Caesar and Cleopatra

Egypt and the Mediterranean• Once Rome had asserted itself as a dominant

Mediterranean power by defeating Carthage in the first and second Punic Wars, Egypt became keenly interested in allying with Rome

• Even before the Punic Wars Ptolemy II had made a treaty with Rome

• Egypt was not fully a "client state" of Rome but was subject to Roman intervention and was in fact dependent on Rome and got into the habit of appealing to Rome to settle problems within Egypt

Egypt and Rome• Ptolemy VIII (Cleopatra's grandfather) willed part of

the Ptolemaic empire (Cyrenaica) to the Romans if he died without an heir (he didn't)

• The Romans for their part didn't try to annex Egypt at this time: the senate feared that whoever was put in charge of Egypt would have access to so much wealth that he would be a threat to Rome

• Sulla (a powerful politician in Rome) intervened to the extent that he placed a new king (Ptolemy XI) on the throne during a time of political unrest

• The Alexandrians, however, killed Ptolemy XI (a Macedonian practice)

Ptolemy XII• Known as Auletes (the Piper) for his love

of music and also as Nothos (Bastard) because his parents were Ptolemy IX and a concubine

• He took Philopator (lover of his father) as an official title (perhaps to emphasize the legitimate side of his ancestry)

• 6 yrs later Cleopatra was born (70-69 BC); at this time there was disagreement in Rome over whether Egypt should be annexed (Julius Caesar seems to have been in favor)

Coin of Ptolemy XII

The Romans• In 60 BC Caesar, Pompey and Crassus formed the First

Triumvirate and unofficially ruled the Roman world• They agreed to support Auletes' rule in Egypt but

demanded payment in return• Auletes borrowed the money from a Roman money-

lender, Rabirius• To repay it, Auletes had to impose taxes on his people

and they revolted• He fled to Rome and meanwhile the Egyptians put his

eldest daughter Cleopatra VI on the throne • Cleopatra VII may have gone with her father

Problems for Ptolemy XII

• Auletes' enemies at Alexandria also sent a deputation to Rome to complain about the king

• A number of them were killed upon their arrival in Italy: various Romans were accused of being involved but it seems that Auletes was primarily to blame

Ptolemy XII as Dionysus

Ptolemy XII restored to the throne• After giving bribes to various Romans Auletes

retreated to Asia Minor to wait for the Romans to restore him to the throne

• The Roman governor of Syria (by this time a Roman province) Gabinius was given the job (again for a fee)

• In the course of the struggle, Cleopatra VI was killed or exiled

• Gabinius' chief cavalry officer was Mark Antony so Cleopatra probably first met him during this time (she was about 14)

• Her older sister Berenike IV was executed leaving Cleopatra as heir apparent

Rome and Egypt: Essentials• Egypt was just one of the kingdoms ruled by the successors of

Alexander and there were frequent rivalries. • Egypt needed Rome's power and frequently took help from Rome

against rival kingdoms.• This meant that Rome needed a reward and several of the

Ptolemies bequeathed parts of their empire to Rome in their wills. • Rome did not take them up on it—the senate feared that whoever

was assigned to Egypt as a provincial governor would have the chance to acquire so much money and power that he would be a threat to Rome.

• Julius Caesar and Crassus were anxious to make Egypt a province but the senate did not let that happen and so Egypt remained independent and Ptolemy XII known as Auletes the flute player came to power.

Caesar and Crassus

Gaius Julius Caesar Marcus Licinius Crassus

Ptolemy XII Auletes• Ptolemy XII was hastily installed on

the throne despite being an illegitimate son of Ptolemy IX by a concubine in order to prevent the Romans from taking advantage of political disorder in the wake of the murder of Ptolemy XI by the Alexandrian people

• Auletes was extravagant—he called himself the new Dionysus and enjoyed parties and banquets

• He ignored financial problems and allowed corruption to flourish Ptolemy XII Auletes

Pompey• Unlike Caesar and Crassus,

Pompey seemed content to maintain Egyptian independence

• In 64 BC he made Syria a Roman province, removing one of the threats to the Ptolemaic kingdom

• In return, Auletes made an alliance with him and sent him cavalry for his wars Pompey the Great

The First Triumvirate• In 60 BC Pompey allied with Caesar and Crassus in the so-

called First Triumvirate (an informal alliance that did not have official legal status) which made Auletes nervous

• The Triumvirs agreed to support Auletes against rebellious elements in Egypt (for a price).

