Marcus
Antonius (Latin: M·ANTONIVS·M·F·M·N[1]) (c. January
14, 83 BC – August 1, 30 BC), known in English as
Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general. He
was an important supporter of Gaius Julius Caesar as
a military commander and administrator. After
Caesar's assassination, Antony allied with Octavian
and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus to form an official
triumvirate which modern scholars have labelled the
second triumvirate. The triumvirate broke up in 33
BC. Disagreement between Octavian and Antony turned
to civil war in 31 BC. Antony was defeated by
Octavian at the naval Battle of Actium and then in a
short land battle at Alexandria. He committed
suicide, and his lover, Queen Cleopatra VII of
Egypt, killed herself soon afterwards.
Early life
A member of the Antonia gens, Antony was born in
Rome, around 83 BC. His father was his namesake,
Marcus Antonius Creticus, the son of the great
rhetorician Marcus Antonius Orator executed by Gaius
Marius' supporters in 86 BC. Through his mother,
Julia Antonia, he was a distant cousin of Caesar.
His father died at a young age, leaving him and his
brothers, Lucius and Gaius, in the care of his
mother, who married Publius Cornelius Lentulus Sura,
a politician involved in and executed during the
Catiline conspiracy of 63 BC.
Antony's early life was characterized by a lack of
parental guidance. According to historians like
Plutarch, he spent his teenage years wandering the
streets of Rome with his brothers and friends,
Publius Clodius among them. The connection was
eventually severed by a disagreement arising from
his relations with Clodius's wife, Fulvia. While
they were friends, they embarked on a rather wild
life, frequenting gambling houses, drinking too
much, and involving themselves in scandalous love
affairs. Plutarch mentions the rumor that before
Antony reached 20 years of age, he was already
indebted the sum of 250 talents (equivalent to
$165,000,000 USD).
After this period of recklessness, Antony fled to
Greece to escape his creditors and to study
rhetoric. After a short time spent in attendance on
the philosophers at Athens, he was summoned by Aulus
Gabinius, proconsul of Syria, to take part in the
campaigns against Aristobulus in Judea, and in
support of Ptolemy XII in Egypt. In the ensuing
campaign, he demonstrated his talents as a cavalry
commander and distinguished himself with bravery and
courage. It was during this campaign that he first
visited Alexandria and Egypt.
Supporter of Caesar
In 54 BC, Antony became a member of the staff of
Caesar's armies in Gaul and early Germany. He again
proved to be a competent military leader in the
Gallic Wars, but his personality caused instability
wherever he went. Caesar himself was said to be
frequently irritated by his behavior.
Nevertheless, raised by Caesar's influence to the
offices of quaestor, augur, and tribune of the plebs
(50 BC), he supported the cause of his patron with
great energy. Caesar's two proconsular commands,
during a period of ten years, were expiring in 50
BC, and he wanted to return to Rome for the consular
elections. But resistance from the conservative
faction of the Roman Senate, led by Gnaeus Pompeius
Magnus, demanded that Caesar resign his
proconsulship and the command of his armies before
being allowed to seek re-election to the consulship.
This Caesar would not do, as such an act would leave
him a private citizen—and therefore open to
prosecution for his acts while proconsul—in the
interim between his proconsulship and his second
consulship; it would also leave him at the mercy of
Pompey's armies. The idea was rejected, and Antony
resorted to violence, ending up being expelled from
the Senate. He left Rome, joining Caesar, who had
led his armies to the banks of the Rubicon, the
river that marked the southern limit of his
proconsular authority. With all hopes of a peaceful
solution for the conflict with Pompey gone, Caesar
led his armies across the river into Italy and
marched on Rome, starting the last Republican civil
war. During the civil war, Antony was Caesar's
second in command. In all battles against the
Pompeians, Antony led the left wing of the army, a
proof of Caesar's confidence in him.
When Caesar became dictator, Antony was made Master
of the Horse, the dictator's right hand man, and in
this capacity remained in Italy as the peninsula's
administrator in 47 BC, while Caesar was fighting
the last Pompeians, who had taken refuge in the
African provinces. But Antony's skills as
administrator were a poor match to those as general,
and he seized the opportunity of indulging in the
most extravagant excesses, depicted by Cicero in the
Philippics. In 46 BC he seems to have taken offense
because Caesar insisted on payment for the property
of Pompey which Antony professedly had purchased,
but had in fact simply appropriated. Conflict soon
arose, and, as on other occasions, Antony resorted
to violence. Hundreds of citizens were killed and
Rome herself descended into a state of anarchy.
Caesar was most displeased with the whole affair and
removed Antony from all political responsibilities.
The two men did not see each other for two years.
