Guest Post: Colin Falconer on Cleopatra

Scandalous Women is honored to have a guest post by noted historical fiction auhor Colin Falconer today on the blog talking about one of my favorite subjects Cleopatra. Colin Falconer has been published widely in the UK, US and Europe and his books have been translated into seventeen languages.  

His novel about Cleopatra WHEN WE WERE GODS, is now re-released on Kindle US, Kindle UK and for all other formats on Smashwords for $2.99. " ... this fresh take on one of history's leading ladies is smoothly written, slickly couching ancient history in the contemporary rhetoric of female empowerment ..." PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

See more at http://www.colinfalconer.net/  You can also read more at his blog: http://www.colinfalconer.net/the-man-with-the-past.html or follow him on Twitter. http://twitter.com/#!/colin_falconer

Without further ado, I give you Colin Falconer!

If it wasn’t all true, it would be hard to believe: thirty years before Jesus, an eighteen year old princess tries to take over the world? Outrageous. But that's what happened.

She was Queen Cleopatra the Seventh but really - there is only one. She has been variously portrayed as virtuous suicide, exuberant lover, professional courtesan, scheming manipulator, and femme fatale. Was she Shakespeare’s cruel and lazy siren, George Bernard Shaw’s man-eater or Elizabeth Taylor’s alluring beauty?

Hollywood has never had any doubts. In the thirties Cecil B de Mille offered the role to Claudette Colbert with the words: "How would you like to play the wickedest woman in history?"

Was she history's wickedest woman? She was certainly a woman with cojones. She took on Roman military and political power at the apogee of its power. If she had succeeded – and she very nearly did – the world today might look a very different place. God might really be a woman - called Isis.

It is true that she scandalized the Roman world, but much of what was said about her at the time was mostly misinformation used by her enemy, Augustus, to rally his fellow Romans against her. He used her to turn the tables on Anthony, who was his rival for power in Rome, leaking rumours about her bathing in asses’ milk and having sex with her slaves in order to make Anthony look ridiculous. And it worked; worked so well in fact that his propaganda still informs most popular opinion about her, even today.

She was certainly not the sexual virago of legend. She did not copulate with crocodiles, (it's dangerous and probably not that much fun) or with her slaves (beneath her dignity). In fact, it seems she only slept with two men all her life, and both of them were husbands. Well, not her husbands, admittedly - but in fairness, she did marry them later.

The real Cleopatra was a consummate political animal, a woman far ahead of her time; she had the marketing acumen of Lady Gaga, the ruthlessness of Margaret Thatcher and the charm of Lady Diana. Extraordinary.

Yet we don't really know what she looked like. But surely, you say – she looked like Elizabeth Taylor? With a bob, and a beauty spot, reclining on an antique sunbed?

Well, no.

Some historians speculate that Cleopatra may have even been blonde. As she was part Macedonian, there's a fair chance, so to speak. I toyed with the idea of having Cleopatra as a blonde in WHEN WE WERE GODS, to show that I had done my research and to distance myself from the movie. (Also so that Scarlett Johanssen could play the role in my film. Or, at least, in my fantasies.) But my publisher said to me: you can't do that. (Have a blonde Cleopatra, not have fantasies about Scarlett Johanssen.) They said: Cleopatra is now far too deeply ingrained in our consciousness as a bobbed brunette, it will jar in a reader's imagination.

She may not even have been that beautiful. There are few existing likenesses of her extant. (A coin from the period shows her in profile, and it’s a pretty terrifying image too, not unlike Mike Tyson.) There are only two ambiguous accounts from her contemporaries; Plutarch was at pains to describe her 'pleasing personality' - which is damning with faint praise - and only Cassius Dio lauded her looks, but did he say that because he had to?

And anyway, does it really matter? In the context of her story it was her spirit not her looks that really mattered. Despite overwhelming odds, she almost became ruler of the entire western world using her intelligence and her daring. In the end she scandalized the Romans not because of her sexual conquests but because a woman almost beat them at their own game. She was truly one of the most extraordinary women in history.

Thank you again Colin for stopping by Scandalous Women!

Was Cleopatra Black?

