ἐν δὲ Ῥώμῃ βουλομένης Ὀκταουίας πλεῦσαι πρὸς Ἀντώνιον, ἐπέτρεψε Καῖσαρ, ὡς οἱ πλείους λέγουσιν, οὐκ ἐκείνῃ χαριζόμενος, ἀλλʼ ὅπως περιυβρισθεῖσα καὶ καταμεληθεῖσα πρὸς τὸν πόλεμον αἰτίαν εὐπρεπῆ παράσχοι. γενομένη δὲ ἐν Ἀθήναις ἐδέξατο γράμματα παρὰ Ἀντωνίου κελεύοντος αὐτόθι προσμένειν καὶ τὰ περὶ τὴν ἀνάβασιν δηλοῦντος.
But at Rome Octavia was desirous of sailing to Antony, and Caesar gave her permission to do so, as the majority say, not as a favour to her, but in order that, in case she were neglected and treated with scorn, he might have plausible ground for war. When Octavia arrived at Athens, she received letters from Antony in which he bade her remain there and told her of his expedition.
ἡ δέ, καίπερ ἀχθομένη καὶ νοοῦσα τὴν πρόφασιν, ὅμως ἔγραψε πυνθανομένη ποῖ κελεύει πεμφθῆναι τὰ κομιζόμενα πρὸς αὐτόν. ἐκόμιζε δὲ πολλὴν μὲν ἐσθῆτα στρατιωτικήν, πολλὰ δὲ ὑποζύγια καὶ χρήματα καὶ δῶρα τοῖς περὶ αὐτὸν ἡγεμόσι καὶ φίλοις· ἐκτὸς δὲ τούτων στρατιώτας ἐπιλέκτους δισχιλίους εἰς στρατηγικὰς σπείρας κεκοσμημένους ἐκπρεπέσι πανοπλίαις. ταῦτα Νίγρος τις Ἀντωνίου φίλος ἀποσταλεὶς παρʼ αὐτῆς ἔφραζε, καὶ προσετίθει τοὺς ἀξίους καὶ πρέποντας ἐπαίνους.
Octavia, although she saw through the pretext and was distressed, nevertheless wrote to Antony asking whither he would have the things sent which she was bringing to him. For she was bringing a great quantity of clothing for his soldiers, many beasts of burden, and money and gifts for the officers and friends about him; and besides this, two thousand picked soldiers equipped as praetorian cohorts with splendid armour. These things were announced to Antony by a certain Niger, a friend of his who had been sent from Octavia, and he added such praises of her as was fitting and deserved.
αἰσθομένη δὲ ἡ Κλεοπάτρα τὴν Ὀκταουίαν ὁμόσε χωροῦσαν αὑτῇ, καὶ φοβηθεῖσα μὴ τοῦ τρόπου τῇ σεμνότητι καὶ τῇ Καίσαρος δυνάμει προσκτησαμένη τὸ καθʼ ἡδονὴν ὁμιλεῖν καὶ θεραπεύειν Ἀντώνιον ἄμαχος γένηται καὶ κρατήσῃ παντάπασι τοῦ ἀνδρός, ἐρᾶν αὐτὴ προσεποιεῖτο τοῦ Ἀντωνίου, καὶ τὸ σῶμα λεπταῖς καθῄρει διαίταις· τὸ δὲ βλέμμα προσιόντος ἐκπεπληγμένον, ἀπερχομένου δὲ τηκόμενον καὶ ταπεινούμενον ὑπεφαίνετο.
But Cleopatra perceived that Octavia was coming into a contest at close quarters with her, and feared lest, if she added to the dignity of her character and the power of Caesar her pleasurable society and her assiduous attentions to Antony, she would become invincible and get complete control over her husband. She therefore pretended to be passionately in love with Antony herself, and reduced her body by slender diet; she put on a look of rapture when Antony drew near, and one of faintness and melancholy when he went away.
πραγματευομένη δὲ πολλάκις ὀφθῆναι δακρύουσα ταχὺ τῶν δακρύων ἀφῄρει καὶ ἀπέκρυπτεν, ὡς δὴ βουλομένη λανθάνειν ἐκεῖνον. ἐπράττετο δὲ ταῦτα μέλλοντος τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἐκ Συρίας ἀναβαίνειν πρὸς τὸν Μῆδον. οἱ δὲ κόλακες σπουδάζοντες ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς ἐλοιδόρουν τὸν Ἀντώνιον ὡς σκληρὸν καὶ ἀπαθῆ καὶ παραπολλύντα γύναιον εἰς ἕνα καὶ μόνον ἐκεῖνον ἀνηρτημένον.
She would contrive to be often seen in tears, and then would quickly wipe the tears away and try to hide them, as if she would not have Antony notice them. And she practised these arts while Antony was intending to go up from Syria to join the Mede. Her flatterers, too, were industrious in her behalf, and used to revile Antony as hard-hearted and unfeeling, and as the destroyer of a mistress who was devoted to him and him alone.