The estrangement was not of long continuance; for we
find Antony meeting the dictator at Narbo (45 BC),
and rejecting the suggestion of Trebonius that he
should join in the conspiracy that was already
afoot. Reconciliation arrived in 44 BC, when Antony
was chosen as partner for Caesar's fifth consulship.
Whatever conflicts existed between the two men,
Antony remained faithful to Caesar at all times. On
February 15, 44 BC, during the Lupercalia festival,
Antony publicly offered Caesar a diadem. This was an
event fraught with meaning: a diadem was a symbol of
a king, and in refusing it, Caesar demonstrated that
he did not intend to assume the throne.
On March 14, 44 BC, Antony was alarmed by a talk he
had with a Senator named Casca, who told him the
gods would make a strike against Caesar in the Roman
Forum. Fearing the worst, the next day he went down
to head off the dictator. The Liberatores reached
Caesar first, however, and he was assassinated on
March 15, 44 B.C, the date known as the Ides of
March. In the turmoil that surrounded the event,
Antony escaped Rome dressed as a slave, fearing that
the dictator's assassination would be the start of a
bloodbath among his supporters. When this did not
occur, he soon returned to Rome, discussing a truce
with the assassins' faction. For a while, Antony, as
consul of the year, seemed to pursue peace and the
end of the political tension. Following a speech by
Cicero in the Senate, an amnesty was agreed for the
assassins. Then came
the day of Caesar's funeral.
As Caesar's ever-present second in command, partner
in consulship and cousin, Antony was the natural
choice to make the funeral eulogy. In his speech, he
sprang his accusations of murder and ensured a
permanent breach with the conspirators. Showing a
talent for rhetoric and dramatic interpretation,
Antony snatched the toga from Caesar's body to show
the crowd the stab wounds, pointing at each and
naming the authors, publicly shaming them. During
the eulogy he also read Caesar's will, which left
most of his property to the people of Rome,
demonstrating that, contrary to the conspirator's
assertions, Caesar had no intention of forming a
royal dynasty. Public opinion turned, and that
night, the Roman populace attacked the assassins'
houses, forcing them to flee for their lives.
Enemy of the state and triumvir
Antony surrounded himself with a bodyguard of
Caesar's veterans, and forced the senate to transfer
to him the province of Cisalpine Gaul, which was
then administered by Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus,
one of the conspirators. Brutus refused to surrender
the province, and Antony set out to attack him in
October 44 BC. Antony was now besieging Decimus
Brutus at Mutina. Encouraged by Cicero, the Senate
granted Octavian imperium (commanding power), which
made his command of troops legal, and sent him to
relieve the siege along with Hirtius and Pansa, the
consuls for 43 BC.In April 43, Antony's forces were
defeated at the Battles of Forum Gallorum and
Mutina, forcing Antony to retreat to Transalpine
Gaul. However, both consuls were killed, leaving
Octavian in sole command of their armies.[17]
The senate attempted to give command of the consular
legions to Decimus Brutus, but Octavian refused to
surrender them. In July, an embassy from Octavian
entered Rome and demanded that he receive the
consulship. When this was refused, he marched on the
city with eight legions. He encountered no military
opposition, and was elected consul with his relative
Quintus Pedius as colleague. Meanwhile, Antony
formed an alliance with Marcus Aemilius Lepidus,
another leading Caesarian.
When they knew that Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius
Cassius had assembled an army in Greece in order to
march on Rome, Antony, Octavian and Lepidus allied
together to stop Caesar's assassins. After two
battles at Philippi in Macedonia, the Caesarian army
was victorious and Brutus and Cassius committed
suicide (42 BC). After the battle, a new arrangement
was made between the members of the Second
Triumvirate: while Octavian returned to Rome, Antony
went to Egypt where he allied himself with Queen
Cleopatra VII, who was the former lover of Julius
Caesar and mother of Caesar's infant son, Caesarion.
Lepidus went on to govern Hispania and the province
of Africa. Later in
October Antony set out to Egypt and met Caesar's
former lover, Cleopatra. He wanted Cleopatra for
Egypt's wealth, and she wanted Antony for the Roman
armies under his control.
Antony and Cleopatra
With this military purpose on his mind, Antony
sailed to Greece with his new wife, where he behaved
in a most extravagant manner, assuming the
attributes of the god Dionysus (39 BC). But the
rebellion in Sicily of Sextus Pompeius, the last of
the Pompeians, kept the army promised to Antony in
Italy. With his plans again severed, Antony and
Octavian quarreled once more. This time with the
help of Octavia, a new treaty was signed in Tarentum
in 38 BC. The triumvirate was renewed for a period
of another five years (ending in 33 BC) and Octavian
promised again to send legions to the East.
