Part 9 (1/2)

PART FIVE.

From Republic to Empire.

The fas.h.i.+on persists of condemning and deploring the last epoch of the Roman Republic. It was turbulent, corrupt, immoral. And some speak of decadence. On the contrary, it was an era of liberty, vitality and innovation... Roman life was coming to feel to the full the liberating effects of empire and prosperity. In the aftermath of the Punic Wars, cult and ritual lapsed, and law was separated from religion... In various other ways good sense or chicanery were able to abate or circ.u.mvent the 'ancient rigour', the 'hardness of the ancients'.Political fraud and Augustan romanticism conspired to embellish the venerable past with unhappy consequences for historical study ever after.

Ronald Syme, Sall.u.s.t Sall.u.s.t (1964), 1617 (1964), 1617 The act of creative policy that was Augustus' abiding legacy to Rome was the bringing into being of an ideology of rule, parallel to the careful traditionalism of most of what has been spoken of so far surprising in that it manifests itself quite early in Augustus' reign, and multifaceted, so that to describe it even summarily involves consideration of many phenomena of which the 'imperial cult' is only one. Glorification of the personality of the ruler, advertis.e.m.e.nt of his role, proclamation of his virtues, pageantry over his achievements, visual reminders of his existence, and the creation of a court and a dynasty: these are, par excellence, the things that madeAD 14 different from 30 14 different from 30 BC BC ... The work known as the 'Dialogus', attributed to Tacitus, contains, through the mouth of an 'opposition' writer, a well-known expression of the view that the ending of the creative phase of, at least, Roman eloquence, was directly due to the loss of freedom. That was not the only view then, nor need it be now ... The work known as the 'Dialogus', attributed to Tacitus, contains, through the mouth of an 'opposition' writer, a well-known expression of the view that the ending of the creative phase of, at least, Roman eloquence, was directly due to the loss of freedom. That was not the only view then, nor need it be now...

J. A. Crook, The Cambridge Ancient History The Cambridge Ancient History, volume X (1996, 2nd edn.), 133 and 144 41938

38.

Antony and Cleopatra.

Never, as those who were present tell us, was there a more pitiable sight. Smeared with blood and struggling with death, Antony was drawn up (to the window of Cleopatra's tomb), stretching his hands out to her as he dangled in the air... Cleopatra clung on with her hands and kept pulling up the rope, her face twisted by the strain, while those below encouraged her and shared her agony. When she had received him in this way and laid him down, she tore her robes over him, beat and tore her b.r.e.a.s.t.s with her hands, wiped some of his blood onto her face and kept on calling him master, husband, Commander...

Plutarch, Life of Antony Life of Antony 77.35 77.35 After Cicero's murder, injustice continued to be set against freedom and 'luxury' to be cited against political rivals. Twelve memorable years brought the great men into conflict, Mark Antony against the young Octavian, and women into lasting fame, Antony's second wife, Octavia, and once more, the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra. Lesser persons, too, had a sudden memorable chance on the stage of power, people like the childless Turia whom we know from her husband's inscription in her honour. She had grovelled and wept before the triumvirs to save his life, and in their household even offered that he should have a child by another woman which she would then bring up as hers (he declined).1 In Octavian's circle we meet loyal 'new men' with a bright future, the urbane Maecenas, Octavian's link with the great poets of the age, and the able Agrippa, the key to so many of Octavian's militarysuccesses. Out east, we first meet Herod the Great, the future 'tyrant' in the story of Christmas. He was imposed for the first time as king of the Jews through Mark Antony's favour. In Octavian's circle we meet loyal 'new men' with a bright future, the urbane Maecenas, Octavian's link with the great poets of the age, and the able Agrippa, the key to so many of Octavian's militarysuccesses. Out east, we first meet Herod the Great, the future 'tyrant' in the story of Christmas. He was imposed for the first time as king of the Jews through Mark Antony's favour.

