. Cleopatra had treated him to a famous journey along the Nile to Thebes and back to Alexandria. It was a lavish display of unity and love and Eastern extravagance. Old treaties were renewed and new ones signed.
Caesar’s and Cleopatra’s child, Ptolemy Caesar or Caesarion, was born days after Caesar returned to Rome. In Rome, Caesar celebrated his Egyptian triumph by displaying Arsinoe IV in chains. Cleopatra wanted her sister killed because she was the only surviving sibling who could threaten her claim to the throne. Caesar, gauging the sympathetic reaction of the crowd, allowed her to live and had her confined to the temple of Artemis at Ephesus.
Cleopatra came to Rome to be with Caesar. He had been awarded the dictatorship for 10 years, and in 44BC, the dictatorship for life. He built the Forum Julium with a glided statue of Cleopatra inside the Temple of Venus.
Republican Romans hated Cleopatra. They saw her as a woman, a foreigner, a tyrant, an Easterner and an autocrat and despised her extravagant exoticism. They could only wonder what influence she was asserting on Caesar. The perpetual dictatorship confirmed their fears that Caesar wanted to rule alone, like a foreign monarch.
Another law permitting Caesar to have as many wives as he wished was not passed, and would have cut close to the republican bone.
On March 15, 44BC Caesar was murdered as the result of a conspiracy led by Brutus and Cassius. With Caesar’s death Cleopatra’s security and her splendid vision of Egyptian world supremacy, perhaps in partnership with Roma, were dashed. Neither Caesarion or Cleopatra were mentioned in Caesar’s will due to their foreignness.
Relationship with Mark Antony: eastern acquisitions and the ‘donations’ of Alexandria
Octavian was Caesar’s great nephew and legally adopted son. He was the inheritor of all that was Caesar’s and this included the empire. At nine-teen, however he seemed too young and inexperienced to challenge Antony, Caesar’s fellow consul, who was 40 years of age. Antony was determined to oppose Octavian and saw himself as the friend and successor of Caesar and at least in name, the legitimate had of state.
Cleopatra returned to Alexandria, being justly afraid of Octavian, as she had wanted to impose her own son, Caesarion, as the rightful heir to Caesar while he was alive. However, neither Cleopatra nor Caesarion were acknowledged in Caesar’s will and it would have been unlawful and unsustainable for Caesar to nominate Caesarion, to son of a foreign woman. The real shock, however, was that Octavian was favored above the front runner, Antony.
Cleopatra’s fleet was also in demand by Octavian and Antony, and Brutus and Cassius at this time. It was awkward for Cleopatra to have to show her colours so early in the fray. Conveniently, her fleet was destroyed at sea and unavailable to either side. Once back in Alexandria, Cleopatra probably had her half-brother, Ptolemy XIV murdered as he disappeared. With Ptolemy out of the way, Cleopatra could install Caesarion (aged 3) as her co-regent, and eventual king. Antony defied Octavian, and again Civil war engulfed Rome. At the same time Caesar’s assassins were chased out of Italy, but the supporters of Caesar now fought in Syria and Macedonia. In Syria, the Caesarians (Caesar’s supporters) were led by Dolabella against Cassius. Both asked Cleopatra for help and she sided with Dolabella, sending four legions in response to Dolabella’s recognition of Caesarion. She diplomatically also offered limited support to Cassius. Cassius was victorious, his ranks swelled by the siding of the Eastern provinces and Egypt was in grave danger until another player, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, entered the drama. Lepidus was Caesar’s magister equitum, his second in command, and he sided with Antony, bringing the resources of Western provinces t bear. Lepidus and Antony first joined with and then overpowered Octavian, forcing him into an agreement called the Second Triumvirate, which was designated to rule Rome.
