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Professor Cian
Latin 1
16 October 2017
Marcus Antony
Marcus Antonius was born in 83 B.C. in Rome to a well-respected family. Marcus had a
grandfather who was one of Rome’s leading public speakers. Marcus Antonius Creticus, his
father, died while fighting pirates in a military expedition while Marcus was young. Antony
received a great education. The skills Antony learned would eventually lead to help him later in
life with politics, like things such as speaking in public or thinking about topics from different
angles and points of view. As a child, Marcus had many great qualities, like being a loyal friend;
he was brave, athletic, and attractive, but was also reckless, lazy, drank, and was involved with
Marcus Antony was politically affiliated with Caesar himself. Antony received his first
overseas experience in the eastern portion of the Roman Empire, when, during 57 to 55 B.C.E.,
he served with the Roman governor of Syria, which was a province (territory) of Rome. From
there he went to serve with Caesar in Gaul (which is now modern-day France, Germany,
Belgium, and Italy). Caesar conquered Gaul for Rome, and Antony assisted him in suppressing
local rebellion against the Romans. In 50 B.C.E., after returning to Rome, Antony was elected a
tribune, an office that represented the people's interests. Tribunes were expected to stand up for
the rights of individuals and for those who were not members of the highest classes of Roman
society. Antony came into the office at a critical time. Caesar's command in Gaul was coming to
an end, and a group in the Senate was set on bringing Caesar to trial for what they saw as his
misuse of his power. Caesar depended upon the tribunes to look after his interests in Rome, and
Antony did so when he vetoed a decree that required Caesar and the men he commanded to lay
down their arms. However, when the Senate gave its officers special powers to "preserve the
state," Antony felt that the measure would be used against him and he fled to Caesar. By doing
so, he gave Caesar the opportunity to assert his power, because he could claim he was defending
the people's representatives - the tribunes - against the power of the Senate. On March 15, 44
B.C.E., he was assassinated. Antony was spared on the grounds that the aim of the plot was to
remove an illegal ruler, and that killing the consul, who was the chief legitimate officer of the
After Caesar's assassination, Cleopatra set her sights on the dashing Roman general Mark
Antony. The two began an affair, resulting in twins in 40 B.C. Antony wed Cleopatra in 36 B.C.,
and appointed his new wife ruler of Egypt, Cyprus, Crete, and Cyria. This abuse of power so
outraged the Roman Senate that they denounced him a traitor. After losing a major battle at sea,
Antony and Cleopatra were forced to flee to Egypt in 31 B.C. Cleopatra saw her alliance with
Antony as a wonderful opportunity to revive the past glories of the Ptolemies, the royal family
line from which she was descended. What Antony's ideas were is not clear. He was certainly
most dependent on Cleopatra for money, and he did give territory and grant titles to Cleopatra's
family. Cleopatra, in desperation after the Roman Senate denounced Antony a traitor, faked her
own suicide. With Marcus hearing this, he stabbed himself to death. When Cleopatra heard this,
With Caesar's death, Antony was forced to fight a two-front war. One front was against
those who had plotted to kill Caesar. The other was with Caesar's supporters, who were
undecided on how to avenge Caesar and as to who would lead them. Antony might have ensured
his leadership without difficulty if the young Octavian, nephew of Caesar, had not appeared,
claiming to be Caesar's adopted son and heir and also demanding to be given Caesar's political
power. A few months later, Octavian realized he was being used by the Senate and made an
alliance with Marcus. The result was the formation of the Second Triumvirate of Antony,
Octavian, and Lepidus (c. 90–13 B.C.E.) , another of Caesar's former officers. As a triumvirate,
they assumed absolute authority for ruling the empire, although Anthony and Octavian soon
edged Lepidus out of power. Unlike an earlier triumvirate consisting of Caesar, Pompey, and the
politician Crassus (c. 115–53 B.C.E.), which was a mere political alliance, the Second
Triumvirate became a constitutionally established body for ruling the state. Octavian assumed
control in the west, Antony in the east, and Lepidus (for a time) in Africa. (2)
At the close of 33 B.C.E. the Second Triumvirate legally came to an end. At the same
time the crisis between Octavian and Antony was reaching a climax. Antony still had support in
Rome. Octavian turned public opinion against Antony, however, doing so by announcing
Antony's divorce of Octavia for Cleopatra, reading Antony's will (in which his strong ties to
Cleopatra were stressed), and starting rumors against Antony. This immensely impacts Marcus.
Octavian gathered support in Italy, while Antony's Roman friends had mixed emotions about
waging war on the side of the Egyptian queen. The two men and their armies met off at Actium,
Greece, on September 2, 31 B.C.E. In a confused battle Antony's fleet was defeated. He fled
back to Egypt with Cleopatra. Upon Octavian's arrival in Egypt, Antony committed suicide.
Octavian went on to become the first emperor of Rome, taking the name Augustus. (2)