FREE ACTIUM 31 BC: DOWNFALL OF ANTONY AND PDF

Si Sheppard,Christa Hook | 96 pages | 23 Jun 2009 | Bloomsbury Publishing PLC | 9781846034053 | English | Oxford, England, United Kingdom | Historica Wiki | Fandom

By the summer of 31 BC, his fleet was trapped in the , on the west coast of , by the ships of his enemy Octavian. Supplies were running out, malaria and dysentery were decimating his army, and the oarsmen who powered his ships were starting to desert. Sparked by the assassination of Julius Caesarthey had torn the Roman world apart. But once that common enemy had been tackled, their fragile alliance began to fracture and the two became bitter enemies. With a powerful navy numbering some ships, they probably hoped to lure Octavian and his forces into Greece, before destroying his fleet in a pitched battle, thus cutting his supply lines. If so, the ploy worked. Octavian crossed into Greece with a large army. Disastrously for Antony, however, sickness ravaged his forces. Much of his land army was unfit for battle, and he could muster crews for barely half his fleet. He was no great general, but his old friend Marcus Agrippa was an able soldier, and commanded his forces. Antony Actium 31 BC: Downfall of Antony and Cleopatra a born soldier but a rather naive politician. Indeed, she bore them both children. Up on deck, archers drew their bows and those manning the ballistae huge crossbows stood ready to shoot; waiting soldiers gripped their weapons and offered silent prayers that they might not become the victims of enemy missiles. True, many of his vessels were quinqueremesformidable warships powered by hundreds of oarsmen and sporting high wooden towers packed with archers. The galleys under her command had been waiting in reserve, guarding transport ships laden with treasure. Now, she ordered them to hoist their sails and make straight for the gap, quickly escaping from the gulf and getting clean away. Antony followed in hot pursuit. Abandoning his flagship for a smaller, lighter craft, he sailed after his lover, followed by a handful of galleys that escaped the fighting. Towers, catapults, weapons Actium 31 BC: Downfall of Antony and Cleopatra nonessential equipment were all hastily dumped into the sea; anything that might slow them down was thrown overboard in a desperate bid to enable the ships to outrun their pursuers. Their leader would later claim that Cleopatra had sailed off in a panic, and that Antony had abandoned his comrades in order to slavishly follow his lover. Anxious to preserve these ships and their crews for his own use, Octavian sailed from vessel to vessel, shouting that Antony had fled and pointing out the futility of further resistance. But at when the weather took a turn for the worse and, faced with the risk of capsizing and drowning as well as burning alive, the survivors finally gave up the fight. He retreated with some 60 ships to the fragile safety of Alexandria in Egypt. But the following summer, Octavian invaded. Deserted by his allies and his surviving troops, Antony committed suicide. Abolishing the old republic, he declared himself emperor for life. Taking the name , which means Actium 31 BC: Downfall of Antony and Cleopatra or serene, he ruled for over 40 years, until his death in AD He was chronically short of men, and the spot where his army was camped was a mosquito-infested marsh near Actium, on the south shore of the gulf. The was the climax of 13 years of civil wars. Outcome Victory for Octavian. Antony and Cleopatra escaped with their treasure but lost most of their ships. He would then, he hoped, pick up the prevailing wind, sail round the Peloponnese and make for Egypt. Ordering the rest of his army north to Macedonia, Antony readied his fleet — burning many ships for which he no longer had crews — and waited for the weather, which had been stormy for some days, to Actium 31 BC: Downfall of Antony and Cleopatra. On 2 September his chance came. At about noon, he moved his ships out of the gulf and into the open sea — where Octavian and Agrippa waited for them, backing up to give themselves enough room to manoeuvre. A key supporter of , he helped the great general in his conquest of Gaul. A member of the , a family of Greek origin who had ruled Egypt for nearly years, Cleopatra infamously had love affairs with both Julius Caesar and then Antony. As the sweating oarsmen below decks hauled away, the two fleets began to close in on each other. Antony was drastically outnumbered. Cleopatra made her move. One account says that, when they ran out of water to put out the fires, they tried to smother the flames with the bodies of their dead comrades. Octavian, now undisputed master of the Roman world, introduced a series of reforms that gave him control over all aspects of government. What happened at the Battle of Actium? Who fought at the Battle of Actium? Alternate history: What if the Spanish Armada had landed? The outcome of another naval battle reimagined…. One account says that, when Mark Antony's men ran out of water to put out the fires, they tried to smother the flames with the bodies of their dead comrades. Your guide to the Roman empire: when it was formed, why it split and how it failed, plus its most colourful emperors. More on: Cleopatra. You may like. Ancient Egypt. When did Queen Cleopatra die and who killed her? What if The Spanish Armada had landed? Second World War. The capture of the Chesapeake : how the British Royal Navy rescued its Actium 31 BC: Downfall of Antony and Cleopatra in the War of Actium 31 BC, Downfall of Antony and Cleopatra, Si Sheppard