While I was researching my chapter on Cleopatra for Scandalous Women, the question of whether or not she was black came up. For centuries Cleopatra was seen as an exotic femme fatale but with the rise of interest in African-American history and the black power movement over the years, there has been a rush to claim Cleopatra as a sister. I used to argue about this with my brother constantly when I was in high school and studying ancient history. He insisted that Cleopatra had to be black because she was the Pharoah of Egypt and Egypt was in Africa. I, of course, explained to him all about Alexander the Great and how after his death, his empire was divided amongst his generals, and Ptolemy ended up with Egypt. We went around like this for days before I just gave up arguing with him. Now of course, with the announcement that Angelina Jolie might be playing the role in a film adapted from Stacey Schiff's biography, the question comes up again (the fact that Angelina Jolie is much more beautiful than the real Cleopatra never seems to come up).

Unfortunately it is impossible to prove one way or another. Her father Ptolemy XII was at least half Macedonian Greek, his mother’s origins are unknown. There was a  high degree of inbreeding amongst the Ptolemies, they were notoriously xenophobic, preferring to speak Greek and to keep Greek customs. According to the chart on Wikipedia, she only had four great-grandparents and six (out of a possible 16) great-great-grandparents. I would say that means that Cleopatra was probably at least 50% Greek Macedonian. Still at some point, they needed to inject from fresh blood into the dynasty. Cleopatra’s mother is also unknown. So it is possible that she was at least part African. Although she learned Egyptian, becoming the first Ptolomeic Pharaoh to do so, Cleopatra identified herself as being Greek, even as she took on the trappings of Egyptian culture. Certainly the coins that were minted during her lifetime show a woman who looked more Greek than she did Egyptian.

A 2009 BBC documentary, Cleopatra: Portrait of a Killer, looked at the reconstruction of a skull which could p ossibly from a sister of Cleopatra (Cleopatra had asked Mark Antony to have one of her remaining siblings, who was a threat to her throne, murdered) to show features which have similarities to both Semitic and Bantu skulls. Their conclusion was that Cleopatra could have had black African ancestry -- but it's not really conclusive. Another problem is that we think of as race means something different entirely from what it might have meant in Cleopatra's day. Are contemporary Eygptians black or are they Arab, or a melange of different races? Yes, they are African but if someone's parents were originally from Egypt does that make one African-American?

Still the question is still raised. Why does it matter? Well, Cleopatra was a powerful woman who ruled Egypt by herself for over 20 years before her death.  Books, plays, films, operas and poetry have been written about her. She has moved from being a historical figure into an iconic figure. Who wouldn't want to claim her as one of their own. Claiming Cleopatra as black, gives young black girls an example of a sister who was doing it for herself so to speak. No matter what race she was, she is mythic figure that continues to enthrall countless biographers and filmmakers to this day.

Unfotunately unless we find Cleopatra's grave or a time machine to send archeologists and historians back in time, we will never know for sure what Cleopatra's racial make-up is.

Scandalous Women on Film: Cleopatra (1963)

Cleopatra (1963)
Twentieth Century Fox
Written and directed by Joseph Mankiewicz

Produced by Walter Wanger

Cast



Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra

Richard Burton as Marc Antony

Rex Harrison as Julius Caesar

Carroll O'Connor as Servilius Casca

Roddy McDowall as Octavian

Martin Landau as Rufio

Hume Cronyn as Sosigenes

Andrew Keir as Agrippa

Kenneth Haigh as Brutus
George Cole as Flavius
Pamela Brown as the High Priestess
Cesare Danova as Apollodorus
Francesca Annis as Eiras
Richard O'Sullivan as Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII
Gregoire Aslan as Pothinus
Martin Benson as Ramos

My thoughts:  Pretty everyone, even if they have no taste for celebrity gossip, knows the backstory to the filming of Cleopatra.  It's the film that not only took two years to make, and almost bankrupted the studio, but it is also the film that ended two marriages, and gave the world the love story of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton or Le Scandale as it was known at the time. By the time the movie was released in 1963, the original cast had been let go (Peter Finch was supposed to play Caesar and Stephen Boyd Antony) and the director had been fired.  The film had been delayed because of Elizabeth Taylor's near death experience from pneumonia, and the production moved from the damp weather of England to the sunny climate of Rome.  This is the film where Elizabeth Taylor demanded $1 million dollars in salary, which was unheard of at the time.  The story goes that she asked for so much because she really didn't want to do the movie. By the time filming was done, Taylor had made out like a bandit, not only did she receive the million dollars but also $3,000 a week in living expenses, $50,000 a week for every week the film went over schedule, and 10% of the profits. Oh, and she didn't have to film during her period.  The film ended up costing $35 million dollars, makig it the most expensive movie at that time, and the third most expensive film in history. Although the film made money, it still ended up in the red, and while Taylor and Burton would go on to make more films, the director Joseph Mankiewicz would never make another film again.