• Auletes sent 6000 talents (millions of dollars) to Rome and in return received official recognition as an ally and friend of the Roman people.

• He borrowed the money from Rabirius, a Roman financier, and the new taxes he had to impose in Egypt to repay it were part of the cause of a major revolt that caused Auletes to flee Alexandria.

Mark Antony• Auletes went to Rome in 57 and

tried to get the Romans to restore him to the throne.

• Rome finally agreed to intervene and Pompey's forces invaded under the leadership of Gabinius the governor of Syria. His cavalry commander was Mark Antony, then 25 or 26.

• Auletes returned to power and Roman forces remained in Egypt as a military guard.

Mark Antony

Cleopatra’s early career• When Ptolemy Auletes died in 51

BC his will named as his successors Cleopatra (age 18) and Ptolemy XIII (age 10).

• According to Ptolemaic dynastic law they had to marry.

• Cleopatra took as a title Philopator (she who loves her father).

• Although she was co-ruler with Ptolemy XIII, he was so young she was effectively the sole ruler

Cleopatra VII, c. 50 BC

Cleopatra’s power

• She now had the powers of the Pharaohs—she was the law, she owned her subjects as well as the territory of Egypt, and she was a living goddess; she personified the state.

Coin of Cleopatra

British ten pound note

Cleopatra’s education• Her education would have been the same as a boy's since

daughters ruled alongside their brother-husbands. • Scholarship was valued greatly in Alexandria. • The course of study in the Hellenistic period was based on

Greek literature, rhetoric, and science. She also would have learned to draw, play the lyre, sing, and ride horses.

• Plutarch tells us she had a particular talent for foreign languages: – “It was a pleasure merely to hear the sound of her voice, with

which, like an instrument of many strings, she could pass from one language to another; so that there were few of the barbarian nations that she answered by an interpreter; to most of them she spoke herself, as to the Ethiopians, Troglodytes, Hebrews, Arabians, Syrians, Medes, Parthians, and many others, whose languages she had learned."

Alexandrian politics

• Bureaucracy was paralyzing the country; there were famines in 50 and 49 BC, as well as peasant rebellions and hostility within the royal family.

• Cleopatra’s younger sister Arsinoe IV wanted the throne and her brother-husband Ptolemy XIII was being manipulated against her by 3 advisors: Pothinus (Egyptian eunuch servant), Theodotus (Sicilian tutor), and Achillas (Greco-Egyptian general).

Cleopatra and Rome• She wished to avoid war with Rome and offered

Pompey her support in his rivalry with Julius Caesar for control of Rome. – Pompey had been an ally of the Ptolemies and at this time

seemed stronger than Caesar although Caesar had driven him out of Rome in 49 BC.

• Cleopatra's aid to Pompey was not popular with the Alexandrians but it was intrigues by Ptolemy and Arsinoe that forced her to flee Alexandria and seek refuge among the Arab tribes east of Egypt's border.

• She attempted to raise an army and re-enter Alexandria but was stopped by Ptolemy's troops.

Caesar and Pompey

• Crassus had died in 53 leaving Caesar and Pompey competing for power.

• Caesar crossed the Rubicon river in 49 BC entering Italy with his army, a move that constituted a declaration of civil war against Pompey.

• Pompey was defeated in 48 BC at the battle of Pharsalus in Greece. He fled to Egypt hoping for asylum with the Ptolemies.

Pompey arrives in Egypt• Ptolemy XIII's advisors decided that Pompey should be

killed because it would earn them Caesar's gratitude; also Pompey had a claim on Ptolemy (Pompey had been appointed as a guardian to Ptolemy) and Pompey was in charge of the Roman troops in Egypt.