Yet these years of war and slaughter were also a fertile period for Roman literature. Great art can indeed be born in comparative anarchy. One reason was that new patrons emerged in the social shake-up and helped younger authors to break with older critics and the established canons of scholarly taste.2 The greatest Latin poets, Virgil and Horace, began their careers now, as did the elegist Propertius: none of them came from Rome itself, as all three were Italians. There were also articulate losers, just as there had been in the age of aristocratic Greek lyric poets. One of them, the historian Sall.u.s.t, developed the themes of luxury and liberty to explain political change. A former acolyte of Caesar, he had been forced out of public life and wrote an acid account of the Republic's crisis, tracing it back to Sulla and then forwards through the greed and ambition of the 'n.o.bles'. Seen as a follower of Thucydides, Sall.u.s.t had none of his intellectual depth. But his histories became a school-text for the greater mind of Tacitus and, centuries later, for St Augustine and his view of the l.u.s.t for power in Roman history, as a.n.a.lysed in his The greatest Latin poets, Virgil and Horace, began their careers now, as did the elegist Propertius: none of them came from Rome itself, as all three were Italians. There were also articulate losers, just as there had been in the age of aristocratic Greek lyric poets. One of them, the historian Sall.u.s.t, developed the themes of luxury and liberty to explain political change. A former acolyte of Caesar, he had been forced out of public life and wrote an acid account of the Republic's crisis, tracing it back to Sulla and then forwards through the greed and ambition of the 'n.o.bles'. Seen as a follower of Thucydides, Sall.u.s.t had none of his intellectual depth. But his histories became a school-text for the greater mind of Tacitus and, centuries later, for St Augustine and his view of the l.u.s.t for power in Roman history, as a.n.a.lysed in his City of G.o.d City of G.o.d.

At the time the 'decisive s.h.i.+ft' which was visible was political, not literary. In November 42 Antony and Octavian went east and defeated the almost equally enormous army of Brutus and Ca.s.sius in two battles at Philippi. Both of the Liberators, Caesar's murderers, died. It was Mark Antony who earned the military credit, whereas even Octavian's close friends had to admit that he had hidden in the marshes. Octavian was no natural soldier and he later claimed to have been kept from battle, first by an ominous dream, then by sickness. As the dominant figure, Antony retained responsibility both for Gaul and the East at this point. Octavian returned to his much smaller responsibilities, above all to Italy where he had to engage both with s.e.xtus Pompeius' fleet off Sicily and the extremelyawkward problem of overseeing the expropriation of land from up to twenty Italian towns. It involved ejecting the humble occupants in order to settle ever more of Caesar's veteran soldiers. Already, promises to the troops had multiplied, including those in cash, a reason why such vast numbers continued to fight. At Philippi, the triumvirs' army alone equalled any force maintained by Alexander the Great at his zenith: the impossible sum of 150,000 talents had already been promised in arrears and bonuses.

In the aftermath of Philippi, the protagonists' personal images developed differently. Octavian was still only in his early twenties; his portraits on his coins expressed youth and dignity, while his patron G.o.d was Apollo, the G.o.d of moral restraint and dignity, the arts and prophecy. His strongest card was his adoption by Caesar. He played it to the full by a serial change of names. First, he had called himself 'Caesar' too: then, 'Caesar, son of the divine one' (divi filius).3 He claimed the further protection of Venus, the ancestral G.o.ddess of the Julii. His 'father' Julius had particularly favoured the Asian city of Aphrodisias, whose leaders had presented themselves as the special city of Venus, Caesar's divine ancestor. The city had been badly treated under the Liberators in 43/2, but the new 'Caesar' then wrote in 39 He claimed the further protection of Venus, the ancestral G.o.ddess of the Julii. His 'father' Julius had particularly favoured the Asian city of Aphrodisias, whose leaders had presented themselves as the special city of Venus, Caesar's divine ancestor. The city had been badly treated under the Liberators in 43/2, but the new 'Caesar' then wrote in 39 BC BC to affirm that he would keep it 'free' as his city in Asia. His letter was rediscovered only recently at Aphrodisias and shows that in such personal matters, the division of the East and West with Antony was not cast-iron. to affirm that he would keep it 'free' as his city in Asia. His letter was rediscovered only recently at Aphrodisias and shows that in such personal matters, the division of the East and West with Antony was not cast-iron.4 Antony, by contrast, took on a much more flamboyant role. After the victory at Philippi, he went down for the winter of 42/1 to Athens where he won Greek hearts by attending to intellectual debates, remaining accessible and liking to be called not just 'philh.e.l.lene' but 'friend of Athens'.5 Like Julius Caesar, he had hard words for neighbouring Megara, a sure way, since the age of Pericles, to win Athenian affection. In the following spring (41 Like Julius Caesar, he had hard words for neighbouring Megara, a sure way, since the age of Pericles, to win Athenian affection. In the following spring (41 BC BC) he crossed into Asia and found himself, like other powerful Romans before him, being welcomed as a G.o.d.