Despite having read about this film in various biographies of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, including the most recent book FURIOUS LOVE, I've never actually seen this movie. This movie is long, I'm talking 'oh my god, is this movie still on?' long. It's four hours and it feels bloated, like when you've eaten too much turkey on Thanksgiving and you fall into a food coma.  I will give the film credit, it does give equal weight to to Cleopatra's relationships with both Caesar and Mark Antony. In fact the director had wanted to release two seperate films, the first ending with Caesar's death on the Ides of March. The production is lush, all that money clearly (at least what didn't end up in Elizabeth Taylor's pocket) ended up on screen, although the set design and the costumes owe more to the 1960's than they do to Ancient Egypt and Rome.

There are so many amazing scenes of spectacle, in particular the scene where Cleopatra arrives in Rome. She enters the city sitting on top of a giant replica of the Sphinx along with Caesarion. It is a stunning visual but I couldn't help thinking about the logistics, like how did they get the Sphinx to Rome? Did they build it there or did they just float it down the Mediterranean? Another fabulous scene is where Cleopatra entertains Antony on her barge.  There is an extended dance sequence with the god Dionysus (Antony's ancestor) and a woman made to look like Cleopatra as Antony drinks too much.

The film is hampered by the fact that there was no shooting script. Mankiewicz rewrote the film as shooting went along which meant the whole film had to be shot in sequence. It almost sounds as if the actors are improvising or just borrowing bits from Shakespeare and Shaw. Elizabeth Taylor plays Cleopatra as a mewing sex kitten in her scenes with Caesar and Mark Antony.  She looks stunning in her costumes but she never quite conveys the majesty or the politcal skills of the last Pharaoah of Egypt. Even when she flies into a rage at hearing the news that Antony has married Octavia, it's more of a minor temper tantrum. The screenplay also turns her into sort of the Lady Macbeth of the Ancient World, coaxing Antony and Caesar into greater ambition, which they enter into reluctantly. 

Rex Harrison is rather brilliant as Caesar and Roddy McDowell, saddled with blond hair, plays Octavian as a peevish and petulant schoolboy in the beginning, but one who is incredibly cunning underneath.  Poor Richard Burton is forced to wear tunics that border on the indecent throughout the film, seriously while Taylor wears floor length gowns, Burton shows a great deal of leg (and fantastic ones they are too).  He plays an Antony who is crushed by his relationship with Cleopatra, drinking more and more as the film progressed. He knows that he's lost the respect of the Romans but yet he's powerless to let go of this woman.

Verdict:  This film is worth seeing if only because they don't make movies like this anymore. And it's fantastic to watch as Taylor and Burton fall in love on screen. However, I would suggest that you not try to watch all 4 hours at one time.

Q&A and Giveaway with Michelle Moran

Scandalous Women is pleased to have this quick Q&A with historical fiction author Michelle Moran, author of The Heretic's Daughter and Nefertiti, talking about her new book Cleopatra's Daughter which will be on shelves on September 15.

Michelle Moran was born in the San Fernando Valley, CA. She took an interest in writing from an early age, purchasing Writer's Market and submitting her stories and novellas to publishers from the time she was twelve. When she was accepted into Pomona College she took as many classes as possible in British Literature, particularly Milton, Chaucer, and the Bard. Not surprisingly, she majored in English while she was there. Following a summer in Israel where she worked as a volunteer archaeologist, she earned an MA from the Claremont Graduate University.

Q: What prompted you to write a novel about Cleopatra’s daughter?

A: I do a great deal of traveling both for research and for fun, and most of my destinations are archaeological sites. On a trip to Alexandria in Egypt, I was afforded the amazing opportunity of participating in a dive to see the submerged remains of Cleopatra’s ancient city. More than ten thousand artifacts remain completely preserved underwater: sphinxes, amphorae, even the stones of the ancient palace. Although I'm not a fan of diving, it was an incredible experience, and it changed the way I looked at Cleopatra. I immediately wanted to know more about her life, and it was mere coincidence that my next trip took me to Italy, where her ten year-old children were brought to live after her suicide. While in Rome, I was able to retrace her daughter's steps, and upon seeing where her daughter had lived on the Palatine, I knew I had my next novel.