With the Western provinces joined against Brutus and Cassius, the real battle now began between the Republicans and the Caesarians. The climax was at Philippi in Macedonia in 42 BC, when Brutus and Cassius were defeated. The Triumvirs carved up the Roman world amongst themselves. Antony gained the East. He was a pro-Easterner who admired and reveled in the exoticism and luxury of the Eastern traditions and who also fancied the East’s wealth. Egypt was still independent but certainly under his influence. He made Taris in Asia Minor his headquarters, was welcomed as the New Dionysus and commanded Cleopatra to attend him He was displeased she had not given the Triumvirs full support during the Civil war. However, he cold not isolate Cleopatra since he needed her help against the Parthians (a war which would require the resources of Egypt to win) The famous meeting between the two took place at Cleopatra’s pleasure, in a style meant to outwit and outshine Antony. She camouflaged her ambition in the magnificent splendor of purple tinged sails on a gold painted boat, with her servant dressed as nymphs while musicians played and lavish presents where distributed. Cleopatra knew Antony and his coarseness and rough manner did not deter her. He was powerful and a friend of Caesar’s. Her became popular in Alexandria with his sense of humor and roguish pranks. He was the first Roman to be endeared to them. Cleopatra’s price in return was the death of Arsinoe IV, who was exiled in Ephesus. Antony obliged and is said to have also killed a pretender, Ptolemy XIII, who said he was the reincarnation of the drowned Ptolemy XIII and who claimed the throne of Egypt with Arsinoe’s support.
Antony was called back to Asia Minor to counter the aggression of the Parthians in 40 BC and prepared for a grand invasion. At the same time Anthony’s wife Fulvia stirred up trouble against Octavian. Antony patched up the differences with Octavian, renewed the Triumvirate and married Octavian sister, Octavia. Cleopatra must have felt shattered, bother personally and politically, because she probably wanted Octavian eliminated, perhaps by Antony, to pave the way for an Egyptian hegemony and a world eventually inherited by Caesarion,
Cleopatra then delivered two children (twins) of Antony’s, Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene in 40 BC.
Eastern Acquisitions
Cleopatra and Antony were separated for three years and then in 37 BC Antony went to Antioch where he married Cleopatra. Although not recognized in Roman law, it was lawful marriage in the Eastern tradition of polygamy, Once again, there was a price. Cleopatra demanded form Antony and Rome, the return of the Egyptian lands held by the Ptolemies two hundred years previously, in return for military support.
Celopatra gained Tarus, Cyrene, Crete, Cyprus and Palestine, Cilicia and Coele Syria. She was denied Judea itself where Antony had installed Herod. Cleopatra took her fury out on Herod while Antony demonstrated that he was not as ‘bewitched’ by Cleopatra as the sources suggest. Cleopatra built Antony a fleet form the timber of the Cilician coast that she had just acquired.
In Rome, the propaganda against Cleopatra was building. Now Octavian, whether disgusted or not, could publicly pronounce outrage again Roman tradition, Roman law, against his innocent and virtuous sister, Octavia and the loss of Roman territories. Furthermore, senators such as Messalla, raised their vitriol to fever pitcher, degrading Cleopatra as a vile, corrupt and evil sorceress. They were terrified that after the deification of Caesar, Cleopatra and Caesarion, now son of a god, would make a claim on Rome.
Antony Left for the Parthian campaign and Cleopatra for Alexandria by way of her new holdings, bearing Antony another son on her return to Egypt. Antony’s campaign of 35 BC was a catastrophe. He lost 40 000 cavalry and 20 000 infantry after being betrayed by the Armenian king, Artavasdes.
Meanwhile, Octavian’s admiral of the fleet, Agrippa, was developing vessels and tactics to enable him to dislodge Sextus, Pompey the Great’s last surviving son, from Sicily in 36BC. On the same year Octavian forced Lepidus into retirement.
Antony tried to polish up his defeats as best he could but Octavian knew the extent of his losses. He promised Antony 20 000 infantry and sent Octavia with only 2000 infantry and supplied to Syria. Antony sent her back when she reached Athens and never met her. On the propaganda side it appeared that Antony was spurring his devoted wife (and Octavian) in preference to ‘debauched whore of Egypt’ Cleopatra.
In 34BC Antony repaid Artavasdes in kind and destroyed his palace. Antony was given a triumph by Cleopatra and the two presented themselves as the new Dionysus and Isis. Again, Antony played into Octavian’s propaganda, since it was unheard of for a Roman to celebrate a triumph in a foreign city, let alone to be declared a god in his lifetime. Furthermore, Octavian invited Antony to Rome for a joint celebration with his wife and children. Antony declined and was disgraced.
The Donations of Alexandria
In 34BC, Mark Antony granted titles, territories and overlordships to Cleopatra VII and her children in a ceremony known as The Donations of Alexandria. The Donations are highly significant to the three most powerful politicians of the time, Cleopatra VII, Mark Antony and Octavian. The ceremony, as some sources claim, is seen as the downfall of Antony’s career, whereas it is a triumph for Cleopatra and Egypt, and it is the pretext for Octavian’s war against Cleopatra.