• If Pompey honored these obligations, Egypt would have been Pompey's headquarters in what Ptolemy's advisors recognized would be a doomed resistance to Caesar.

• The consequences would have been disastrous for Egypt and the Ptolemies, particularly given Egypt's own internal troubles over the succession and economic difficulties and famine resulting from the failed harvest in 48 BC.

Caesar’s arrival in Egypt

• When Caesar arrived a few days later he did not know of Pompey's fate and stayed on his ship not sure what kind of reception he would get.

• Theodotus brought him Pompey's head and ring as a tribute. It is said that Caesar wept at the sight and then entered Alexandria reassured.

• With Pompey dead, Cleopatra's destiny depended solely on Caesar.

Caesar and Cleopatra• Cleopatra was not in

Alexandria when Caesar arrived (she had gone into exile east of Egypt's borders).

• Not clear whether she came to Caesar of her own accord or whether he summoned her

• Encounter has been immortalized as the "carpet scene" in which Cleopatra has herself smuggled in to see Caesar

“Cleopatra” (1964) starring Elizabeth Taylor

Caesar’s motives• At this time Caesar 52 years old and Cleopatra 21 years old.

Our sources report a love affair. • Caesar: although married now to Calpurnia (having

divorced his first wife Pompeia) he was known for his many affairs (Suetonius calls him a husband to every woman and a wife to every man and lists an impressive number of queens Caesar was involved with); also seems to have been fascinated with royalty and famous pedigrees

• Grant notes that it would have been easier for Caesar to leave Cleopatra to her fate and support Ptolemy who was favored by both Alexandrian political leadership and Egyptian army so Cleopatra must have convinced/captivated him

Cleopatra’s motives• Cleopatra's motives

probably more calculated:– To secure her own power– To maintain an

accommodation with Rome

– To restore the glory of the Ptolemies

– And perhaps to share in world domination with Caesar

Jean-Leon Gerome, “Cleopatra and Caesar” (1866)

Caesar’s decision

• Caesar appointed Cleopatra and Ptolemy XIII joint rulers but all was not peaceful.

• His support of Cleopatra involved him in a war with the Egyptians under Achillas (Egyptian army outnumbered the Romans 5 to 1).

The Alexandrian War• The Romans burned the Egyptian fleet in the harbor of Alexandria (because success in

possession of the harbor was not assured).• In the resulting fire on land a large number of books were destroyed (not the library of

Alexandria but probably books awaiting transport to the library or perhaps export).– The destruction of many Egyptian ships allowed Caesar to seize Pharos (the lighthouse at the

entrance to the harbor). The entrance was so narrow that no ship could enter without the consent of whoever controlled Pharos.

• Cleopatra's half-sister Arsinoe IV (who was supposed to be ruling with younger brother Ptolemy XIV in Cyprus which Caesar had returned from Roman to Egyptian rule) made her way to Achillas and was proclaimed queen by the army and the Alexandrian people (an act of defiance against Romans).

• Ptolemy XIII freed from house arrest and allowed by Caesar to leave and join the Egyptian forces.

• Caesar engineered the execution of Pothinus, alleging that he were plotting against him but in fact it seems that Caesar learned of Pothinus' plan to join with Achillas and the Egyptian troops.

• Achillas was murdered in a struggle for power with a fellow Alexandrian.

Outcome of the war• Cleopatra divorced Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy disappeared in the

confusion of battle. • Reports brought to Caesar stated that Ptolemy had drowned in the

Nile while escaping on an overloaded boat. – According to Egyptian belief, drowning in the Nile conferred upon the

victim the blessing of Osiris. To prevent rumors that Ptolemy had used this power to rise from the dead, Caesar had the Nile dredged and when the body was found put Ptolemy's armor on display.

• Caesar married Cleopatra to her surviving brother, Ptolemy XIV and installed them as joint rulers (with Cleopatra in charge).