Ὀκταουίαν μὲν γὰρ πραγμάτων ἕνεκα διὰ τὸν ἀδελφὸν συνελθεῖν καὶ τὸ τῆς γαμετῆς ὄνομα καρποῦσθαι· Κλεοπάτραν δὲ τοσούτων ἀνθρώπων βασιλεύουσαν ἐρωμένην Ἀντωνίου καλεῖσθαι, καὶ τοὔνομα τοῦτο μὴ φεύγειν μηδʼ ἀπαξιοῦν, ἕως ὁρᾶν ἐκεῖνον ἔξεστι καὶ συζῆν· ἀπελαυνομένην δὲ τούτου μὴ περιβιώσεσθαι.
For Octavia, they said, had married him as a matter of public policy and for the sake of her brother, and enjoyed the name of wedded wife; but Cleopatra, who was queen of so many people, was called Antony’s beloved, and she did not shun this name nor disdain it, as long as she could see him and live with him; but if she were driven away from him she would not survive it.
τέλος δʼ οὖν οὕτω τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἐξέτηξαν καὶ ἀπεθήλυναν, ὥστε δείσαντα μὴ Κλεοπάτρα πρόηται τὸν βίον, εἰς Ἀλεξάνδρειαν ἐπανελθεῖν, τὸν δὲ Μῆδον εἰς ὥραν ἔτους ἀναβαλέσθαι, καίπερ ἐν στάσει τῶν Παρθικῶν εἶναι λεγομένων. οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ τοῦτον μὲν ἀναβὰς αὖθις εἰς φιλίαν προσηγάγετο, καὶ λαβὼν ἑνὶ τῶν ἐκ Κλεοπάτρας υἱῶν γυναῖκα μίαν αὐτοῦ τῶν θυγατέρων ἔτι μικρὰν οὖσαν ἐγγυήσας ἐπανῆλθεν, ἤδη πρὸς τὸν ἐμφύλιον πόλεμον τετραμμένος.
At last, then, they so melted and enervated the man that he became fearful lest Cleopatra should throw away her life, and went back to Alexandria, putting off the Mede until the summer season, although Parthia was said to be suffering from internal dissensions. However, he went up and brought the king once more into friendly relations, and after betrothing to one of his sons by Cleopatra one of the king’s daughters who was still small, he returned, his thoughts being now directed towards the civil war.
Ὀκταουίαν δὲ Καῖσαρ ὑβρίσθαι δοκοῦσαν, ὡς ἐπανῆλθεν ἐξ Ἀθηνῶν, ἐκέλευσε καθʼ ἑαυτὴν οἰκεῖν. ἡ δὲ οὐκ ἔφη τὸν οἶκον ἀπολείψειν τοῦ ἀνδρός, ἀλλὰ κἀκεῖνον αὐτόν, εἰ μὴ δι’ ἑτέρας αἰτίας ἔγνωκε πολεμεῖν Ἀντωνίῳ, παρεκάλει τὰ καθʼ ἑαυτὴν ἐᾶν, ὡς οὐδὲ ἀκοῦσαι καλόν, εἰ τῶν μεγίστων αὐτοκρατόρων ὁ μὲν δι’ ἔρωτα γυναικός, ὁ δὲ διὰ ζηλοτυπίαν εἰς ἐμφύλιον πόλεμον Ῥωμαίους κατέστησε.
As for Octavia, she was thought to have been treated with scorn, and when she came back from Athens Caesar ordered her to dwell in her own house. But she refused to leave the house of her husband, nay, she even entreated Caesar himself, unless on other grounds he had determined to make war upon Antony, to ignore Antony’s treatment of her, since it was an infamous thing even to have it said that the two greatest imperators in the world plunged the Romans into civil war, the one out of passion for, and the other out of resentment in behalf of, a woman.
ταῦτα δὲ λέγουσα μᾶλλον ἐβεβαίου δι’ ἔργων. καὶ γὰρ ᾤκει τὴν οἰκίαν, ὥσπερ αὐτοῦ παρόντος ἐκείνου, καὶ τῶν τέκνων οὐ μόνον τῶν ἐξ ἑαυτῆς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν ἐκ Φουλβίας γεγονότων, καλῶς καὶ μεγαλοπρεπῶς ἐπεμελεῖτο· καὶ τοὺς πεμπομένους ἐπὶ ἀρχάς τινας ἢ πράγματα τῶν Ἀντωνίου φίλων ὑποδεχομένη συνέπραττεν ὧν παρὰ Καίσαρος δεηθεῖεν. ἄκουσα δὲ ἔβλαπτε διὰ τούτων Ἀντώνιον· ἐμισεῖτο γὰρ ἀδικῶν γυναῖκα τοιαύτην.
These were her words, and she confirmed them by her deeds. For she dwelt in her husband’s house, just as if he were at home, and she cared for his children, not only those whom she herself, but also those whom Fulvia had borne him, in a noble and magnificent manner; she also received such friends of Antony as were sent to Rome in quest of office or on business, and helped them to obtain from Caesar what they wanted. Without meaning it, however, she was damaging Antony by this conduct of hers; for he was hated for wronging such a woman.