Antony had a successful and financially rewarding campaign into Armenia. The triumvir celebrated his triumph with a parade through Alexandria, which was seen as scandalous by the Romans, where he presented himself as the New Dionysus with Cleopatra presiding over as the New Isis.
In a ceremony of spectacular magnificence, Roman territory was handed over to Cleopatra and her children by Antony. The expansion of Cleopatra’s empire is highly significant as the territorial gain increased her power, both domestic and outside of Egypt. This partition of Rome’s eastern provinces under the new Queen of Kings must have aroused considerable mistrust in Rome. Sources claim that Antony’s gift of Roman land was very unpopular at the time; Romans resented his rebuilding of the old Ptolemaic empire for Egypt, and more still his enhancement of Cleopatra’s power. The expansion must have worried the Romans as Cleopatra and her children now ruled basically the same size empire as her successful ancestors Alexander the Great and Ptolemy II once had.
During the Donations, Cleopatra was hailed as ‘Queen of Kings’ with her son, Caesarion, claimed as ‘King of Kings’. With this new title, she became known as the divine ruler of the Hellenistic empire. Numismatic evidence shows that Cleopatra’s new title was displayed on coins minted just after the Donations. Antony placed her name and face on a Roman coin, the silver denarii and it was widely circulated throughout the Mediterranean proclaiming her power and status. The Donations were significant because the title ‘Queen of Kings’ increased Cleopatra’s domestic power, which created uncertainty in Rome and eventually led to Octavian’s declaration of war.
Ptolemy XV, known as Caesarion, a connection to his father Julius Caesar, was made the co-ruler with his mother and given the title ‘King of Kings’. Alexander Helios was named Great King of the Seleucid Empire and his twin sister Cleopatra Selene was acknowledged as Queen of Cyrenaica and Crete. Ptolemy Philadelphos was named King of Syria and Asia Minor, at the age of two. These titles were significant as they increased the power of Egypt and recognised Cleopatra and Antony’s children as the future rulers of the Hellenistic empire.
Another significant factor of the Donations was when Antony proclaimed that Caesarion was the legitimate son of Julius Caesar, making him politically more powerful than Octavian. Antony’s affirmation of Octavian being a usurper of Caesar's rightful heir seriously threatened Octavian’s political position, as his base of power was his link to Caesar through adoption. The Donations were highly significant as they threatened Octavian’s political position in Rome, ended his alliance with Antony.
The Donations of Alexandria were significant as they brought an end to Antony’s relationship and alliance with Rome. To Octavian and the Romans, the Donations were seen as a direct challenge. Antony lost favour with the Roman people because it appeared that he had given away all that Rome had conquered and the fact that he had expressed his loyalty to Cleopatra by divorcing Octavia was also another factor in the end of his alliance with Octavian and Rome.
After the Donations, the Senate swore an oath of loyalty to Octavian. Octavian used the Donations to launch an attack on Antony in the Senate and they were the basis for his argument in the propaganda war.
Antony had organised a Hellenistic world state, with Cleopatra as divine ruler, in a direct challenge to the Roman concept of government. Octavian could now claim to be the defender of Roman civilisation and a civil war was looming. This break down of their alliance is due, in part, to the Donations, which is why they are so significant. In 33 BC the triumvirate formally expired.
Conflict with Octavian: the battle of Actium
In autumn of 32 BC, the war was about to be decided. Antony and Cleopatra set up camp in Patrae on the Gulf of Corinth. Antony had established a supply and defensive line from Corcyra to North Africa. Antony’s army moved to Actium so the Egyptian felt could be harbored under protection in the Gulf of Ambracia.
Agrippa, however was able to break the line by taking Methone, in south-western Greece. This was an enormous hindrance to Antony as Agrippa could create diversions and harass the other naval outposts, as well as blocking Antony’s supply line to Egypt. As he did this, Octavian landed troops north of Actium and Agrippa then blocked off the narrow gulf entrance and trapped Antony’s fleet.
There were two plans: Antony’s was to march north to meet Octavian in a land battle, leaving the fleet to be freed later. Cleopatra’s was to try to break out of the trap and save as much of the fleet as possible. Cleopatra had her way. Only 230 vessels were able to fight from the original 800 as many mean had deserted and many had died from disease during the blockade.