• Caesar did not annex Egypt for Rome (annexation as a province the most frequent result for a foreign enemy conquered by Romans) because he feared that it would provide too powerful a base for a future Roman governor.

Cruising

• Early in 47 BC Caesar and Cleopatra took a cruise up the Nile (where he would have observed great temples and the depiction of pharaohs including Cleopatra as gods)

• Cleopatra probably already pregnant with a child (probably Caesar's) whom the Egyptians would call Caesarion ("Little Caesar”); his name was actually Ptolemy XV.

Caesarion

Coin from Cyprus showing Cleopatra with infant Caesarion

Basalt statue, probably Caesarion (c. 35-30 BC)

Caesar’s triumphs

• Between September 20 and October 1, 46 BC, Caesar celebrated 4 triumphs including one over Egypt in which Cleopatra's sister Arsinoe IV was forced to march in chains.

• When the Roman people objected to her execution, Caesar pardoned her and granted her sanctuary at the temple of Artemis in Ephesus.

Cleopatra in Rome

• Soon afterwards Cleopatra arrived in Rome with Caesarion and Ptolemy XIV.

• There is little information about her stay. But we do know a few things:– Caesar installed her in a mansion across the Tiber– He dedicated the Temple of Venus Genetrix including

a marble statue of Venus and perhaps also a gilt bronze statue of Cleopatra (presumably as Venus). This would allude to:• Cleopatra's status as Isis (since Isis identified with Venus)• Perhaps to Cleopatra as mother of a line of kings by Caesar

The Ides of March

• Caesar was assassinated in a meeting of the Roman Senate on March 15, 44 BC.

• Cleopatra now left out in the cold• Caesar's will named not Caesarion but his

great-nephew Octavian as his heir• Cleopatra and her retinue slip away to Egypt.

Cleopatra’s influence on Caesar

• Her example may have encouraged his regal and divine ambitions.

• On a more tangible level:– Calendar reform (Julian calendar solar rather than

lunar, made with guidance of an Egyptian astronomer)

– Public libraries (on model of library of Alexandria)

The Egyptian Perspective

Egyptian Cosmology• Cosmos brought into existence by creator god Re-Horakty• Cosmos is in constant conflict:

– Creation vs. destruction– Order vs. chaos– Life vs. death– Light vs. dark

• In order for the cycle to continue (for light to overcome darkness each day with the rising of the sun) the creator Re had to renew the act of creation

• Prayer necessary to persuade him to perpetuate the universe and maintain it in its original order (Ma'at)– Ma'at is a feminine divine principle personifying cosmic equilibrium

and life but also the principles of the political and social order and the permanent exchange between the human community and the creative force

Family tree of the Egyptian gods• Brother-sister marriage• In first 2 generations:

complementary nature of the couples (Shu [air, light] and Tefnut [heat, water]; Geb [earth] and Nut [sky])

• Dualism appears in third generation with Osiris and his evil brother Seth– both Osiris and Seth have sister-

consorts• The child of Osiris and Isis is

Horus, the earthly king by divine right (Pharaoh)

The Pharaoh

• The Pharaoh is the earthly emanation of Horus, called "the living Horus" but he also is Horus

• As the descendent of Re, the Pharaoh is also charged with perpetuating and transmitting Ma'at (order, salvation from chaos)

• Therefore there must be a Pharaoh and it does not matter whether he is Egyptian, Persian, Macedonian, or finally Roman

Horus• Horus is often represented as a falcon and at some

temples a living falcon was chosen as his incarnation

Horus wearing the crowns of UpperAnd Lower Egypt

Horus as Imperator

• A living ruler (even a Roman) could be represented as Horus.