Antony and Cleopatra and The Aeneid. First, The Aeneid was written by a Roman named Virgil who, among many other reasons, wrote it as a tribute for Augustus Caesar, the leader of the Roman Empire. Augustus Caesar was formally named Octavian and is a character in Shakespeare's play. Secondly, both The Aeneid and Antony and Cleopatra share Actium 31 BC: Downfall of Antony and Cleopatra common theme of a patriotic, heroic man having to choose between duty to Actium 31 BC: Downfall of Antony and Cleopatra country and the passionate love of a beautiful, foreign and strong queen. First, an overview of the books of The Aeneid in which Aeneas is with Dido is needed in order to fully understand the historical connection, and the thematic comparison to Antony and Cleopatra. In Italy, Aeneas's descendents are destined to found " Sparknotes. However, Aeneas does not go straight to Italy because having been blown off course by a storm, he makes a stop at Carthage and allows himself to stay there and fall in love with the leader of Carthage, Dido Slavitt Dido is a "Phoenician princess who fled her home and founded Carthage after her brother murdered her husband" Sparknotes. While in Carthage, Aeneas recounts the story of the Trojan War. Impressed by Aeneas's adventures and sympathetic to his suffering, Dido falls in love with Aeneas. They live together as lovers for a period, until the gods remind Aeneas of his duty to found a new city. Upon this reminder from the Gods, Aeneas leaves Carthage and sets sail to Italy. Dido is devastated by his departure, and kills herself with the sword Aeneas leaves behind Sparknotes. Aeneas eventually reaches Italy and establishes Rome. The first reason why The Aeneid is associated with Antony and Cleopatra is because a character in Antony and Cleopatra, Octavian, later known as Augustus, is the leader of the Roman Empire during the time when Virgil wrote The Aeneid and for whom it was written. Historically, before Augustus became emperor, internal strife plagued the Roman government. Crassus was killed around 53 B. Civil war erupted between the assassins and the Second Triumvirate which included Octavian, Antony, and Lepidus. By 36 B. At the Battle of Actium in 31 B. Shakespeare's play follows the events of the Second Triumvirate and ends when Octavian defeats Antony and becomes the sole ruler. Although Shakespeare uses historical names and events, Actium 31 BC: Downfall of Antony and Cleopatra minute details and specific conversations between the characters in the play are fictitious. Four years after the events included in Antony and Cleopatra, Octavian assumed the title Augustus. Virgil witnessed all this turmoil, and the warring often disrupted his life Sparknotes. It was Vigil's particular Actium 31 BC: Downfall of Antony and Cleopatra and fortune to have lived and written in this rare and most intense time when the darkness had, for a moment anyway, relented. After years of the aforementioned uncertainty, warfare, slaughter, and anarchy, Augustus Caesar had imposed upon the Actium 31 BC: Downfall of Antony and Cleopatra a moment of order and peace. Instead of suffering in waste, there was stability and even a fair measure of justice Slavitt Celebrating this time of peace, the Aeneid honors Augustus Caesar and his government by alluding to the lineage between Aeneas and Augustus Slavitt The Aeneid celebrates Augustus' victory at Actium when he defeated Antony and Cleopatra alluded to an especially in the long description of Aeneas' shield in Aeneid 8 Toohey The shield depicts the story of the Roman glory that awaits Italy. Carved on the shield, among other Actium 31 BC: Downfall of Antony and Cleopatra, is Romulus being nursed by the she-wolf, the defeat of the Gauls, and more importantly for this discussion, Caesar Actium 31 BC: Downfall of Antony and Cleopatra as he defeats Antony and Cleopatra at the battle of Actium Sparknotes. Below is a quote from The Aeneid describing the shield. Actium, for Romans in the 20s BCE, symbolized the end of decades of bloody civil war and the establishment of a Roman world order. Aeneas is an exemplar of the forces and powers, which lead to the victory, a victory that affirmed nationhood, civilization, and peace Toohey Therefore, in part, the Aeneid serves to legitimize Augustus's reign as it was foretold to Aeneas in his shield directly from the Gods that