Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 1.djvu/819

Rh CLEOPATRA. succeeded, and we find her replaced on the throne, much to the indignation of her brother and the Egyptians, who involved Caesar in a war in which he mn great personal risk, but which ended in his favour. In the course of it, young Ptolemy was killed, probably drowned in the Nile (Liv. Ep, 11-2 ; Hirt. D. Alex. 31 ; Dion Cass. xlii. 43), and Cleopatra obtained the undivided rule. She was however associated by Caesar with another brother of the same name, and still quite a child, with a view to conciliate the Egyptians, with whom she appears to have been very unpopular (Dion Cass, xlii. 34), and she was also nominally married to him. While Caesar was in Egypt, Cleopatra lived in undisguised connexion with him, and would have detained him there longer, or have accompanied him at once to Rome, but for the war with Phar- naces, which tore him from her arms. She how- ever joined him in Rome, in company with her nominal husband, and there continued the same open intercourse with him, living in apartments in his house, much to the offence of the Romans. (Doubts have been thrown on her visit to Rome, but the evidence of Cicero {ad Att. xiv. 8), of Dion Cassius (xliii. 27), and Suetonius {Caes. 35), seems to be conclusive.) She was loaded with honours and presents by Caesar, and seems to have stayed at Rome till his death, b. c. 44. She had a son by him, named Caesarion, who was afterwards put to death by Augustus. Caesar at least owned him as his son, though the paternity was questioned by some contemporaries [Caesahion] ; and the charac- ter of Cleopatra perhaps favours the doubt. After the death of Caesar, she fled to Egypt, and in the troubles which ensued she took the side of the tri- umvirate, and assisted Dolabella both by sea and land, resisting the threats of Cassius, who was pre- paring to attack her when he was called away by the entreaties of Brutus. She also sailed in person with a considerable fleet to assist Antony after the defeat of Dolabella, but was prevented from join- ing him by a storm and the bad state of her health. She had however done sufficient to prove her at- tachment to Caesar's memory (which seems to have been sincere), and also to furnish her with arguments to use to Antony, who in the end of the year 4 1 came into Asia Minor, and there sum- moned Cleopatra to attend, on the charge of having failed to cooperate with the triumvirate jigainst Caesar's murderers. She was now in her twenty- eighth year, and in the perfection of matured beauty, which in conjunction with her talents and eloquence, and perhaps the early impression which we have mentioned, completely won the heart of Antony, who henceforth appears as her devoted lover and slave. We read in Plutarch elaborate descriptions of her well-known voyage up the Cyd- nus in Cilicia to meet Antony, and the magnificent entertainments which she gave, which were re- markable not less for good taste and variety than splendour and profuse expense. One of these is also celebrated in Athenaeus (iv. 29). The first use Cleopatni made of her influence was to procure the death of her younger sistej> Ai-sinoe, who had once set up a claim to the kingdom. (Appian,Z?.C'. V. 8, 9 ; Dion Cass, xlviii. 24.) Her brother, Ptolemy, she seems to have made away with be- fore by poison. She also revenged herself on one of her generals, Senipion, who had assisted Cassius contrarj' to her orders, and got into her hands a CLEOPATRA. 801 person whom the people of Aradus had set up to counterfeit the elder of her two brothers, who perished in Egypt. All these were torn from the sanctuaries of temples ; but Antony, we learn from both Dion and Appian, was so entirely enslaved by Cleopatra's charms, that he set at nought all ties of religion and humanity. (Appian, B. C. v. 9 ; Dion Cass, xlviii. 24.) Cleopatra now returned to Egj-pt, where Antony spent some time in her company ; and we read of the luxury of their mode of living, and the un- bounded empire which she possessed over him. The ambition of her character, however, peeps out even in these scenes, particularly in the fishing anecdote recorded by Plutarch. {Ant. 29.) Her connexion with Antony was interrupted for a short time by his marriage with Octavia, but was re- newed on his return from Italy, and again on his return from his Parthian expedition, when she went to meet him in Syria with money and provi- sions for his army. He then returned to Egypt, and gratified her ambition by assigning to her children by him many of the conquered provinces. (Dion Cass. xlix. 32.) According to Josephus {Ant. XV. 4. § 2), during Antony's expedition Cleopatra went into Judaea, part of which Antony had assign- ed to her and Herod necessarily ceded, and there at- tempted to win Herod by her charms, probably with a view to his ruin, but failed, and was in danger of being put to death by him. The report, however, of Octavia's having left Rome to join Antony, made Cleopatra tremble for her influence, and she there- fore exerted all her powers of pleasing to endeavour to retain it, and bewailed her sad lot in being only regarded as his mistress, and therefore being liable to be deserted at pleasure. She feigned that her health was suffering, — in short, put forth all her powers, and succeeded. (Plut. A tit. 53.) From this time Antony appears quite infatuated by his at- tachment, and willing to humour everj' caprice of Cleopatra. We find her assuming the title of Isis, and giving audience in that dress to ambassadors, that of Osiris being adopted by Antony, and their children called by the title of the sun and the moon, and declared heirs of unbounded territories. (Dion Cass. xlix. 32, 33, 1. 4, 5.) She was sa- luted by him with the title of Queen of Queens, attended by a Roman guard, and Artavasdes, the captive king of Armenia, was ordered to do her homage. (Dion Cass. xlix. 39.) One can hardly wonder that Augustus should represent Antony to the Romans as " bewitched by that accursed Egyptian " (Dion Cass. 1. 26) ; and he was not slow in availing himself of the disgust which Antony's conduct occasioned to make a deter- mined effort to crush him. War, however, was declared against Cleopatra, and not against An- tony, as a less invidious way. (Dion Cass. 1. 6.) Cleopatra insisted on accompanying Antony in the fleet ; and we find them, after visiting Samos and Athens, where they repeated what Plutarch calls the farce of their public entertainments, opposed to Augustus at Actium. Cleopatra indeed persuaded Antony to retreat to Egypt, but the attack of Augustus frustrated this intention, and the famous battle took place (b. c. 31) in the midst of which, when fortune was wavering between the two par- ties, Cleopatra, weary of suspense, and alarmed at the intensity of the battle (Dion Cass. 1. 33), gave a signal of retreat to her fleet, and herself led the way. Augustus in vain pursued her, and she 3 F