Antony and Cleopatra

by Adrian Goldsworthy

  31 Octavian consul for the third time. Agrippa captures Methone and then raids as far as Corcyra. Octavian lands in Epirus and moves south to threaten Actium. Antony concentrates at Actium, but comes under blockade after Agrippa captures Leucas, Patrae and Corinth. Antony attempts to break out on 2 September, resulting in the Battle of Actium. Most of his fleet and all his army are abandoned and soon defect or are captured. Antony’s legions in Cyrenaica defect to Octavian. He and Cleopatra return to Alexandria. Octavian returns to Italy to deal with mutinous troops and other unrest.

  30 Octavian invades Egypt from the east, while Cornelius Gallus invades from the west. Antony’s forces defect or are defeated. He kills himself on 1 August. Cleopatra captured by Octavian and there is a period of negotiation. She kills herself on 10 August. Antyllus dragged from the Caesareum and killed. Caesarion betrayed and killed.

  29 Octavian returns to Rome and becomes consul for the fourth time. He celebrates three triumphs. Antony and Cleopatra’s children are amongst the prisoners in the Egyptian triumph.

  27 Octavian given the name Augustus.

  c. 20 King Juba II of Mauretania marries Cleopatra Selene.

  13 Death of Lepidus.

  12 Octavian becomes Pontifex Maximus. Death of Agrippa.

  2 Julia exiled. Iullus executed.

  14 ADDeath of Augustus.

  37–41 Reign of Caligula.

  40 King Ptolemy of Mauretania (son of Juba and Cleopatra Selene) executed by Caligula.

  41–54 Reign of Claudius.

  54–68 Reign of Nero.

  GLOSSARY

  Aedile: The aediles were magistrates responsible for aspects of the day-to-day life of the city of Rome, including the staging of a number of annual festivals. Usually held between the quaestorship and the praetorship, there were fewer aediles than praetors and the post was not a compulsory part of the cursus honorum.

  Antigonid: The dynasty founded by Antigonus Gonatus controlled Macedonia from the second quarter of the third century BC. Only the Ptolemies and Seleucids rivalled the power of the Antigonids amongst the Successor kingdoms. The last king was deposed by the Romans after his defeat in the Third Macedonian War in 168 BC.

  Aquilifer: The standard-bearer who carried the Legion’s standard (aquila), a silver or gilded statuette of an eagle mounted on a staff.

  Auctoritas: The prestige and influence of a Roman senator. Auctoritas was greatly boosted by military achievements.

  Augur: One of the most important priestly colleges at Rome, the fifteen augurs were appointed for life. Their most important responsibility was the supervision of the correct observation and interpretation of the auspices, taken regularly as part of Roman public life. Mark Antony became an augur in 50 BC. During his dictatorship, Julius Caesar added a sixteenth member to the college.

  Auxilia (auxiliaries): The non-citizen soldiers recruited into the army during the Late Republican were known generally as auxiliaries or supporting troops.

  Ballista: A two-armed torsion catapult capable of firing bolts or stones with considerable accuracy. These were built in various sizes and most often used in sieges.

  Cataphract: Heavily armoured cavalryman often riding an armoured horse. These formed an important component of the Parthian army.

  Centurion: Important grade of officers in the Roman army for most of its history; centurions originally commanded a century of eighty men. The most senior centurion of a legion was the primus pilus, a post of enormous status held only for a single year.

  Century (centuria): The basic sub-unit of the Roman army, the century was commanded by a centurion and usually consisted of eighty men.

  Cleruchy (pl. cleruchies): Originally, cleruchs had been soldiers given land (literally, a kleros or field) by the Ptolemies and other Successor kings in return for military service. By Cleopatra’s day the system had long since decayed. Cleruchies became purely hereditary, passing to daughters as well as sons, and the obligation to serve in the army was forgotten.

  Cohort (cohors): The basic tactical unit of the legion, consising of six centuries of eighty soldiers with a total strength of 480.

  Comitia Centuriata: The Assembly of the Roman people that elected the most senior magistrates, including the consuls and praetors. It was divided into 193 voting groups of centuries, membership of which was based on property registered in the census. The wealthier members of society had a highly disproportionate influence on the outcome. Its structure was believed to be based on the organisation of the early Roman army.

  Comitia Tributa: The Assembly of the entire Roman people, including both patricians and plebians. It was divided into thirty-five voting tribes, membership of which was based on ancestry. It had power to legislate and was presided over by a consul, praetor or curule aedile. It also elected men to a number of posts, including the quaestorship and curule aedileship.

  Concilium Plebis: The Assembly of the Roman plebs, whether meeting to legislate or elect certain magistrates such as the tribunes of the plebs. Patricians were not allowed to take part or attend. The people voted in thirty-five tribes, membership of which was based on ancestry. This assembly was presided over by the tribunes of the plebs.