In 41 Antony still had responsibility in Gaul too, and so the Greek East was only one area of significance for him. At Ephesus, however, the Greeks promptly greeted him as a 'new Dionysus'. He drew a circle of Greek acolytes; perhaps there really were processions around him of men dressed as Pans and satyrs and women as wild Bacchants; in Greek eyes, Antony was as powerful as the many kings for whom these shows had been mobilized before. But there was a reciprocal willingness in Antony himself. He had been accompanied to the East bya famous courtesan, Volumnia. In the previous decade he had seen his superior officer, Gabinius, going along with such 'luxury' and the free ways of the East. As his funeral speech over Caesar showed, he also had a sense of theatre, just what his new Greek friends (including actors and mime artists) appreciated in a h.e.l.lenistic king. But Antony also had important work to do, raising yet more money and appointing new client-rulers over the adjoining hinterlands of Asia Minor. The Liberators had complicated both tasks by robbing the Greek cities and by favouring allies who could no longer be trusted. Antony had a good eye for a client king and both now and especially in 37/6 his main appointments, including Herod, proved capable and durable. If he wanted to appeal to his newly confirmed kinglets and to smooth the necessary exaction of money (nine years' tribute, to be paid in two years), it was helpful to go along with Greek honours and compliments. They helped both parties to soften the hard edges of power.

Antony also had a sharp eye for a client queen. Already in summer 41 he slept with one nominee, Queen Glaphyra, and ever fertile, fathered a child on her. Then in autumn 41 he met another, vastly more important one: Cleopatra of Egypt, who was now aged twenty-eight to Antony's forty-two and was still a crucial player in the balance of power and finance in the East. There was also something else. She had had the baby son Caesarion in 47 BC BC and since leaving Rome in 44 she had continued to claim that his father was Julius Caesar. The truth mattered less than the fact that she claimed it and that n.o.body could prove her wrong. and since leaving Rome in 44 she had continued to claim that his father was Julius Caesar. The truth mattered less than the fact that she claimed it and that n.o.body could prove her wrong.

When summoned to Antony at Tarsus, Cleopatra arrived as befitted an eastern queen, in a golden boat under a golden canopy, with roses, it was said, strewn thickly on the floor.6 She seemed like Aphrodite while her maids resembled Cupids: Shakespeare's magnificent lines on the occasion are based on Plutarch's well-founded ancient account. Yet again, a Roman general could not resist her. She and Antony entertained each other in turn on their boats, made love and returned for the winter to Alexandria. It was later said that when Antony bet her that she could not eat a dinner worth millions of sesterces, she took an enormous pearl and dissolved it in a cup of vinegar. She is said to have drunk it and won the bet, leaving a story which, centuries later, inspired Tiepolo's magnificent frescos in the Palazzo l.a.b.i.a in Venice. Octavian, meanwhile, was bogged down by a siege of Perusia (modern Perugia) in Italy and was writing coa.r.s.e verses about the choice between 's.c.r.e.w.i.n.g' jealous Fulvia (Antony's wife) or making war, not love. She seemed like Aphrodite while her maids resembled Cupids: Shakespeare's magnificent lines on the occasion are based on Plutarch's well-founded ancient account. Yet again, a Roman general could not resist her. She and Antony entertained each other in turn on their boats, made love and returned for the winter to Alexandria. It was later said that when Antony bet her that she could not eat a dinner worth millions of sesterces, she took an enormous pearl and dissolved it in a cup of vinegar. She is said to have drunk it and won the bet, leaving a story which, centuries later, inspired Tiepolo's magnificent frescos in the Palazzo l.a.b.i.a in Venice. Octavian, meanwhile, was bogged down by a siege of Perusia (modern Perugia) in Italy and was writing coa.r.s.e verses about the choice between 's.c.r.e.w.i.n.g' jealous Fulvia (Antony's wife) or making war, not love.7 In Egypt, Antony as the 'new Dionysus' acquired an unforeseen aptness. Dionysus was the G.o.d whom the kings, the Ptolemies, honoured as their ancestor; he was also the consort of the G.o.ddess Isis who was sometimes equated with the Ptolemaic queen. At Alexandria, meanwhile, the art for human beings was to mix high life with low. Antony and Cleopatra excelled at it. They founded their own exotic club and called it the Inimitable Lives: we have even found an inscription for a statue-base in which a Greek, calling himself 'Parasitos' (the 'parasite'), honours Antony as a G.o.d (in 34 BC BC) and as 'Inimitable at s.e.x'.8 Music, acting and the world of mythological models set their revels far apart from a modern wallow in drugs and debauchery. At night, in plain clothes, they would roam the streets of Alexandria among inhabitants who had always relished a witty exchange with their kings. They drank, they played dice, they hunted. Antony was not living out some stereotype of the decadent man of 'luxury', although critics pinned this label to him. Princes in the h.e.l.lenistic world were loved for luxurious display, as several Ptolemies had exemplified, especially Ptolemy IV and Cleopatra's own father. Antony had a flamboyant, theatrical streak in him, combined with the down-to-earth coa.r.s.eness of a hardened soldier. He sported with the cultured attention paid to him, but then repaid it in his own uproarious style. Its models were dramatic and theatrical, with the support of myth and poetry which had surrounded Alexander's Successor kings. By the spring Cleopatra was heavilypregnant with what turned out to be twins, a boy and a girl. Music, acting and the world of mythological models set their revels far apart from a modern wallow in drugs and debauchery. At night, in plain clothes, they would roam the streets of Alexandria among inhabitants who had always relished a witty exchange with their kings. They drank, they played dice, they hunted. Antony was not living out some stereotype of the decadent man of 'luxury', although critics pinned this label to him. Princes in the h.e.l.lenistic world were loved for luxurious display, as several Ptolemies had exemplified, especially Ptolemy IV and Cleopatra's own father. Antony had a flamboyant, theatrical streak in him, combined with the down-to-earth coa.r.s.eness of a hardened soldier. He sported with the cultured attention paid to him, but then repaid it in his own uproarious style. Its models were dramatic and theatrical, with the support of myth and poetry which had surrounded Alexander's Successor kings. By the spring Cleopatra was heavilypregnant with what turned out to be twins, a boy and a girl.

