Cleopatra: A Life

Nonfiction | Biography | Adult | Published in 2010

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-2

Chapters 3-4

Chapters 5-6

Chapters 7-8

Chapter 9

Key Figures

Themes

Index of Terms

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Chapters 5-6Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 5 Summary: “Man Is by Nature a Political Creature”

During Cleopatra’s second visit to Rome she is broadly accepted, particularly in the wake of Caesar’s final victory over his detractors, ending years of civil war. Her presence initiates a “brief vogue for an elaborate hairstyle” (118) and Rome seemingly reacts positively to her presence, though the sole recorded impression of Cleopatra at the time is not flattering. Cicero, Rome’s “most prominent citizen, and the most articulate of its discontents” (117), found her unaccommodating to his vanity, and made his displeasure known in his writings.

In March of 44 BC, weeks after Caesar is named dictator for life, he is assassinated in the Roman Senate by a group of conspirators who feared the extent of his power and control over the Roman state. This makes Cleopatra’s political position extremely tenuous. Caesar was her “champion” (126) and his death leaves a huge power vacuum in Rome, which several factions quickly seek to fill. Mark Antony, who was appointed Caesar’s deputy, is thought likely to succeed Caesar, but Gaius Octavian, Caesar’s adopted grandnephew, is named heir, and Caesar’s funeral descends into a riot and a frenzied hunt for his murderers. Cleopatra flees as Rome plunges into civil war and returns to her flourishing kingdom.

Over the next few years, under Cleopatra’s influence in her full guise as Isis, building programs erect monumental temples across Egypt, reinforcing her image as ruler and goddess. In Alexandria, she presides over an intellectual revival, and takes “her first steps toward restoring Ptolemaic glory” (137). When the Roman civil war broadens into Egyptian territory, Cleopatra initially supports Cassius, though this turns out to be a miscalculation: After the Battle of Philippi and later political maneuvering, Rome and all its conquered territories fall under the control of Antony and Octavian. Once Antony is given control over the Eastern territories, Cleopatra is summoned into his presence to account for supporting Cassius.

Chapter 6 Summary: “We Must Often Shift the Sails When We Wish to Arrive in Port”

Agreeing to meet with Antony in the city of Tarsus, Cleopatra sails at the head of an impressive contingent of boats. The boats are loaded with treasure, exotic foods, and many forms of lavish entertainment, so that she might entertain Antony and his coterie for several consecutive nights. Perhaps having met him previously, Cleopatra seems to understand the character of the most famous warrior alive, fostering his love of theatricality, gamesmanship, and comradery while elevating their personages to that of gods. In a message inviting Antony to join her, she suggests that she is a newly arrived Venus come “to revel with Bacchus” (160), a Roman god to whom Antony was pleased to be compared.

Cleopatra successfully woos Mark Antony, and by the time she returns to Alexandria, Antony carries out several of her demands, including having her sister, Arsinoe, and several others executed. Over several months Antony administers to his territories; however, even with several provincial affairs still “in disarray” (169), Antony instead decides to join Cleopatra in Alexandria. For several months, Cleopatra fosters Antony’s boundless enthusiasm for pleasure and entertainment while cementing their relationship, though to observers in Rome, Antony appears to be “a schoolboy on holiday” (175), infuriating both Octavian and Fulvia, Antony’s wife.

Attempting to draw Antony out of Egypt, Fulvia incites a war against Octavian, a conflict that kills her. Antony and Octavian eventually work out a pact, called the Treaty of Brundisim, in 40 BC. In order to mollify Octavian, Antony marries his sister, Octavia. Later that same year, Cleopatra gives birth to twins, Antony’s children.

Antony and Octavian enter into a tense period of peace, though Octavian seeks to continually undermine and upset his brother-in-law. In 37 BC, Antony leaves Rome, ostensibly to launch a campaign against the Parthians, but he calls for Cleopatra to meet him in Antioch, where he will launch his campaign. He will never see Octavia again.

Chapters 5-6 Analysis

In these chapters, Schiff once again examines The Dynamics of Power and how Cleopatra navigates them. She suggests that Cleopatra is more accepted by Roman society during her second visit, implying that Cleopatra’s charm and self-possession may have silenced some of her initial detractors, with some Roman women even emulating her hairstyle. Cleopatra’s return to Rome also suggests the enduring strength of her relationship with Caesar, who is now the dictator of Rome and one of the most powerful men in the ancient world. In allying herself all the more closely with Caesar, Cleopatra also continues to raise her own standing and prestige.

Despite its sensationalist appeal, Schiff dispenses with the assassination of Caesar rather quickly. Instead, Schiff focuses on the aftereffects, in which Cleopatra must flee Rome quickly as Rome descends into civil war. The peace and prosperity of Egypt contrast with the upheaval and violence tearing apart the Roman Republic, once more suggesting that Cleopatra’s domains are in a far better position than Rome’s. Cleopatra’s extensive building works and intellectual patronage likewise enhance Schiff’s portrait of Cleopatra as a capable leader seeking to reinforce her own position as ruler.

Schiff also examines how Cleopatra must once again exercise Female Leadership in a Male-Dominated World. As the Roman civil war rages on and begins to affect Egypt directly, Cleopatra chooses to support Cassius, only to realize she is once again in a vulnerable position when Cassius fails. Cleopatra responds to the challenge by again seeking an alliance with a powerful Roman—this time, Mark Antony. Schiff describes in detail how Cleopatra seeks to persuade Antony as thoroughly as she did Caesar, suggesting that Cleopatra was very careful in her self-presentation and in the state of her entourage when she went to meet with Antony in Tarsus, deliberately seeking to soften his stance toward her through her sumptuous hosting and using comparisons to Bacchus to further flatter him. Schiff once again argues for Cleopatra’s shrewdness and political savvy in her approach to Antony, seeking to strip their ensuing affair of its tawdry reputation amongst Roman historians. Just as Schiff presented Cleopatra and Caesar as well-matched equals, she gives the same framing to Cleopatra’s relationship with Antony.

The outcry that Antony’s relationship with Cleopatra elicits amongst the Romans also reflects The Construction and Deconstruction of Historical Myths. While Cleopatra and Antony’s relationship has become one of the most famous love stories in history, Schiff is careful to keep the wider political picture in view, emphasizing how Cleopatra’s growing closeness with Antony had serious political repercussions in Rome. These political repercussions complicate their love story: Antony’s marriage to Octavian’s sister, Octavia, is a marriage of convenience, revealing the extent of the political tensions between Antony and Octavian and the attempts of both to reestablish their former alliance. The political maneuvering in Rome affects Cleopatra and, by extension, Egypt, as she risks alienating Octavian by maintaining her relationship with Antony. Thus, their relationship is not just a matter of personal feelings, but about the balance of power. Once she leaves to meet Antony in Antioch, the groundwork for the final rupture with Octavian has already been laid, which will eventually have disastrous consequences for Cleopatra and her kingdom.