  Consul: The year’s two consuls were the senior elected magistrates of the Roman Republic and held command in important campaigns. Sometimes the Senate extended their power after their year of office, in which case they were known as proconsuls.

  Curia: The Curia (Senate House) building stood on the north side of the Forum Romanum and had traditionally been built by one of the kings. Sulla restored it, but it was burnt down during the funeral of Clodius. As dictator Caesar began work on a new curia. Even when the building was in good condition, on some occasions the Senate could be summoned to meet in other buildings for specific debates.

  Cursus honorum: The term given to the career pattern regulating public life. Existing legislation dealing with age and other qualifications for elected magistracies was restated and reinforced by Sulla during his dictatorship.

  Demotic: By the Ptolemaic period, Demotic was the form of the Egyptian language used in everyday speech and for writing in cursive script as opposed to hieroglyphics.

  Dictator: In times of extreme crisis a dictator was appointed for a six-month period during which he exercised supreme civil and military power. Later victors in civil wars, such as Sulla and Julius Caesar, used the title as a basis for more permanent power.

  Dioecetes: The dioecetes was the senior financial official of the Ptolemaic king, tasked with overseeing the collection and distribution of all taxes, levies and the product of royal lands.

  Ephebe: Adolescent males in Greek cities underwent a process of state-supervised training at the gymnasium. This was mainly concerned with physical fitness, but often included elements of more specifically military training.

  Epistrategos: Originally a military post, by Cleopatra’s day the epistrategos was the civil governor of the Thebiad. Weakness of central government granted this official considerable freedom of action.

  Equites (sing. Eques): The ‘knights’ were the group with the highest property qualification registered by the census. From the time of the Gracchi they were given a more formal public role as jurors in the courts, an issue that became extremely contentious.

  Fasces (sing. Fascis): An ornamental bundle of rods some 5 feet long, in the middle of which was an axe. They were carried by lictors and were the most visible symbols of a magistrate’s power and status.

  Forum Romanum: The political and economic heart of the city of Rome that lay between the Capitoline, Palatine, Quirinal and Velian hills. Public meetings were often held either around the Rostra, or at the eastern end of the Forum. The Concilium Plebis and Comitia Tributa also usually met in the Forum to legislate.

  Gladius: A Latin word meaning sword, gladius is conventionally used to describe the gladius hispaniensis, the Spanish sword that was the standard Roman sidearm until well into the third century AD. Made from high-quality steel, this weapon co
uld be used for cutting, but was primarily intended for thrusting.

  Hasmonaean: In the second century BC, Judaea successfully rebelled against the Seleucids. An independent kingdom was created, ruled by the Hasmonaean dynasty. Antony and Octavian eventually installed Herod the Great in place of the old royal family.

  Imperium: The power of military command held by magistrates and promagistrates during their term of office.

  Kinsman: The most senior courtiers at the Ptolemaic court were granted the status of ‘kinsmen’.

  Lagid: Alternative name for the dynasty founded by Ptolemy I, who was the son of Lagus.

  Legatus (pl. Legati): A subordinate officer who held delegated imperium rather than exercising power in his own right. Legati were chosen by a magistrate rather than elected.

  Legion (Legio): Originally a term meaning levy, the legions became the main unit of the Roman army for much of its history. In Caesar’s day the theoretical strength of a legion was around 4,800–5,000 men. The effective strength of a legion on campaign, however, was often much lower.

  Lictor: The official attendants of a magistrate who carried the fasces, which symbolised his right to dispense justice and inflict capital and corporal punishment. Twelve lictors attended a consul, while a dictator was normally given twenty-four.

  Magister Equitum: Second-in-command to the Republican dictator, the Master of Horse traditionally commanded the cavalry, since the dictator was forbidden to ride a horse.

  Nome: The nomes were the basic administrative regions of Ptolemaic Egypt. In each region an official known as the nomarch controlled agricultural production.

  Nomenclator: A specially trained slave whose task was to whisper the names of approaching citizens, permitting his master to greet them in a familiar way. Such a slave normally accompanied a canvassing politician.

  Ovatio (ovation): A lesser form of the triumph, in an ovation the general rode through the city on horseback rather than in a chariot.

  Pilum (pl. pila): The heavy javelin that was the standard equipment of the Roman legionary for much of Rome’s history. Its narrow head was designed to punch through an enemy’s shield, the long thin shank then giving it the reach to hit the man behind it.

  Pontifex Maximus: The head of the college of fifteen pontiffs, one of three major priesthoods monopolised by the Roman aristocracy. The pontiffs regulated the timing of many state festivals and events. The Pontifex Maximus was more chairman than leader, but the post was highly prestigious.

  Praetor: Praetors were annually elected magistrates who under the Republic governed the less important provinces and fought Rome’s smaller wars.

