I 



his wife's and brother's imprudent conspiracy against Oetavian; of his wife's 

 death, his hasty marriage to Oetavian' s sister, Octavia, and their two daughters 

 together; and of his disastrous Parthian campaign. 



Antony had designs to build a base of power in the East and then to 

 challenge Oetavian in Italy. I traveled to meet him at Antioch, and new 

 negotiations commenced. I could provide the fleet and provisions that he 

 needed, but in exchange I asked for the ultimate prize: the return of die 

 lost eastern Mediterranean empire that my ancestor Ptolemy Philadelphos, 

 the second Ptolemy, had controlled two centuries before. Antony had little 

 choice but to agree. And so, without spilling a drop of Egyptian blood, I 

 regained control of the land to the west of Egypt called Cyrenaica; to our east, 

 Nabataea, Phoenicia, and southern Syria; and to the north, Cilicia and the 

 islands of Cyprus and Crete. When, the following year, I bore Antony another 

 son, I named him Ptolemy Philadelphos in honor of my triumph. 



Roman warships 

 in a fresco from 

 Pompeii 



Antony's campaigning resumed with a long march through Syria and 

 Armenia. That quickly turned into a humiliating disaster, and he was forced 

 to make a weary winter retreat to Syria— his dreams of Italy in abeyance. In the 

 meantime, I was once again summoned from Egypt. This time I hesitated. The 

 balance of power had shifted, and Oetavian was beginning to pose a serious 

 challenge to Antony's authority. Eventually I met Antony in Phoenicia. I 

 brought supplies of warm clothing and food, but not enough money to pay the 

 troops. A few weeks later the two of us retired to Alexandria for the winter. 



f/s/y'//y renewed uA a/td 6ro/ty/it action: I traveled with 

 Antonv as far as the Euphrates, then made mv wav home through my new 

 territories. Later that year, our fortunes seemed to have changed lor the better 

 when Antony captured the king of Armenia, his family, and his treasure. Crowned 

 with ivy leaves and dressed in the golden robe of Dionysos, Antony entered 

 Alexandria in triumph. Later we appeared before our people. I, splendid in the 

 robes of Isis, sat on a golden throne, while Antony sat on a silver throne beside 

 me. I was now officially recognized as the "Queen of Kings and of Sons Who Are 

 Kings." and my son Ptolemy Caesar took his rightful place as "King of Kings." 

 (None of this was well received in Rome, where Oetavian retaliated by spreading 

 laughable rumors: Antony was a drunkard; he was completely under my thumb; 

 he reclined on a golden couch and even urinated in a golden chamberpot!) 

 We spent the next winter assembling a fleet in Ephesus, on the west coast 



46 naiurai. history October 2008 