Q: What was it like to walk where Selene walked? In particular, what was it like to visit Octavian’s villa?

A: Unbelievable. For two thousand years, Octavian’s villa has sprawled across the top of the Palatine Hill, slowly deteriorating. At one time, its vibrantly painted dining room had hosted magnificent feasts, one of which would have been the celebration of the emperor’s triumph over Marc Antony and Cleopatra in Egypt. As the heir to Caesar, Octavian was determined to rule the western world without interference. He changed his name to Augustus, and with the help of his general Agrippa and his architect Vitruvius, he turned a city of clay into a city of marble.I had known all of this on that day in March when the villa was opened for the first time in more than a century. What I hadn’t known, however, was just how unbelievable that trip back into the world of ancient Rome would be. After three million dollars in restoration, Italian archaeologists have been able to recreate not just the intimate library and studies Augustus used, but the mosaic floors he once walked on and the vividly painted ceilings he once walked beneath with Ovid, Seneca, Cicero, Horace, and even Julius Caesar himself. As we were quickly escorted through the frescoed rooms, we stopped in the triclinium – the dining room which had once seen so many famous faces smiling, laughing, even crying for mercy. With a little imagination, it was easy to see the tables and couches that had once adorned the chamber, and there was the undeniable feeling of standing in the presence of the ancients. It was the kind of feeling you only get in Grecian temples or Egyptian tombs.

Q: In all three of your novels, your narrators have been teenage girls. Is there are reason for this?

A: Actually, yes. I like to begin my novels during the time of greatest transition in a person’s life. And in the ancient world, the greatest transition in a woman’s life was often the time when she was married. Because women married at much younger ages two thousand years ago (twelve years old was not uncommon), my narrators have all been very young girls. In fact, Random House will be making a concerted effort to market Cleopatra's Daughter to young adults as well as adults. However, as my novels progress through time (my next book, for example, will be about Madame Tussaud), my narrators will be older.

Q: Is the Red Eagle based on an historical person?

A: Yes. The Red Eagle is actually based on several men who led slave rebellions (unsuccessfully, I might add) against Rome. Spartacus led the most famous revolt, but there were other men too, such as Salvius, who waged war with his army of slaves in ancient Sicily.

Q: You write in your acknowledgements page that the character of the Red Eagle is an homage to the works of several authors. What made you decide to do this?

A: Creative as well as personal reasons. First, I wanted to create a character that fans of swashbuckling adventures might love, and it wasn’t at all difficult to find historical personalities on which to base such a hero. Men like Spartacus and Salvius were heroes in the truest sense of the word. But I didn’t want there to be too much action, and certainly not so much that it would detract from the real story – that of Selene and her twin brother Alexander growing up in a foreign court. I could certainly have chosen not to include anything as obviously fictitious as the Red Eagle. But I wanted to illustrate just how threatening slave rebellions were at that time, and how ever-present the danger of becoming a slave would have been, even to captured royalty. And the creation of the Red Eagle wasn’t a huge stretch. Many rebels who came before – and after – the Red Eagle employed similar tactics: rousing the plebs, arming the slaves, and encouraging those in servitude to passive resistance.On a more personal note, however, I wanted to include the Red Eagle because I knew it would be a character my father would have loved. He devoured anything having to do with ancient Rome, and I deeply regret not having written this while he was still alive.

Q: Was a third of Rome’s population really enslaved?

A: Sadly, yes. And you didn’t have to be born a slave to become one. You could be kidnapped and sold into slavery, your city could be overrun and you could be turned into a slave, or you might be sold into servitude by your own parents. Slavery meant an absolute loss of every human right we now take for granted, and as a slave, your body was no longer your own. Many slaves were physically and sexually abused, regardless of age or gender.

Q: Where did these slaves come from?

A: Many were Gallics and Greeks. The Gallics were from Gaul, a region which now encompasses France, Belgium, parts of Switzerland, and Germany.

Q: When did slavery end?