There were other gains for the partners. Antony needed Egypt's loyalty, its invaluable riches and its co-operation in the eastward attacks on Parthian territory which he was probably already planning. Cleopatra wanted to be strengthened against her sister and her many enemies in Egypt; obligingly, Antony hunted them all down. But sound reasons were already only part of the story. During winter 41/0, the Parthians struck first, pressing far into Syria. If Antony had been at Antioch, on alert, would they really have come so far west? Meanwhile, back in Italy, Antony's brother Lucius and his loyal wife Fulvia had exploited the discontent which the proscriptions and veteran settlements were causing: they had declared war against Octavian in the name of 'freedom'. They had also found a natural ally, s.e.xtus Pompeius, Pompey's son. s.e.xtus could use his naval supremacy to squeeze the grain-supply into Italy and provoke second thoughts among the crowds in Rome about their favour for Octavian 'Caesar's' cause. Was Antony really so cut off by the winter seas in Egypt that he could not have urged his friends in the West to seize the moment, a.s.sist his family, and multiply Octavian's serious troubles as he fought a grim war round Perusia? Arguably, chances were being missed while Antony's mind was on Alexandria and pa.s.sion.

When Antony did return westwards, from February 40 onwards, the cause of 'freedom' and the 'Republic' took a novel turn: its supporters attached themselves to Antony's advance. Cicero would have turned in his grave. The brave s.e.xtus Pompeius was also looking to Antony for support, and a combined strike at Octavian in Italymight well have succeeded. But once again the two leaders' veteran soldiers refused to fight each other after their last horrible encounter up at Mutina three years before. In autumn 40, at Brundisium, Octavian and Antony met and made a pact instead. Octavian agreed to marry Scribonia, the sister, significantly, of an important senator who was the father-in-law of s.e.xtus Pompeius. The marriage was to an older woman who had already had two husbands but it was surely an attempt to win her brother over from s.e.xtus' camp and damage the young Pompey who had become a major player on the stage. Since the summer of 40, crucially, Antony had lost control of Gaul; he was now centred on the East, and his part of the pact was simply to marry Octavian's elegant sister, Octavia (his own wife Fulvia had died). Nothing was agreed about Cleopatra and the twins.