he would be a great ruler of Rome Actium 31 BC: Downfall of Antony and Cleopatra. The second reason why The Aeneid is associated with Antony and Cleopatra is because they both share a common theme of a patriotic, heroic man having to choose between duty to his country and the passionate love of a beautiful and foreign queen. Both Aeneas and Antony must choose between their country and their queen. The ultimate difference between the two men is that Aeneas chooses duty while Antony chooses Cleopatra. Because of their different choices, their respective outcomes are also different. In the case of Aeneas, he leaves Dido and lives an honorably and prosperously life founding Rome in Italy. In the case of Antony, he "succumbs to Cleopatra's charms and throws everything away for love of her" "Great". Its as though "Antony and Cleopatra is an imaginative sequel to the Aeneid: what might have happened had Aeneas stayed in Carthage and not fulfilled his fate" Rose But Aeneas has something that Antony doesn't in order to make his decision to leave or stay with Dido. Aeneas leaves Dido because he is under instructions from the Gods. He is a man of destiny, and he receives news from heaven that His duty is to found Rome "Great". Mercury came down to Aeneas and says to him:. What do you aim at or hope for, idling and fiddling here in Libya? Antony however does not have the Gods Actium 31 BC: Downfall of Antony and Cleopatra telling him what to do. Although for a moment, Antony does remember his duty to Rome and "insists that he must break off from his "enchanting" queen, echoing Aeneas, constrained by fate to abandon Dido in order to found Rome, Antony never does quite break his Egyptians fetters" Rose 2. Antony momentarily remembers his duty but ultimately chooses Cleopatra, whereas Aeneas' actions with Dido are the result of a momentary abandonment of his true duties and responsibilities. Aeneas indulges temporarily in the romance and the pleasures of the flesh, but when the Gods remind Aeneas of his destiny, he is dutiful and ready to resume his mission and leave Dido Sparknotes. Love is at odds with law and fate, as it distracts all four of the character from their responsibilities. While with Aeneas, Dido abandons her construction of Carthage. She even admits to Aeneas that her own subjects have grown to hate her because of her selfish actions. The time Aeneas spends with Dido also keeps him from his selfless task of founding an empire. Antony also seems to have happily abandoned Roman law in order to pursue his passion. Cleopatra too is distracted from her duties. Both women, Dido and Cleopatra are conscious of their responsibilities as "president" of a kingdom. Both belong to the company of "the greatest," and both have a high regard for reputation for fame Rose Like previously mentioned, Aeneas does ultimately leave Dido and choose duty whereas Antony chooses Cleopatra. Their different choices can be evident in the below quotes by Aeneas and Antony to their respective lovers. Aeneas says as he is leaving Dido:. There lies my heart, my homeland. No more reproaches, then-they only torture us both. And Antony Actium 31 BC: Downfall of Antony and Cleopatra the following as he is dying after stabbing himself due to his dishonorable abandonment of his troops in order to follow Cleopatra, "I am dying, Egypt, dying. Only I here importune death awhile, until of many thousand kisses the poor last I hay upon thy lips Bevington Even as he is dying, all he wants is to kiss his lover. In conclusion, The Aeneid and Antony and Cleopatra are both timeless pieces of literature with many connections to each other. They share a common theme of a patriotic, heroic man having to choose between duty to his country and the passionate love of a beautiful, foreign and strong queen. And, they are connected through the historical figure Augustus Caesar, for whom The Aeneid honors and Antony and Cleopatra portrays. Bevington, David, ed. The Necessary Shakespeare. New York: Pearson Education, Inc. Rose, Mark, ed. Twentieth Century Interpretations of Antony and Cleopatra. Toohey, Peter. The Aeneid. Day Lewis. Mercury came down to Aeneas and says to him: What do you aim at or hope for, idling and fiddling here in Libya? Works Cited Bevington, David, ed. New York: Pearson Education, Inc, Eaglewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, Inc, Slavitt, David R. New Haven: Yale University Press, London: Routledge, Mark Antony - Death, Caesar & Octavian - Biography