A: It hasn't. In the Western World, it was slowly - very slowly - phased out with the coming of Christianity (which was one of the reasons Christianity flourished… it appealed to the disenfranchised and enslaved, making everyone equal if not on earth than in the next life). But slavery certainly hasn't ended for everyone. There are women and children who are ensalved today, even in America and Europe. Of course, this isn't legal. Many of these victims of modern-day human trafficking have been brought over from places like Albania or Algeria and have no resources to escape. That's why organizations such as STOP International exist. You can visit them here.

Q: Is it still possible to visit the places Selene visited when she was in Rome?

A: Yes. In 2008, I went on a photographic safari in search of the places Selene would have gone during the brief years she was in Rome. Many of the photos are included here!

Q: What are you working on next? Will it also be marketed to both adults and YA?

A: Actually, my next book will be firmly adult fiction. MADAME TUSSAUD: A Novel is about Madame Tussaud, who joined the gilded but troubled court of Marie Antoinette, and survived the French Revolution only by creating death masks of the beheaded aristocracy. I’m very excited about this novel, since Marie (the first name of Madame Tussaud) met absolutely everyone, from Jefferson to the Empress Josephine.

Thanks Michelle! Visit CleopatrasDaughter.com more about Michelle and Selene and also check out Michelle's blog at michellemoran.blogspot.com.

Leave a comment on the blog by September 8 and you will be entered in to win a copy of Cleopatra's Daughter.

Cleopatra Last Pharoah of Ancient Egypt

When one thinks of Cleopatra, one thinks of the image to the left. The seductress on her barge on her way to conquer Mark Anthony. More than 2,000 years after her death, the last Pharoah of Egypt still holds our fascination as one of history's most famous and mysterious women. Her name is synonymous with beauty, sex, seduction, and power. Her legend has inspired filmmakers, poets, and playwrights over the centuries as they try to capture her elusive spirit.

But who was Cleopatra really? Was she a seductress who destroyed Mark Antony and brought about the end of the Egyptian dynasty? Or was she a powerful ruler who used men for her own purposes? Was she Black or pure Macedonian Greek and why does it matter? Will the real Cleopatra please stand up? Classical portraits portray her as an ethereal beauty. But that was far from the contemporary versions of the Queen.

Well for starters she reigned as Cleopatra VII (Cleopatra being a popular name in the Ptolemy dynasty. In fact her mother was Cleopatra V). As you can see from the coin minted during Cleopatra's lifetime, she was far from the beauty portrayed by Elizabeth Taylor, Claudette Colbert and others in movies. She was probably no more than five foot one, and more than likely plump. If Cleopatra seduced men it was more from her personality, her charisma, her powerful leadership and her brain, than it was from her looks.

The Ptolemaic dynasty descended directly from Ptolemy, one of Alexander the Great's generals. So in fact, Cleopatra was pure Greek. In fact, Cleopatra was the only Ptolemaic Pharaoh to bother to learn to speak Egyptian. It was among the nine languages that she spoke. The seat of power had moved to Alexandria, on the coast of the Mediterranean. At the time of Cleopatra's reign, it was the largest, most populist, multicultural and most cosmopolitan city in the world. Greeks, Egyptians, Romans, and probably even Jews lived side by side. The city was much closer to contemporary New York. It was a center of learning with one of the most well known libraries in the ancient world.

She was born probably around 69 B.C. and after ascending the throne at 17, ruled for the next 20 years. There is speculation that Cleopatra's grandmother could have been an Egyptian or African concubine, although there is no evidence that this is true. Cleopatra had five siblings, all of whom died before her. Besides her two brothers, she had a sister Arsinoe who was killed on Cleoptra's orders. Her older sisters Tryphaena and Berenice had been killed when they each tried to seize the throne from their father Ptolemy XII. Later there is a legend that Cleopatra herself poisoned her brother/husband Ptolemy XIV, leaving her children by Caesar and Mark Antony as the sole heirs to the Eygptian throne. Clearly she could add ruthless to her other sterling qualities.