But by now, Antony was skeptical of Octavian's true
support of his Parthian cause. Leaving Octavia
pregnant of her second Antonia in Rome, he sailed to
Alexandria, where he expected funding from
Cleopatra, the mother of his twins. The queen of
Egypt lent him the money he needed for the army, and
after capturing Jerusalem and surrounding areas in
37 BC, he put in Herod the Great as puppet king of
Judaea. After invading Cilicia and Syria, Antony
invaded the Parthian Empire with an army of 100,000
legionnaries but the campaign proved a disaster.
After a series of defeats in battle, Antony lost
most of his army during a retreat through Armenia in
the peak of winter.
Meanwhile, in Rome, the triumvirate was no more.
Lepidus was forced to resign after an ill-judged
political move. Now in sole power, Octavian was
occupied in wooing the traditional Republican
aristocracy to his side. He married Livia and
started to attack Antony in order to raise himself
to power. He argued that Antony was a man of low
morals to have left his faithful wife abandoned in
Rome with the children to be with the promiscuous
queen of Egypt. Antony was accused of everything,
but most of all, of "becoming native", an
unforgivable crime to the proud Romans. Several
times Antony was summoned to Rome, but remained in
Alexandria with Cleopatra.
Again with Egyptian money, Antony invaded Armenia,
this time successfully. In the return, a mock Roman
Triumph was celebrated in the streets of Alexandria.
The parade through the city was a pastiche of Rome's
most important military celebration. For the finale,
the whole city was summoned to hear a very important
political statement. Surrounded by Cleopatra and her
children, Antony was about to put an end to his
alliance with Octavian. He distributed kingdoms
between his children: Alexander Helios was named
king of Armenia and Parthia (which was never
conquered by Rome), his twin Cleopatra Selene got
Cyrenaica and Libya, and the young Ptolemy
Philadelphus was awarded Syria and Cilicia. As for
Cleopatra, she was proclaimed Queen of Kings and
Queen of Egypt, to rule with Caesarion (Ptolemy XV
Caesar, son of Julius Caesar), King of Kings and
King of Egypt. Most important of all, Caesarion was
declared legitimate son and heir of Caesar. These
proclamations were known as the Donations of
Alexandria and caused a fatal breach in Antony's
relations with Rome.
Distributing insignificant lands among the children
of Cleopatra was not a peace move, but it was not a
serious problem either. What did seriously threaten
Octavian's political position, however, was the
acknowledgement of Caesarion as legitimate and heir
to Caesar's name. Octavian's base of power was his
link with Caesar through adoption, which granted him
much-needed popularity and loyalty of the legions.
To see this convenient situation attacked by a child
borne by the richest woman in the world was
something Octavian could not accept. The triumvirate
expired on the last day of 33 BC and was not
renewed. Another civil war was beginning.
During 33 and 32 BC, a propaganda war was fought in
the political arena of Rome, with accusations flying
between sides. Antony (in Egypt) divorced Octavia
and accused Octavian of being a social upstart, of
usurping power, and of forging the adoption papers
by Caesar. Octavian responded with treason charges:
of illegally keeping provinces that should be given
to other men by lots, as was Rome's tradition, and
of starting wars against foreign nations (Armenia
and Parthia) without the consent of the Senate.
Antony was also held responsible for Sextus
Pompeius' execution with no trial. In 32 BC, the
Senate deprived him of his powers and declared war
against Cleopatra. Both consuls (Gnaeus Domitius
Ahenobarbus and Gaius Sosius) and a third of the
Senate abandoned Rome to meet Antony and Cleopatra
in Greece. In 31 BC,
the war started. Octavian's loyal and talented
general Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa captured the Greek
city and naval port of Methone, loyal to Antony. The
enormous popularity of Octavian with the legions
secured the defection of the provinces of Cyrenaica
and Greece to his side. On September 2, the naval
Battle of Actium took place. Antony and Cleopatra's
navy was destroyed, and they were forced to escape
to Egypt with 60 ships.
Octavian, now close to absolute power, did not
intend to give them rest. In August 30 BC, assisted
by Agrippa, he invaded Egypt. With no other refuge
to escape to, Antony committed suicide by falling on
his sword in the mistaken belief that Cleopatra had
already done so (30 BC). A few days later, Cleopatra
committed suicide. Her servants, Iras and Charmion,
also killed themselves, and Caesarion was murdered.
Antony's daughters by Octavia were spared, as was
his son, Iullus Antonius. But his elder son, Marcus
Antonius Antyllus, was killed by Octavian's men
while pleading for his life in the Caesarium.
