The Story of Mark and Cleopatra

         

This romantic tragedy began when Mark Antony, a Roman general and politician , and Cleopatra, the ruthless Queen of Egypt, first locked eyes. Mark had met Cleopatra ten years earlier when she was mistress to Caesar, the famous Roman conqueror. Now she sailed back into his life with a billow of heady incense and shining silk. He was immediately charmed romance bloomed quickly.  They were married for eleven years and had three children. While being a marriage of love luxury and wealth, it was also a marriage of extreme political convenience. Mark needed Cleopatra for supplies, and Cleopatra needed Mark to reclaim old boundaries of her kingdom. Soon Mark’s good fortune was reversed as he lost hundreds of men on various invasions. Relationships with Octavian, Caesars’ successor and Mark’s main rival, grew more and more tense. Eventually it reached the point when Octavian decided Cleopatra was too big a threat and declared war. The combined power of these two leaders was great, but not enough to match that of the Roman army. Knowing Mark was doomed, Cleopatra sent him a letter telling him of her planned suicide, knowing he would soon follow. Guessing true, a dying Mark was sent to Cleopatra’s chambers. Realizing what she had done, she grieved, then as Mark died, she quickly upended poison into her mouth and slumped beside her dead husband. They were buried side by side, in honor of Cleopatra’s last wish.

written by liv