As was tradition, Cleopatra married her 12 year old brother (the throne of Egypt came through the female line so for a male to rule, he had to marry a female family member), Ptolemy XIII who she later battled for control of Egypt. Around this time, Caesar's co-consul Pompey was vying with him for control of the Roman Empire. After losing the battle of Pharsalos to Caesar, Pompey fled to Alexandria to seek the protection of Cleopatra's brother/husband Ptolemy XIII. However, Ptolemy's advisors thought it better for Ptolemy to throw his lot in with Caesar. On Pompey's arrival, he was assasinated. Just as Caesar was about to enter the city of Alexandria, he was presented with Pompey's head. Caesar was furious at what had been done to his one time friend and ally. He issued a decree that both Ptolemy and Cleopatra were to dismiss their armies and meet with him to settle the dispute.

This is where Cleopatra first showed the seductive arts that were to make her famous. She had herself delivered to Caesar rolled up in a Persian carpet. When it was unrolled, Cleopatra tumbled out looking like a rumpled kitten. Charmed by this gesture, Caesar took Cleopatra as his mistress. She later gave birth to his son Caesarion. Now backed by Caesar's forces, she defeated her brother, who later drowned while fleeing Caesar's henchmen. She then married her other brother Ptolemy XIV, who was even younger.

Despite the 30 year age different, Caesar and Cleopatra were lovers during the two years he spent in Egypt. While Cleopatra hoped that Caesar would make her son Caesarion his heir, he refused, choosing his grand-nephew Octavian instead. Instead, Caesarion would rule over Egypt and Rome, uniting the East and the West. Cleopatra left Egypt to be with Caesar in 46 B.C. on his invitation. While in Rome, Caesar showered his mistress with many titles and gifts. He even had a statue of her erected in the temple of Venus which scandalized the Roman nobility. Caesar already had a wife named Calpurnia and Caesar's flaunting of his affair with Cleopatra was frowned upon. It was even rumored that Caesar would divorce Calpurnia, marry Cleopatra and make Caesarion his heir instead of Octavius. Unfortunately Caesar was assassinated on the Ides of March in 44 B.C. by a host of conspirators including his close friend Brutus, who were afraid that Caesar would declare himself Emperor. Cleopatra fearing for her safety, fled back to Egypt. She now made her son Caesarion her co-regent after the death of her second brother/husband.

In 42 B.C. Mark Antony entered the picture. Cleopatra had been approached for support by Cassius, one of the chief conspirators against Caesar. No dummy, Cleopatra wasn't about to side with the man who was responsible for the death of her lover. Instead she sided against him with his rival Publius Cornelius Dolabella and sent legions to his aid in his attempt to claim Syria. Unfortunately Dolabella lost. Mark Antony summoned Cleopatra to Tarsus to question her about her loyalty to the triumvirate. Cleopatra arrived on her great barge dressed like the goddess Venus, impressing Antony with her wealth. She invited him to dine with her that night, and before he knew it, Antony was just as captivated by Cleopatra as Caesar had been. He even agreed to spend the winter with her in Alexandria where they became lovers. She gave birth to Antony's children, the twins, Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene, and then later another son (these children were eventually raised by Octavia, Antony's ex-wife and Octavian's sister after Antony and Cleopatra's death). According to Plutarch, Cleopatra basically catered to Antony's every little whim, whether he wanted to go hunting or carousing, gambling, she drank with him, and played mischievous tricks with him, basically she never let him out of her sight.


When Antony finally managed to rouse himself from the splendors of Egypt, he returned to Rome to pick up his duties as a ruler of the Roman Empire, part of the triumvirate of Octavian and Lepidus. His wife Fulvia had raised an army against Octavian in his absence and Antony was needed to smooth things over. While in Rome, he married Octavian's sister, Octavia (Fulvia had conveniently taken ill and died), probably to cement the alliance between the two men. Still, Antony's heart was in Egypt with Cleopatra.



After a four year absence (I guess it did make the heart grow fonder), Antony stopped off in Egypt on his way to invade Parthia for a little rendezvous. After rushing through his military campaign, Antony made his way back to Cleopatra's waiting arms. Her charms were such that from that point on, Antony based himself in Alexandria, marrying Cleopatra in 36 B.C. (I wonder if he bothered to divorce Octavia!). Cleopatra gave birth to her third child by Antony soon after, a boy named Ptolemy Philadelphus.


Meanwhile back on the homefront, Octavia remained loyal to her bigamous jerk of a husband. When Cleopatra caught wind that Antony was going to go meet with Octavia, she threw a fit, crying, fainting and weeping until she got her way. Being a woman, she probably sensed that the sensible Octavia might play on Antony's guilt at abandoning her and their two daughters. Antony cancelled the meeting.