After the pact the two rivals went up to Rome where their welcome was far from one-sided. s.e.xtus had damaged the city's imports of grain. Had people begun to wonder if Pompey's son was perhaps a sounder and straighter bet than Julius Caesar's heir? Both Octavian and Antony had troubles with their own officers, and in 39 BC BC it was as well that they sought to make terms with s.e.xtus in the south. He was now calling himself 'son of Neptune', the sea-G.o.d, an allusion to his own sea-power and to his father Pompey's great naval victories over pirates. In late summer 39 the three of them eventuallymet down at Cape Misenum. s.e.xtus was offered Sicily and other territory and promised a consuls.h.i.+p years in advance; the slaves with him were to be freed and his veterans would be eligible for rewards. These offers would make such people much harder for s.e.xtus to retain. When Antony and Octavian joined him for dinner on his s.h.i.+p, it was said that s.e.xtus' 'pirate' captain urged him to cut the cable and leave the two rivals at his mercy so that he, s.e.xtus, could be master of all the world. it was as well that they sought to make terms with s.e.xtus in the south. He was now calling himself 'son of Neptune', the sea-G.o.d, an allusion to his own sea-power and to his father Pompey's great naval victories over pirates. In late summer 39 the three of them eventuallymet down at Cape Misenum. s.e.xtus was offered Sicily and other territory and promised a consuls.h.i.+p years in advance; the slaves with him were to be freed and his veterans would be eligible for rewards. These offers would make such people much harder for s.e.xtus to retain. When Antony and Octavian joined him for dinner on his s.h.i.+p, it was said that s.e.xtus' 'pirate' captain urged him to cut the cable and leave the two rivals at his mercy so that he, s.e.xtus, could be master of all the world.9 Pompey's heir was more scrupulous than Caesar's, and did nothing. At Rome, meanwhile, Antony continued to own the great Pompey's house. Pompey's heir was more scrupulous than Caesar's, and did nothing. At Rome, meanwhile, Antony continued to own the great Pompey's house.

A pact did not solve what was now an uneasy triangle; late in 39, Octavian felt confident enough to compound it bydivorcing Scribonia. Instead, he fell in love (we are told) with Livia, the wife of a n.o.ble senator who had fled to s.e.xtus to escape the recent proscriptions. In January 38 he went on to marry her, and she would remain his wife for more than fifty years of childless marriage. At the time she was pregnant by her previous husband, but for Octavian she had another attraction: she was the granddaughter of the great Livius Drusus who had been so significant for the Italians' cause back in 91 BC BC. Octavian's image in Italy certainly needed to be enhanced.

As for Antony, it suited him if s.e.xtus and Octavian now fought each other off the coast of Italy. He left Rome in October 39 (he would never see it again) and went east to Athens, from where he could visit the war which had begun against Parthia. Matters were still going his way there. In 39 and 38 his able general Ventidius won two good victories over the Parthians in the Near East. At Athens, meanwhile, the people hailed him as 'new Dionysus' and took his new wife Octavia to heart as their 'divine Benefactress'. Octavian, by contrast, turned on s.e.xtus, hoping to eliminate him, but failed. In 37 the wayforward was obvious: Antony himself should follow up in the East, attack the Parthians as directlyas possible and take advantage of the quarrels which had split their royal family. Octavian, meanwhile, would be bogged down in yet more civil war with s.e.xtus Pompeius off Italy. Success in the East would eclipse the new 'Caesar's' star, because Parthia had been Julius Caesar's last known objective. By 33, when there would be the next break in the triumvirs' five-year powers, Antony could return to Rome as the most glorious conqueror, rich with Eastern booty.

Even without his hold on Gaul, Antony was still the stronger of the two rivals. However, his infantrywas not strong enough to be sure of conquering Parthia and so he needed recruits from Italy in order to maximize his chances. In summer 37 he crossed to south Italy with a huge force of 300 s.h.i.+ps, an advantage which Octavian would envy in his own struggles against s.e.xtus. After threatening to fight, however, Antony was obliged to negotiate and at Tarentum, the rivals agreed yet another pact: Antony would give Octavian s.h.i.+ps to conclude the war against s.e.xtus, while Octavian would give him troops to use against Parthia. It was to be the last pact, but its outcome was not as Antony hoped. Both the main players had war in mind, but whereas Antony gave Octavian s.h.i.+ps, he did not receive from Octavian most of the promised troops. At the time, Octavia had helped the pact along by mediating between her husband and her brother. In only three years of marriage Antony had already fathered two healthy daughters on her (a third, perhaps, had been short-lived). But there would now be problems for her, too. She was not to go east with him: there were the girls, perhaps a pregnancy, and all the eastern dangers, but there was promptly something else. In winter 37/6 Antony had returned to Antioch, preparing for the Parthian War, and to him came Cleopatra, his 'Egyptian dish'. She may not have been given all the new territoryshe wanted, but she certainlyreceived significant swathes of it. She also became pregnant with yet another son.

