A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

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 ran 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.
112; Hirt. B. 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 Pharnaces, which tore him from her arms. She however 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 [CAESARION]; and the character 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 triumvirate, and assisted Dolabella both by sea and
land, resisting the threats of Cassius, who was preparing 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 joining him by a storm and the bad state of her health.
She had however done sufficient to prove her attachment 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 41 came into Asia Minor, and there summoned Cleopatra to attend, on the charge of having
failed to co-operate with the triumvirate against
Caesar's murderers. She was now in her twentyeighth 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 Cydnus in Cilicia to meet Antony, and the magnificent
entertainments which she gave, which were remarkable 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 Cleopatra made of her influence was to procure
the death of her younger sister, Arsinoi, who had
once set up a claim to the kingdom. (Appian, B. C.
v. 8, 9; Dion Cass. xlviii. 24.) Her brother,
Ptolemy, she seems to have made away with before by poison. She also revenged herself on one of
her generals, Serapion, who had assisted Cassius
contrary 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 Egypt, where Antony
spent some time in her company; and we read of
the luxury of their mode of living, and the unbounded 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 renewed 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 provisions 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 assigned to her and Herod necessarily ceded, and there attempted 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 therefore 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. Ant. 53.) From this
time Antony appears quite infatuated by his attachment, and willing to humour every 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 saluted 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 Antony, 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 parties, 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
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