Greece -- Biography -- Early works to 1800; Rome -- Biography -- Early works to 1800
were driven away from him, she would not survive. At last they so melted
and softened the man, that through fear that Cleopatra might destroy
herself, he returned to Alexandria, and put off the Mede to the summer
season, though the affairs of Parthia were said to be in a state of
anarchy. However, he went up into the country, and brought over the king
to friendly terms, and after betrothing to one of his sons by Cleopatra
one of the daughters of the king, who was still a young child, he
returned, being now engaged in preparing for the civil war.
LIV. When Octavia returned from Athens, as Cæsar conceived her to have
been insulted, he ordered her to dwell in her own house. But she refused
to leave her husband's house, and she advised her brother, if he had not
for other reasons determined to go to war with Antonius, to let her
affairs alone, for it was not even decent to be said, that of the
greatest Imperators, one through love for a woman, and the other
through jealousy, brought the Romans to civil war. This she said, and
she confirmed what she said by her acts; for she lived in her husband's
house, just as if he were at home, and she took care of the children,
both her own and those of Fulvia, in an honourable and liberal way; she
also received the friends of Antonius who were sent to Rome to get
offices or on business, and assisted them in obtaining from Cæsar what
they wanted. She thus unintentionally damaged Antonius, for he was hated
for wronging such a woman. He was also hated for the division which he
made among his children at Alexandria, which appeared to be
tragical[427] and arrogant, and to show hatred of the Romans. For he
filled the gymnasium with a crowd, and caused to be placed on a tribunal
of silver two thrones of gold, one for himself, and the other for
Cleopatra, and for the children other thrones which were lower; and
first of all he declared Cleopatra Queen of Egypt and Cyprus and Libya
and Coele Syria, with Cæsarion as co-regent, who was believed to be the
son of the former Cæsar, who left Cleopatra pregnant; in the next place
he proclaimed his sons and Cleopatra's to be Kings of Kings; and to
Alexander he gave Armenia, and Media, and Parthia, when he should have
subdued it, and to Ptolemæus he gave Phoenice and Syria and Cilicia. At
the same time also he led forth Alexander, dressed in a Median vest with
a tiara and cittaris[428] upright, and Ptolemæus in boots, and a
chlamys, and a causia with a diadem attached to it; for this was the
dress of the kings who followed Alexander, and the other was the dress
of the Medes and Armenians. After the children had embraced their
parents, a guard of Armenians was placed around the one, and of
Macedonians around the other. Cleopatra, both on that occasion and on
other occasions when she went out before the people, used to put on a
dress sacred to Isis, different from her ordinary dress, and she was
called the new Isis.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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