ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA
Now that Brutus and Cassius were both dead, there was no one to dispute
the division of the empire between Cæsar and Antony.
Lepidus, although one of the Triumvirs, was not consulted when the new
arrangement was made, for he was suspected of having joined Sextus in a
plot to overthrow Cæsar.
If it proved that he had been loyal, Antony agreed to give up Africa to
him; if he were proved to have been disloyal he would have no share in
the empire.
Six weeks later, in 36 B.C., Lepidus was accused again of plotting to
slay Cæsar, and from that time he no longer belonged to the Triumvirate.
After the second battle of Philippi in 42 B.C., Cæsar took Spain and
Numidia as his share of the empire, Antony Gaul and Africa. Italy was
to belong to both, for it was the centre of the kingdom.
When this was settled, Antony went to Asia to put down rebellion in the
different provinces, while Cæsar returned to Rome.
Now Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, had sent generals and troops to help
Cassius in his war against Cæsar and Antony. One of Antony’s duties
was to demand an explanation of this act. So when he was in Tarsus in
the summer of 41 B.C., he summoned the queen to come and explain her
defiance of Rome.
At first Cleopatra paid no attention to the letter Antony sent to
summon her to come to Tarsus. Other letters came and apparently she
heeded them not. But all the while she was making great preparations
for her journey, and at length ‘as if in mockery of the orders she had
received, she came sailing up the river Cydnus, in a barge with gilded
stern and outspread sails of purple, while oars of silver beat time
to the music of flutes and pipes and harps. She herself lay all along
under a canopy of cloth of gold, dressed as Venus in a picture, and
beautiful young boys, like painted Cupids, stood on each side to fan
her. Her maids were dressed like sea nymphs and graces, some steering
at the rudder, some working at the ropes.’
Crowds ran along on either bank of the river to gaze at the magnificent
barge. As it drew near to the city, the people left their work and play
and ran to the harbour to see the marvellous beauty of the Queen of
Egypt.
Antony did not run to the river. He stayed where he was, sitting on the
tribunal in the deserted market-place, but when the queen had arrived,
he sent a message asking her to supper. But Cleopatra refused, begging
him rather to come to the barge to sup with her.
Then Antony, wishing to appear courteous, went to the barge, and
Cleopatra began to weave the spell that was to be his undoing.
Bewitched by her charm, he forgot Rome, his wife, his duties in the
East, and when she went back to Alexandria he followed her.
In Egypt he became her most favoured courtier, while, to please her, he
laid aside his Roman garb and dressed as did her people. For a year he
lived thus in a mad whirl of gaiety.
And while Antony wasted his time in Egypt, Cæsar grew daily more
trusted and more beloved in Rome.
Fulvia, the wife of Antony, saw how Cæsar was winning the hearts of the
people, and she determined that she would alienate them from him, if
that were possible. For then she thought that the people would turn to
Antony again.
So she raised an army, and Cæsar was forced to send his general Agrippa
against her.
Fulvia had hoped that Antony, when he heard of her efforts, would
hasten to support her, as he would know that it was for his sake she
had taken up arms.
But her husband still lingered in Egypt. It was not until the autumn
of the year 40 B.C., that he came to Greece. Even when he did come he
showed no gratitude to Fulvia for what she had done; he even reproached
her. Nevertheless he determined to carry on the quarrel that she had
begun.
Rome was in despair, for it seemed that once again their land would be
distracted by civil war.
But Fulvia, whose influence might have kept Antony to his purpose,
died, while the soldiers themselves did not wish to fight against their
own countrymen. So Antony agreed to make terms with Cæsar. In this way
the Peace of Brundisium was arranged, and the empire was once again
divided between the Triumvirs.
Antony, to show that he meant to be true to the new agreement, now
married Octavia, the sister of Octavius. She was a beautiful woman, and
as wise as she was beautiful. Her love for her husband and her brother
caused her great suffering in the years to come. For a time, however,
her influence helped to strengthen the bonds between the two men.
Soon after the Peace of Brundisium, peace was also made with Sextus,
Cæsar and Antony going to meet him on one of his own vessels. On being
granted certain privileges, Sextus promised no longer to interfere with
the corn trade, and thus Rome was freed from a long-continued evil.
Antony and Octavia then went to Greece, where Antony stayed for two
years. He gained little credit in his wars with the Parthians, who had
invaded Syria, while he behaved so treacherously in his battles against
Armenia, that the people at home said that he had disgraced the Roman
name.
But he grew more and more disliked in Rome because of his unkindness to
Octavia. For after two years he sent her back to Octavius, pretending
that it was not safe for her to stay with him while he was engaged in
the Parthian War.
But she had no sooner left him than he went to Alexandria, where he
lived as he had done before with Queen Cleopatra.
The Romans were angry with Antony for making Alexandria his
headquarters. They began to fear lest he should try to found a new
empire in the East, of which this town would be the capital. And then
in time to come the greatness of Alexandria might eclipse that of Rome.
Cæsar meanwhile was in Rome, doing all that he could for the welfare
of the people. But Sextus had broken his promise, and was interfering
again with the corn trade, and so making the price of bread ruinous.
Thus, in spite of all Cæsar’s efforts, the distress of the people was
great.
At length Cæsar determined that Sextus should not be allowed to go on
injuring the corn trade, and he sent an army against him. But it was
not for three years that Sextus was at last defeated by Agrippa, the
general on whom Cæsar relied for his victories. Sextus then fled to
Asia, where he was at length captured and put to death.
For this and many other services rendered to the State, Cæsar was
loaded with honours by the Senate. One of these honours was, that he
was allowed to wear the triumphal robes when he pleased; another that
a public residence was set aside for him on the Palatine, while his
person was declared sacred.
When Antony heard of all that had been bestowed upon Cæsar, he thought
that it was time to bestir himself, unless he wished to be entirely
forgotten by Rome.
So he sent to the Senate an account of his Acta, that is, an account
of what he had been doing in Egypt. There was indeed little to tell,
save that he had been bestowing kingdoms on his and Cleopatra’s
children. He, however, asked the Senate to confirm his Acta. In his
anger and jealousy against Cæsar, he added that when the Triumvirate
came to an end in 33 B.C., he did not wish to renew it.
From this time the quarrel between Antony and Cæsar grew rapidly more
acute, and at length it was plain that only war would determine whether
Cæsar or Antony was to rule the empire.
Antony now began to gather together an army and a fleet, even preparing
to attack the coasts of Italy. But this was more than the Senate would
allow, and in 32 B.C., war was proclaimed against Cleopatra, who was
supporting Antony in his preparations, while Antony was now treated as
a public enemy.