Aftermath and legacy
When Antony died, Octavian became uncontested ruler
of Rome. In the following years, Octavian, who was
known as Augustus after 27 BC, managed to accumulate
in his person all administrative, political, and
military offices. When Augustus died in 14 AD, his
political powers passed to his adopted son Tiberius;
the Roman Principate had begun.
The rise of Caesar and the subsequent civil war
between his two most powerful adherents effectively
ended the credibility of the Roman oligarchy as a
governing power and ensured that all future power
struggles would centre upon which of two (or more)
individuals would achieve supreme control of the
government, rather than upon an individual in
conflict with the Senate. Thus Antony, as Caesar's
key adherent and one of the two men around whom
power coalesced following his assassination, was one
of the three men chiefly responsible for the fall of
the Roman Republic.
Antony's marriages and descendants
Antony had been married in succession to Fadia,
Antonia, Fulvia and Octavia, and left behind him a
number of children. Through his daughters by
Octavia, he would be ancestor to the emperors
Caligula, Claudius, and Nero.
- Marriage to Fadia
- Marriage to Antonia Hybrida (his paternal
first cousin). According to Plutarch, Antony
threw her out of his house, because she slept
with his friend, the tribune Publius Cornelius
Dolabella. Antony divorced her, before he
married Fulvia.
- Marriage to Fulvia, by whom he had two sons
- Marcus Antonius Antyllus, executed by
Octavian in 30 BC
- Iullus Antonius Creticus, married
Claudia Marcella Major, daughter of Octavia
- Marriage to Octavia Minor, sister of
Octavian, later Augustus; they had two
daughters
- Antonia Major, married Lucius
Domitius Ahenobarbus; grandmother of the
Emperor Nero
- Antonia Minor, married Drusus, the
son of Livia; mother of the Emperor
Claudius, grandmother of the Emperor
Caligula, great-grandmother of the
Emperor Nero
- Children with Cleopatra VII, Queen
of Egypt, and former lover of Julius
Caesar
- The twins
- Alexander Helios
- Cleopatra Selene II, married
King Juba II of Numidia and
later Mauretania
- Ptolemy Philadelphus.
Chronology
83 BC—born in Rome
54–50 BC—joins Caesar's staff in
Gaul and fights in the Gallic
wars
50 BC—Tribune of the Plebeians
48 BC—Serves as Caesar's Master
of the Horse
47 BC—Ruinous administration of
Italy: political exile
44 BC—First Consulship with
Caesar
43 BC—Forms the Second
Triumvirate with Octavian and
Lepidus
42 BC—Defeats Cassius and Brutus
in the Battle of Philippi;
travels through the East
41 BC—Meets Cleopatra
40 BC—Returns to Rome, marries
Octavia Minor; treaty of
Brundisium
38 BC—Treaty of Tarentum:
Triumvirate renewed until 33 BC
36 BC—Defeated by the Parthians
35 BC—Conquers Armenia
34 BC—The Donations of
Alexandria
33 BC—End of the triumvirate
32 BC—Exchange of accusations
between Octavian and Antony
31 BC—Defeated by Octavian in
the naval Battle of Actium
30 BC—Antony commits suicide in
the mistaken belief that
Cleopatra had already done so
Notes
- Marcus Antonius Marci Filius
Marci Nepos, in English "Mark
Antony, son of Mark, grandson of
Mark".
References
- Caesar, Commentarii de
Bello Gallico and
Commentarii de Bello Civili
- Cicero, Letters and
Philippics
- Orations: The fourteen
Philippics against Marcus
Antonius ~ Tufts University
Classics Collection
- Appian, Bell. Civ. i.–v.
- Dio Cassius xli.–liii
- Plutarch, Parallel Lives
(Lives of the Noble Greeks
and Romans)
- Plutarch's Parallel
Lives: "Antony" ~ Internet
Classics Archive (MIT)
- Plutarch's Parallel
Lives: "Life of Antony" -
Loeb Classical Library
edition, 1920
- Plutarch's Parallel
Lives: "The Comparison of
Demetrius and Antony" ~
Internet Classics Archive
(MIT)
- Groebe, Pauly-Wissowa's
Realencyclopadie
- de Quincey, Thomas,
Essay on the Caesars
- Lytle, William Haines
(1826–1863), Antony and
Cleopatra
- Paul-Marius Martin,
Antoine et Cléopâtre, la fin
d'un rêve, Albin Michel,
1990, 287 p.
- Southern, Pat. Mark
Antony. Stroud,
Gloucestershire, UK: Tempus
Publishing, 1998 (hardcover,
ISBN 0-7524-1406-2).
- This article
incorporates text from the
Encyclopædia Britannica
Eleventh Edition, a
publication now in the
public domain.
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