Antony’s fleet led the way and engaged Agrippa’s 400 ships. Cleopatra’s fleet managed to escape while Antony and Agrippa’s ships fought. Antony then also escaped and left his fleet to be destroyed or captured.
In terms of propaganda, the battle of Actium confirmed the Roman West’s superiority over the East. The conclusion was forgone. Antony had deserted his mean. In Rome he was seen as Easternised, a weakling and a non-Roman, someone who had betrayed the ideals and values of Rome. The land army surrendered to Octavian. Now there was only one foreseeable outcome. A rejected Antony reluctantly engaged in the parties and celebrations Cleopatra put on for him to try to rouse his spirits. Meanwhile Octavian pressed on to claim Cleopatra’s treasure.
Alternate view of Actium: Alternatively, the sea battle occurred under what Cleopatra viewed as correct, however, when leaving the bay that they had been hiding out in for 1 year, the had the plan of retreating. Their plan was to attack Octavian until all the ships were out of bay including Cleopatra’s which had the treasure and to retreat. However, Antony’s ship moved to far away from the fleet and much damage was done to the Egyptian fleet. Ins support of this theory, all the ships had sails on board which would not be need for a battle unless planning to flee. Antony, in this theory, did not abandon his fleet, as Octavian’s propaganda would have us believe, but rather stuck to the plan that was decided upon.
Octavian advanced on Alexandria and met envoys, took bribes and made no promises. He hinted that if Cleopatra eliminated Antony she would be treated favorable. She made no such moves. She said she would abdicate if her children were permitted to rule in Egypt. Octavian made no reply.
The final days came quickly. Herod had gone over to Octavian, so no help came from the king that Antony had installed and protected. Her advised Antony to kill Cleopatra so as to ingratiate himself with Octavian. Antony and Cleopatra, however, remained loyal to each other to the end.
Antony marched out to meet Octavian on 1 August 30BC, but his cavalry deserted and Cleopatra’s fleet surrendered. Antony then killed himself hearing a rumor that Cleopatra had already taken her life.
Cleopatra took her fabulous treasure into her new mausoleum and sent Caesarion east with his tutor for safety. She sent ships across the Red Sea but the Arabs at Petra were allied of Octavian’s and had the ships burnt. Cleopatra then met Octavian after she was captured and had tried to herself. She could not deduce him, according to Dio Cassius. Whether deliberately sent to her by Octavian or not, the word was the Octavian intended to take her to Rome and exhibit her in his triumph. She could not tolerate that and killed herself.
Octavian had Caesarion killed and took Antony’s children back to Rome to be raided by his sister, Octavia. Caesarion was one Caesar too many and represented a threat to Octavian’s inheritance.
Octavian’s victory was the victory of the Roman West over the Hellenised and Oriental east. It was Roman values against Hellenism, and Octavian carried the supremacy of the West to Egypt and Africa. Egypt became the personal province of Octavian, which indicated its potential volatility. No senator was allowed to enter Egypt without Octavian’s express permission. Egypt had lost its queen, its last pharaoh, it future king and its independence.
Portrayals of Cleopatra as a ruler: Greek and Egyptian
Cleopatra presented herself in different ways for different occasions and different audiences. The clothes worn as everyday dress were probably Hellenic Greek in origin, for Cleopatra was a Roman-sponsored monarch, whose Greek ancestors had ruled Egypt since the death of Alexander the Great. This consisted of consisted of an under dress of soft linen or silk (the tunica interior) and a long over-robe (the stola) of the same material. Over these two garments would be worn the palla, or draped outer-cloak.
However, on special occasions Cleopatra presented herself in an Egyptian fashion. She often presented herself as Isis claiming she was a God, in the Egyptian tradition for Pharaohs. This was a way of Cleopatra using some political propaganda and attempting to form a connection and alliance with her native Egyptian people.