Like the Parthian venture, Cleopatra had Julius Caesar's imprint. Together, they would allow the 'new Dionysus' to counter Octavian's trump card, his name as the new 'Caesar': Cleopatra also had the little Caesarion, the son, they still said, of Julius Caesar's own blood. Antony even wrote to the Senate to insist on the boy's parentage. Seeing the chance and the danger, Octavian began the most overt war of spin-doctoring yet mounted in the ancient world. He made fun of Antony's women in coa.r.s.e verses; he dismissed him as a drunk voluptuary in thrall to a queen of Egypt and her animal-G.o.ds; in due course, he would even open Antony's will and allege that he planned to transfer the capital to Alexandria and be buried beside the Nile. Staid opinion in the towns of Italy might believe these shocking, but riveting, stories. At Rome, many senators were less bothered. Antony defended himself in a pamphlet 'On His Own Drunkenness' (sadly lost to us) and wrote an earthy letter, observing that Cleopatra was not his wife, that Octavian had all sorts of drearylittle women on the side and that 'what did it matter where a man stuck his c.o.c.k?'10 Octavian was also said to have a 'prettyboy', Sarmentus, presumably a slave. Octavian was also said to have a 'prettyboy', Sarmentus, presumably a slave.

The year 36 nonetheless proved pivotal. In it, Octavian at last succeeded in defeating s.e.xtus Pompeius at sea. The credit for the naval victorybelonged to his officer Agrippa, but Octavian won popular favour by having the prisoners executed in a show at Rome. s.e.xtus did escape but only to be put to death in the East a year later. Instead, Octavian took the 'sacrosanct' protection of a tribune both for himself and for poor Octavia who could be cleverly represented as Antony's 'abandoned' wife: he vowed the spoils of victory to a ma.s.sive new temple of Apollo in Rome beside which he would place his own house, not far from the supposed ancient 'hut of Romulus'.11 Antony, by contrast, had to cover up a campaign against Parthia which went badlywrong. After a change of direction, Antony had marched north from Syria, then east through Armenia, apparently hoping to win by a pitched battle. However, the Parthians were a mobile enemy who would keep retreating despite the loss of a fort or city. Antony was fighting a war as if it was the previous one, his campaign with Julius Caesar in the very different setting of Gaul. Antony, by contrast, had to cover up a campaign against Parthia which went badlywrong. After a change of direction, Antony had marched north from Syria, then east through Armenia, apparently hoping to win by a pitched battle. However, the Parthians were a mobile enemy who would keep retreating despite the loss of a fort or city. Antony was fighting a war as if it was the previous one, his campaign with Julius Caesar in the very different setting of Gaul.12 His army was huge, about two-thirds bigger than Alexander's in western Asia, and more than 30,000 of his soldiers died on their cold, hungry retreat during winter 36/5. Antony was left to celebrate a hollow victory. In 35 he prepared to invade Armenia again, and Octavian artfully compromised him: he sent him troops (a mere 2,000 of those promised in 37) and his Octavia as an envoy. Antony took the troops, but forbade Octavia to meet him: he was too involved with Cleopatra. In summer 34 he did regain Armenia, but reports of his celebration were alarming. He and Cleopatra sat on golden thrones in the gymnasium in Alexandria; he gave her yet more territory and named her 'queen of kings'. He gave royal t.i.tles to their young son and daughter (called the Sun and the Moon) and, above all, he named Caesarion, now seventeen years old, the 'king of kings'. His army was huge, about two-thirds bigger than Alexander's in western Asia, and more than 30,000 of his soldiers died on their cold, hungry retreat during winter 36/5. Antony was left to celebrate a hollow victory. In 35 he prepared to invade Armenia again, and Octavian artfully compromised him: he sent him troops (a mere 2,000 of those promised in 37) and his Octavia as an envoy. Antony took the troops, but forbade Octavia to meet him: he was too involved with Cleopatra. In summer 34 he did regain Armenia, but reports of his celebration were alarming. He and Cleopatra sat on golden thrones in the gymnasium in Alexandria; he gave her yet more territory and named her 'queen of kings'. He gave royal t.i.tles to their young son and daughter (called the Sun and the Moon) and, above all, he named Caesarion, now seventeen years old, the 'king of kings'.13 Caesar's adopted heir, Octavian, was right to be alarmed, but there was an extravagance here which he could attack instead. Among all the propaganda, it does seem that Antony was overplaying his relations.h.i.+p. In my view, Cleopatra still fascinated him. Caesar's adopted heir, Octavian, was right to be alarmed, but there was an extravagance here which he could attack instead. Among all the propaganda, it does seem that Antony was overplaying his relations.h.i.+p. In my view, Cleopatra still fascinated him.