It was a mistake that Antony would live to regret. The people in Rome were just a little disgusted at Antony's treatment of Octavia, not the least being her brother, Octavian. Rumors abounded that Antony and Cleopatra had declared themselves gods (the new Isis and Dionysus, how appropriate). Then in 34 B.C. Antony made his children, Alexander King of Armenia and little Cleopatra, Queen of Crete, and finally little Ptolemy ended up with Syria. Antony had also promised Cleopatra lands to rule in exchange for her help with his campaign against Parthia. Cleopatra saw this as her opportunity to regain the Ptolemies' former dynastic empire, and Antony needed Cleopatra's wealth for his armies and his fleet. It was a match made in ambition and greed.


Now completely pissed off, Octavian went to the Senate to declare war on Egypt and Cleopatra. He made Cleopatra out to be the real enemy of Rome, using Antony as her besotted plaything. He even went so far as to read a document he claimed to be Antony's will (probably forged) which reportedly left everything to Cleopatra in the event of his death. In 31 B.C. Antony's forces met up with Octavian's at sea in the battle of Actium in Greece. Cleopatra had provided 60 ships of her own. However, when she saw that Antony's ships were losing to the Romans, she hightailed it out of there. Antony, meanwhile, made the cardinal sin of abandoning his men to follow her. This provided proof to Rome that Antony was just a pawn in Cleopatra's hands.


All was not well with two lovers however. Antony refused to see or to speak to Cleopatra for 3 days after the defeat. When they returned to Egypt, Antony went off to brood, while Cleopatra prepared her country for invasion by Rome. When Antony learned of the surrendar of his forces at Actium and that his allies had changed sides, he decided to join Cleopatra to party like it was 1999.


Cleopatra had begun to experiment with poisons in the likelihood that she would need to take her life. She also built a magnificent mausoleum to which she moved all her worldly goods. In 30 B.C. Octavian finally reached Alexandria. When Mark Antony marched his army out to meet the enemy, he discovered that his fleet had gone over to Roman side. Then Antony's calvary deserted him. With his army defeated, Antony returned to the city, screaming that Cleopatra had betrayed him. Fearing for her life, Cleopatra fled to her mausoleum and barricaded herself inside, ordering her servents to tell Antony that she was dead.


Hearing that Cleopatra was dead, Antony decided to take his own life by stabbing himself with his sword. Unfortunately, he didn't die. He begged his servants to finish him off but instead they ran off. Cleopatra's servent discovered him and told him that his mistress was still alive. Antony was carried to the mausoleum where he died in Cleopatra's arms.

Cleopatra was now a prisoner in her mausoleum, refusing to eat, until Octavian threatened to harm her children if she died. But when she heard that he planned to parade her as a captive in the procession to celebrate his triumph in Rome, she committed suicide rather than be humiliated. No one is quite sure who she died. Shakespeare of course has her dying from the bite of an asp. She died at the end of August and was buried by Antony's side as she requested.

After her suicide, Octavian ordered her son Caesarion put to death. Her daughter by Antony later married King Juba II of Numidia, but the fate of her other two children by Antony, Alexander Helios and Ptolemy Philadelphus, remains unknown but most sources claim that their lives were also spared by Octavian.

Did Cleopatra love Antony or was he a means to an end. No one really knows for sure if it more was ambition and lust that brought them together, but that's a pretty combustible combination. Cleopatra while able to survive twenty years as Pharaoah and countless attempts to over throw her rule will still be known as the seductress of the East who lured two of Rome's greatest men away from their duties.

During her reign, she promoted herself endlessly (shades of Madonna, Britney and Lola Montez), making constant public displays of her power, her image as Pharoah and as a goddess. She also personally led rituals that were associated with Isis, the most important Egyptian goddess at the time. By doing so, Cleopatra insured that her people would be loyal to her.

After her death, Octavian contributed to the making of her legend, by spreading stories about her. The legend grew as writers such as Shakespeare, Plutarch, and Shaw were taken by aspects of her story and by the many movies and television shows since then. Everyone has their image of Cleopatra in their head and no matter of new information will dislodge it. She has passed from history into an icon.