  Praetorian cohort: The praetorians in this period were carefully selected and splendidly equipped soldiers drawn from the legions. Each general was entitled to raise a single cohort of praetorians, but in the course of the civil wars Antony came to control several of these formations, taken over from his subordinates.

  Prefect (praefectus): An equestrian officer with a range of duties, including the command of units of allied or auxiliary troops.

  Quaestor: Magistrates whose duties were primarily financial, quaestors acted as deputies to consular governors and often held subordinate military commands.

  Rostra: The speaker’s platform in the Forum from which politicians addressed public gatherings.

  Saepta: The voting area on the Campus Martius where the various assemblies met to hold elections.

  Satrap: The Persian kings had administered their empire by appointing satraps to control each region. Alexander the Great retained the system, and after his death men like Ptolemy I were appointed as satraps. Most subsequently used this as a basis for declaring themselves kings.

  Scorpion: The light bolt-shooting ballista employed by the Roman army both in the field and in sieges. They possessed a long range, as well as great accuracy and the ability to penetrate any form of armour.

  Seleucid: The dynasty founded by Seleucus in the conflicts following Alexander the Great’s death was based in Syria. Conflict was frequent between the Seleucids and the Antigonids in Macedonia and Ptolemies in Egypt to control the lands between their kingdoms. Defeated by Rome in 189 BC, the Seleucids nevertheless remained strong until the later years of the second century BC. Parthia rebelled and became independent in the late third century, and by the first century BC controlled much of the old Seleucid Empire. The last Seleucid king, Antiochus XIII, was deposed by Pompey in 64 BC.

  Signifer: The standard-bearer who carried the standard (signum) of the century.

  Strategos (p1. strategoi): Although the word means ‘general’, by Cleopatra’s day the strategoi were essentially civilian officials who had replaced the nomarchs in control of the nomes, relegating the later to agricultural administration.

  Subura: The valley between the Viminal and Esquiline hills was notorious for its narrow streets and slum housing.

  Talent: The actual size of this Greek measurement of weight — and by extension money — varied considerably, from c.57–83 lb. It is rarely clear from our sources who employ the term which standard was in use.

  Testudo: The famous tortoise formation in which Roman legionaries overlapped their long shield to provide protection to the front, sides and overhead. It was most often used during assaults on fortifications.

  Thebiad: The region around the capital of Thebes, the ancient capital of the Upper Kingdom of Egypt. It consisted of seven nomes.

  Tribune of the plebs: Although holding a political office without direct military responsibilities, the ten tribunes of the plebs elected each year were able to legislate on any issue. During the later years of the Republic many ambitious generals, such as Marius, Pompey and Caesar, enlisted the aid of tribunes to secure important commands for themselves.

  Tribuni aerarii: The group registered below the equestrian order in the census. Relatively little is known about them.

  Tribunus militum (military tribune): Six military tribunes were elected or appointed to each Republican legion, one pair of these men holding command at any one time.

  Triumph: The great celebration granted by the Senate to a successful general took the form of a procession along the Via Sacra, the ceremonial main road of Rome, displaying the spoils and captives of his victory and culminated in the ritual execution of the captured enemy leader. The commander rode in a chariot, dressed like the statues of Jupiter, a slave holding a laurel wreath of victory over his head. The slave was supposed to whisper to the general, reminding him that he was mortal.

  Triumvir: In 43 BC, Antony, Lepidus and Octavian were named as triumviri rei publicae constituendae (board of three to reconstitute the state) by the Lex Titia proposed by a tribune and passed by the Concilium Plebis. The triumvirate was granted dictatorial powers, initially for five years.

  Uraeus: The snake-shaped headband worn at times by the Ptolemies as a symbol of monarchy. Double uraei are typical, probably symbolising the two kingdoms of Egypt. Triple uraei appear on some images identified as Cleopatra, but the precise significance of this is unclear.

  Vexillum: A square flag mounted crosswise on a pole, the vexillum was used to mark a general’s position and was also the standard carried by a detachment of troops. A general’s vexillum seems usually to have been red.

  ABBREVIATIONS

  Appian, BC = Appian, Civil Wars.

  Broughton, MRR 2 = Broughton, T., & Patterson, M., The Magistrates of the Roman Republic, Vol. 2 (1951).

  Caesar, BC = Caesar, The Civil Wars.

  Caesar, BG = Caesar, The Gallic Wars.

  CAH2 IX = Crook, J., Lintott, A., & Rawson, E. (eds.), The Cambridge Ancient History 2nd edn, Vol. IX: The Last Age of the Roman Republic, 146–43 BC(1994).

  CAH2 X = Bowman, A., Champlin, E., & Lintott, A. (eds.), The Cambridge Ancient History 2nd edn, Vol. X: The Augustan Empire, 43 BC—AD 69 (1996).

  Cicero, ad Att. = Cicero, Letters to Atticus.

  Cicero, ad Fam. = Cicero, Letters to his Friends.