Horus in Roman armor

Isis and Osiris• In the myth Isis and Osiris

(god of vegetation) were lovers even in their mother's womb

• But Osiris was slain by his evil brother Seth

• Isis seeks out his corpse, briefly resurrects it, and conceives Horus who kills Seth and avenges his father

• On a mythic level, then, Horus also defeats destruction, darkness and death

A painting on the wall of an unknown tomb at Tuna el Gebel shows Isis and Osiris seated on their thrones

Anubis

• Divine guardian of the dead; originally in the form of a jackal; subsequently a human figure with a dog's head

• He supervised embalming and conducted the judgment of the dead

• In the Hellenistic period he was identified with Hermes

• He became part of the cult of Isis

Relief showing Anubis

Apis• The sacred bull worshipped at Memphis,

believed to have oracular powers• Bull identified by distinctive markings: the

black calf had a white diamond on its forehead, an image of an eagle on its back, double the number of hairs on its tail, and a scarab mark under its tongue. Since the Apis was so sacred, it stands to reason that its mother (referred to as the "Isis cow") was revered as well. (The god’s name in Egyptian, Hapi, means “the hidden”—a reference to this selection process by discovering the bull within a herd)

• When the bull died the body was embalmed and carried in a procession to the subterranean "great chambers" at Saqqara

• Thousands of written requests for Apis to bless individuals have been found there

• The embalmed bull was called Osiris-Apis (->Sarapis)

The Buchis bull• Another bull cult was the Buchis cult, which lasted until

about 362 AD. The Buchis bull was the representation of the gods Re and Osiris, but it was also linked with the god of war, Montu. A bull had to have the specific colorings of a black face with a white body in order to be considered Buchis.

• The center of the Buchis cult was the town of Armant. Many generations of mummified Buchis bulls and their mothers were laid to rest in a designated cemetery, called the Bucheum, where the bulls were fastened to wooden boards with metal staples that held the forelegs and hindlegs in place

The Buchis Stele• One of Cleopatra's first formal

appearances as queen was in 51 BC when the sacred bull at Hermonthis died and Cleopatra escorted a replacement up the Nile, a gesture that must have done much to secure loyalty of inhabitants of upper Egypt.

• The trip was commemorated on an inscribed stone known as the Buchis Stele.

The Buchis Stele

Sarapis (Latin Serapis)• Greek form of Egyptian Osiris-

Apis or Osorapis, the combination of Osiris with the Apis-bulls entombed at Saqqara

• Pilgrims to the site sought healing by incubation (sleeping in the sanctuary), oracles and dream-interpretation

• The importance of Sarapis was immediately understood by the Ptolemies and they founded a new Serapeum

• Hellenistic writers associate Sarapis with Osiris, Dionysus, Hades, Zeus, and Asclepius

• Statues tend to show the god with ears of grain on his head

Serapis, 2nd c. AD

Isis: Iconography• Very ancient goddess: perhaps in origin the personification of the throne of the Pharaoh• One of her earliest and most fundamental roles that of mother, but not of Horus

– Originally the mother of Horus was Hathor (the cow goddess) who was depicted with cow's horns encircling a solar disc

• This is the origin of Isis' crown consisting of cow's horns and a solar disc (2 of Isis' most common identifying attributes although they happen to come from another goddess)

• In fact, Isis and Hathor are often identified with one another• Elastic nature of Isis: she became a universal power identified with many other Egyptian goddesses and

also with some Greek and Roman divinities• Isis was assimilated with many beneficent goddesses including goddesses of sexual love but she is

especially a patron of sexual love within marriage

Isis, wall painting,1360 BC

Isis and Hathor

Isis Hathor

Isis and the Ptolemaic Queens• Isis-Osiris brother-sister marriage a model for

the marriages of the Ptolemies• Ptolemaic queens (esp. Arsinoe II) were

identified with Isis

Arsinoe II

Cleopatra’s self-presentation

• Cleopatra’s self-presentation involved pageantry and spectacle (which the Romans did also e.g. Julius Caesar's triumph)

• We can even think of her entry into Caesar's quarters rolled up in bed linens as a sort of staged action with a calculated result—to display her courage and resourcefulness (even her death had this staged quality—we'll get to that later in the course)

Her Next Performance• Cruise up the Nile with Caesar• Historically: may have been a brief water

procession rather than the cruise later writers have made it out to be

• Symbolic meaning: the queen recently exiled traveled up kingdom's main thoroughfare (and its source of life and livelihood) with the man who had recently become Rome's undisputed ruler. This served to parade before her people her newly confirmed monarchy and alliance with mighty protector. The barge may have been elaborately decorated but purpose would not have been luxury for its occupants but show of royal magnificence.

