Love Of Antony And Cleopatra
After Julius Caesar died in the year 41 B.C., Mark Antony became the emperor of the Roman Empire. As he began to rule Rome, he sent for Cleopatra, the mistress of Julius Caesar, to question her about her allegiance in Tarsus. |
When Cleopatra turned up in Tarsus, Antony was mesmerized with the charm of her personality to an extent that he decided to spend the winter of 41 BC - 40 BC with her in Alexandria. She accepted his offer as it was the only way out to remain in power after Caesar’s death. This was the time when the love of Antony and Cleopatra began.
With Mark Antony’s assistance, she got her own sister executed in order to defend her son and herself. She also gave birth to a son and daughter, and Antony was their father. However, it was after four years, when Marc Antony again came to Alexandria to fight the Parthians that he revamped his relation with Cleopatra and decided to marry her. At that Antony was already married, but he still got married to Cleopatra as per Egyptian rites and made Alexandria his permanent home. After marriage, Cleopatra gave birth to son. By late 34 B.C., Cleopatra was acclaimed as the Queen of Kings, and all her children were crowned rulers of different states in the empire. Love that Antony and Cleopatra shared eventually strained his relations with Octavian. She persuaded the Senate to declare war against Egypt after her final break up with Antony in 33 B.C.
Another story that is associated with the love life of Antony and Cleopatra is that of the sumptuous dinners they shared. The legend has it that Cleopatra had humorously made a bet with Antony that she could spend ten million sesterces on a dinner. However, when Antony scoffed at the conventional dinner she had next night, she dissolved a precious pearl in a cup of strong vinegar and drank the solution to keep her word.
The love of the Roman Emperor Mark Antony and Queen Cleopatra of Egypt influenced several important events and is therefore considered to be one of the major landmarks in the Roman Egyptian history.
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