Caesarion was the eldest son of Cleopatra and possibly the only biological son of Julius Caesarafter whom he was named. He was the last sovereign member of the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt. His mother Cleopatra insisted that he was the son of Roman politician and dictator Julius Caesarand while he was said to have inherited Caesar's looks and manner, Caesar did not officially acknowledge him. One of Caesar's supporters, Gaius Oppiuseven wrote a pamphlet which attempted to prove that Caesar could not have fathered . Nevertheless, Caesar may have allowed Caesarion to use his name. In some medical literature, Caesarion is said to have suffered from epilepsya neurological condition apparently inherited from his father. Galassi and surgeon Hutan Ashrafian, who have argued that the Actium 31 BC: Downfall of Antony and Cleopatra mention of potential epileptic attacks can only be found in 20th-century novels, Actium 31 BC: Downfall of Antony and Cleopatra of ancient primary sources. Additionally, they claimed that this controversial assumption had been mistakenly used Actium 31 BC: Downfall of Antony and Cleopatra the historico-medical debate on Julius Caesar's alleged epilepsy to strengthen the notion that the dictator really suffered from that disease. Cleopatra hoped that her son would eventually succeed his father as the head of the Roman Republicas well as of Egypt. Cleopatra compared her relationship to her son with that of the Egyptian goddess Isis and her divine child Horus. Two years later he also Actium 31 BC: Downfall of Antony and Cleopatra at the Donations of Alexandria. Caesarion was proclaimed to be a goda son of [a] godand " King of Kings ". This grandiose title was "unprecedented in the management of Roman client-king relationships" and could be seen as "threatening the 'greatness' of the Roman people". This declaration was a direct threat to Octavian whose claim to power was based on his status as Julius Caesar's grandnephew and adopted son. These proclamations partly caused the fatal breach in Antony's relations with Octavian, who used Roman resentment over the Donations to gain support for war against Antony and Cleopatra. does say that Caesarion was sent to India, but also that he was lured back by false promises of the kingdom of Egypt:. Caesarion, who was said to be Cleopatra's son by Julius Caesar, was sent by his mother, with much treasure, into India, by way of Ethiopia. There Rhodon, another tutor like Theodorus, persuaded him to go back, on the ground that [Octavian] Caesar invited him to take the kingdom. Around this time Mark Antony and Cleopatra died, traditionally said to be by suicide, though murder has been suggested. Octavian is supposed to have had Pharaoh Caesarion executed in Alexandria, following the advice of Arius Didymuswho said "Too many Caesars is not good" a pun on a line in Homer. Few images of Caesarion survive. He is thought to be depicted in a partial statue found in the harbor of Alexandria in and is also portrayed twice in relief, as an adult pharaoh, with his mother on the Temple of Hathor at Dendera. His infant image appears on some bronze coins of Cleopatra. In addition to his Greek name and nicknames, Caesarion also had a full set of royal names in the Egyptian language :. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. For the Rome episode, see Caesarion Rome. Not to be confused with Caesarean section. Pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt. Caesarion, from the "Unravel the Mystery" Cleopatra exhibit. Ancient Pages. Retrieved 16 May October Julius Caesar — Did he have seizures? If so, what was the etiology? Epilepsy Behav. Galassi; Hutan Ashrafian Julius Caesar's Disease. A New Diagnosis. Pen and Sword Books. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Retrieved 29 August Facella; T. Kaizer eds. Kingdoms and Principalities in Actium 31 BC: Downfall of Antony and Cleopatra Roman Near East. Occidens et Oriens. Studies in Classical History and Society. US: Oxford University Press. The Reign of Cleopatra. University of Oklahoma Press. Cleopatra: A Biography. Volume 9. Prometheus Books. A greater fault, perhaps, is his passion for anecdote; he cannot forbear from repeating stories, the improbability of which he is the first to recognise. Morrow, Lance July Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 26 February WisemanUniversity of Exeter Press,p. Papers of the British School at Rome. Greek Coins and Their Values. Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 29 January Kirkus Reviews. Hellenistic rulers. Lysimachus Ptolemy Epigonos. Hellenistic rulers were preceded by Hellenistic satraps in most of their territories. Segerseni Qakare Ini Iyibkhentre. Senebkay Wepwawetemsaf Pantjeny Snaaib. Tefnakht Bakenranef. Piye Shebitku Shabaka Taharqa Tanutamun. Julius Caesar. Veni, vidi, vici Ut est rerum omnium magister usus. disputed Cornelia Calpurnia. Julia Caesarion Augustus adopted. Namespaces Article Talk. Views Actium 31 BC: Downfall of Antony and Cleopatra Edit View history. Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file. Download as PDF Printable version. Wikimedia Commons. Caesar Augustus as Roman emperor. Egypt annexed by Rome. Dynastic genealogies 1 st 2 Actium 31 BC: Downfall of Antony and Cleopatra 3 rd 4 th 11 th 12 th 18 th 19 th 20 th 21 st to 23 rd 24 th 25 th 26 th 27 th 30 th 31 st Ptolemaic. List of pharaohs. Wives Cossutia disputed Cornelia Pompeia Calpurnia.