• 7 years later she staged a similar spectacle with Antony on the Cydnus River in Asia Minor. On that occasion, according to Plutarch she was dressed as the goddess Venus. This not only suggested that she had the power and allure of Venus but also cast her personal relationship with Antony as a divine union (she may in fact have been representing herself as Isis, who was identified with Venus)

Cleopatra and Isis• Perhaps the most significant way in which

Cleopatra projected an image of divine power to her subjects was through identification of herself with the goddess Isis, as queens always were in Egypt.

• By the time Cleopatra came to power the cult of Isis was already widespread in the Greek-speaking Hellenistic world. (Originally association with Isis was how the Ptolemaic dynasty gave themselves legitimacy with their Egyptian subjects)

Cleopatra, Isis, and Motherhood

• Isis appropriate for the queens for several reasons but perhaps on of the most important is that she was the mother of the Pharaoh.

Isis and Horus Cleopatra and Caesarion

Temple of Hathor, Dendera

• Cleopatra presents herself and Caesarion to the Egyptians, showing them looking like Isis and Horus

• By identifying Caesarion with Horus Cleopatra claims divinity for him and presents him as the boy who could bring new prosperity to Egypt as heir to the Egyptian empire (and perhaps to that of Rome as well) since Julius Caesar had been deified after his death (making him an Osiris figure)

Dendera Temple Relief

The Nile Mosaic, Palestrina

Nile Mosaic: location• A presentation of Egypt for a Roman audience • The mosaic is currently displayed on a wall in the

archaeological museum in Palestrina (at the Temple of Fortuna, 25 mi. east of Rome)

• Originally the mosaic was displayed on a floor in an apsed hall. The viewer would have stood at the bottom and the mosaic formed the floor of an artificial cave. It seems that water flowed from the back wall so that the mosaic was viewed through water. It was discovered in pieces and reconstructed. The building in which the artificial cave and mosaic were located may have served as a library and a mosaic with the theme of exploration would have been appropriate.

Nile Mosaic: composition• In the upper parts of the mosaic fantastic exotic animals roam in a relatively

barren landscape. They are labeled with Greek names. In the middle, there is a nilometer (Syene where height predicted), obelisks, pharaonic temple complex, flock of ibis (Hermoupolis Magna where ibis worshipped, procession (may be ritual funeral procession of Osiris). In the lower parts is a realistic scene of the Nile in flood and the harbor of Alexandria. There is also a large building with columns and a tent-like canopy that is prominently placed near the bottom of the mosaic. This may be the procession of Ptolemy Philadelphos on the foundation of the games of the Ptolemaea. The scene has figures in Greek dress, representing the age of the Ptolemies

• The artist uses the bends in the river to lead the viewer through the composition. This travel works in several ways.

• The scenes at the bottom of the mosaic represent the part of Egypt near the Mediterranean coast and as we go up, we travel into the more remote regions of the country.

• Civilization gives way to wilderness: less inhabited as go up• May also represent time travel: labels at top refer to origins, when things received

their names

Nile Mosaic: origin?• We are told it was a copy of a work in Egypt (worship of Fortuna at

this sanctuary was associated with Isis) and that it was a gift from visitor to sanctuary

• Who visited? Often women who wanted to become pregnant, were pregnant or had recently given birth

• One such woman who visited Italy around the time this mosaic was made was Cleopatra and she had recently given birth to Caesarion

• She may already have been expecting Caesarion during the cruise up the Nile with Caesar and the mosaic may be a way of thanking Fortuna for the birth of Caesarion

• In addition it would have served to introduce the presence of this Hellenistic queen to Rome as had the statue of her in the temple of Venus Genetrix; perhaps the mosaic was even accompanied by a statue of Cleopatra as Isis