Cleopatra: A Life

Mark Antony (83 BC-30 BC) was an important figure in the last years of the Roman Republic, originally serving as a general under Julius Caesar. After Caesar’s death, Antony initially shared power with Octavian and Lepidus in an arrangement known as the Second Triumvirate (See: Index of Terms). However, relations between Antony and Octavian were often strained, and the Triumvirate eventually dissolved into another Roman civil war. Antony’s personal relationship and political alliance with Cleopatra was a source of great controversy, with Octavian depicting Antony as an emasculated traitor seduced by stereotypical eastern luxury.  

In Cleopatra, Schiff presents Antony as a boisterous and impulsive man who becomes more and more devoted to Cleopatra. She details his love of feasting, gamesmanship, and luxury. Schiff also discusses how Antony and Cleopatra had a taste for the theatrical and a talent for self-mythologizing, with both partners presenting themselves in the guise of gods. In Schiff’s interpretation, Antony is not under Cleopatra’s way, as most Roman historians suggest, but appears genuinely unwilling to be apart from her for long periods. Schiff is open to other suggestions, such as Cleopatra’s importance to Mark Antony as a source of wealth, but argues that his actions are more broadly understood as those of devotion.

After his defeat at Actium in 30 BC, Mark Antony’s erratic behavior—including attempting to live as a hermit at the base of the Alexandrian lighthouse—serves to emphasize Cleopatra’s capability and level-headedness. When asked by Octavian to trade Antony’s life for her kingdom and her own life, Cleopatra makes the surprising choice to encourage Mark Antony’s death, forcing a re-evaluation of the dynamics of their relationship. Finally, Mark Antony’s suicide attempt, rushed and ineffectual, serves as a counterpoint to Cleopatra’s effective and defiant suicide as Octavian closes in.

Julius Caesar (100 BC-44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman during the last years of the Roman Republic. He gained much fame and prestige through his military career, with many notable conquests that expanded the power and reach of the Roman Empire. He is one of the most successful military commanders in history and was an adroit politician, effecting widespread social reform and building programs before he was assassinated in 44 BC.

Caesar was 51 years old when he met Cleopatra. His grandest military successes in the Gallic Wars were only a few years behind him, and his arrival in Egypt in 48 BC effectively signaled the end of the civil war he began when he led his army across the Rubicon to Rome. He was widely known as a womanizer but also as rational and capable of great self-control, all of which makes his behavior with Cleopatra appear uncharacteristic of him. From installing her in his country home at Rome to erecting a golden statue of her in a temple of Aphrodite, Caesar’s actions seem to betray a deeper connection to Cleopatra than simple political expediency would suggest.

Caesar represents the mature flowering of The Dynamics of Power when he first meets Cleopatra. He is the key to securing her own power, and his allegiance with her confers widespread legitimacy upon her rule. He also represents, within Schiff’s narrative, Cleopatra’s first major rhetorical victory: Schiff discounts myths of Cleopatra’s inherent seductiveness for the likelier scenario of Cleopatra convincing Caesar to aid her through charisma and intellectual vigor. Schiff repeatedly positions Cleopatra not as a doting lover or supplicant, but as Caesar’s equal, and capable of entertaining one of the most powerful men in the world through her charm and rhetorical ability. After Caesar’s assassination leaves her again in a vulnerable position, Cleopatra leaves Rome and continues to pursue her interests and that of their son, Caesarian, back home in Egypt.