Manner and impact of her death
It is supposed that Cleopatra was killed by the bite of an asp (Cobra), smuggled into her mausoleum by a servant though there are carious theories for and against this version. Dio Cassius states that no one knows for sure how she died. The pricks on her are could have been from an asp, or a poisoned comb (she was an expert in poisons). She had arranged herself as a queen with the help of two attendants (Iras and Charmion). When they were discovered one attendant was already dead and the other was dying. A snake trail was found outside her room. Cleopatra died as a queen, suitable attired and she was buried with Antony, though the tomb has never been found. The cobra was supposed to confer immortality and was the symbol of Isis, with whom she had popularly associated herself with. Poetically, the asp theory fits nicely. Octavian, without his prize exhibit at his triumph, displayed a statue of Cleopatra carrying asps.
Historian’s questioned whether Octavian is possibly to blame for the death of Cleopatra. Some have suggested that Cleopatra was murdered by Octavian, that Octavian gave the order for her to be killed or that possible Octavian helped push her into suicide and then gave her the opportunity to kill herself.
Cleopatra’s achievements are undeniable. She kept the Romances at bay for more than two generations. Egyptian art and culture continued to flourish under her rule and the Egyptians experienced territorial expansion, stability and power. She restored public works to old temples and she restored the Alexandrian library, replacing the books that had been lost in the fire during the Alexandrian War.
Octavian became the Emperor Augustus. He put down rebellions in Upper Egypt, and created a buffer state beyond the first cataract, as well as establishing authority over Ethiopia. Antony’s decedents by his wife Octavia became imperial lunatics, Nero and Caligula.
Cleopatra Selene was married to King Juba of Mauretania. Alexander Helios and Ptolemy Philadelphus were unaccounted for aft ether fall of Alexandria but it is assumed they were take to Rome to be raided by Octavia, together with Antony’s other children. Octavian killed Antony’s son by Fluvia, Antyllus, as he was seen as a possible replacement leader. Antony’s name was damned by a Senate resolution. His statues were torn down but he was absolved by later Roman writers who blamed Cleopatra for his corruption.
Egypt was safeguarded by Octavian through the prefecture (a noble and highly sought after office of the equestrians in Rome). The prefect was answerable to the emperor. There was always the danger that some rebel would unit the East under Egyptian leadership to fulfill the dream of Cleopatra to defy and even conquer Rome. It became his personal province and obsession.
The Romans had softened a little toward Cleopatra after her death and Octavian possible did not want her at his triumph. Like her sister Arsinoe IC, se had the power to gain sympathy from the crowd. There was the dilemma that is she was executed she could become a martyr while id she lived she could reinvent the throne of Egypt. Octavian had built her up to be a monster and to see her walking in chains with dignity and pride behind his chariot may have turned more than the crowd’s heads.
Evaluation
Impact and influence on her time + Assessment of her life and reign
Cleopatra had 2 main goals in her life and in her reign; to keep Egypt’s independence and to protect her children and their inheritance. However during her life and reign she did many different things including:
- Donating books to the Alexandrian library
- Repaired building + ships
- Reorganised the army and increased the naval fleet
- Restored the Alexandrian Library that had suffered in a fire during the Alexandrian wars.
- Restored old temples
- Instructed Caesarion in the complex hierarchy of the Throne, Religion and Court.
- Some books are believed to be written by her
- When she was on the throne, Alexandria was the greatest city of the eastern Mediterranean. Her kingdom showed all signs of peace, order and prosperity
- She bought a stable leader to the throne of Egypt
- Increased Egypt’s land
- Saved her people from poverty
- Improved irrigation systems for farming
- Secured her position has Queen
Furthermore, she not only had an impact on Egypt, but she also had an impact on Rome. She encouraged Caesar to make changes to improve Rome and she also helped by providing ships and wealth during the civil war. Furthermore, she provided ships and money to Antony in order for him be able to take more land for Rome. She helped make Rome larger and more powerful.
In the SHORT term Cleopatra was successful in completing her goals and ruled in a way that brought Egypt into prosperity. For almost 20 years she held the Roman’s at bay, gave Egypt power and status and secured her position (with Caesar and then Antony). However, ultimately she failed to do all that she set out to do as Octavian eventually killed her children, took over Egypt and made it his personal providence.
Legacy
While she failed to complete her goals that she set out to, she managed to do the unthinking, bring Egypt into a powerful position in which they can oppose Rome. This was so unthinkable it was considered to be a non-issue, but Cleopatra used all the intelligence that she possessed and peaceful methods to bring this about. For this she is always remembered, and bought into a position of fame, as a woman to admire.
Ancient and modern images and interpretations of Cleopatra VII