ἐμισήθη δὲ καὶ διὰ τὴν διανέμησιν ἣν ἐποιήσατο τοῖς τέκνοις ἐν Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ, τραγικὴν καὶ ὑπερήφανον καὶ μισορρώμαιον φανεῖσαν. ἐμπλήσας γὰρ ὄχλου τὸ γυμνάσιον καὶ θέμενος ἐπὶ βήματος ἀργυροῦ δύο θρόνους χρυσοῦς, τὸν μὲν ἑαυτῷ, τὸν δὲ Κλεοπάτρᾳ, καὶ τοῖς παισὶν ἑτέρους ταπεινοτέρους,
He was hated, too, for the distribution which he made to his children in Alexandria; it was seen to be theatrical and arrogant, and to evince hatred of Rome. For after filling the gymnasium with a throng and placing on a tribunal of silver two thrones of gold, one for himself and the other for Cleopatra, and other lower thrones for his sons,
πρῶτον μὲν ἀπέφηνε Κλεοπάτραν βασίλισσαν Αἰγύπτου καὶ Κύπρου καὶ Λιβύης καὶ κοίλης Συρίας, συμβασιλεύοντος αὐτῇ Καισαρίωνος, ὃς ἐκ Καίσαρος ἐδόκει τοῦ προτέρου γεγονέναι Κλεοπάτραν ἔγκυον καταλιπόντος· δεύτερον δὲ τοὺς ἐξ αὑτοῦ καὶ Κλεοπάτρας υἱοὺς βασιλεῖς βασιλέων ἀναγορεύσας Ἀλεξάνδρῳ μὲν Ἀρμενίαν ἀπένειμε καὶ Μηδίαν καὶ τὰ Πάρθων, ὅταν ὑπαγάγηται, Πτολεμαίῳ δὲ Φοινίκην καὶ Συρίαν καὶ Κιλικίαν.
in the first place he declared Cleopatra Queen of Egypt, Cyprus, Libya, and Coele Syria, and she was to share her throne with Caesarion. Caesarion was believed to be a son of the former Caesar, by whom Cleopatra was left pregnant. In the second place, he proclaimed his own sons by Cleopatra Kings of Kings, and to Alexander he allotted Armenia, Media and Parthia (when he should have subdued it), to Ptolemy Phoenicia, Syria, and Cilicia.
ἅμα δὲ καὶ προήγαγε τῶν παίδων Ἀλέξανδρον μὲν ἐσθῆτι Μηδικῇ τιάραν καὶ κίταριν ὀρθὴν ἐχούσῃ, Πτολεμαῖον δὲ κρηπῖσι καὶ χλανίδι καὶ καυσίᾳ διαδηματοφόρῳ κεκοσμημένον. αὕτη γὰρ ἦν σκευὴ τῶν ἀπʼ Ἀλεξάνδρου βασιλέων, ἐκείνη δὲ Μήδων καὶ Ἀρμενίων.
At the same time he also produced his sons, Alexander arrayed in Median garb, which included a tiara and upright head-dress, Ptolemy in boots, short cloak, and broad-brimmed hat surmounted by a diadem. For the latter was the dress of the kings who followed Alexander, the former that of Medes and Armenians.
ἀσπασαμένων δὲ τῶν παίδων τοὺς γονεῖς, τὸν μὲν Ἀρμενίων φυλακὴ περιΐστατο, τὸν δὲ Μακεδόνων. Κλεοπάτρα μὲν γὰρ καὶ τότε καὶ τὸν ἄλλον χρόνον εἰς πλῆθος ἐξιοῦσα στολὴν ἱερὰν Ἴσιδος ἐλάμβανε καὶ νέα Ἶσις ἐχρημάτιζε.
And when the boys had embraced their parents, one was given a bodyguard of Armenians, the other of Macedonians. Cleopatra, indeed, both then and at other times when she appeared in public, assumed a robe sacred to Isis, and was addressed as the New Isis.
ταῦτα δὲ εἰς σύγκλητον ἐκφέρων Καῖσαρ καὶ πολλάκις ἐν τῷ δήμῳ κατηγορῶν παρώξυνε τὸ πλῆθος ἐπʼ Ἀντώνιον. ἔπεμπε δὲ καὶ Ἀντώνιος ἀντεγκαλῶν ἐκείνῳ. μέγιστα δʼ ἦν ὧν ἐνεκάλει, πρῶτον μέν, ὅτι Πομπηΐου Σικελίαν ἀφελόμενος οὐκ ἔνειμε μέρος αὐτῷ τῆς νήσου· δεύτερον, ὅτι χρησάμενος ναῦς παρʼ αὐτοῦ πρὸς τὸν πόλεμον ἀπεστέρησε· τρίτον, ὅτι τὸν συνάρχοντα Λέπιδον ἐκβαλὼν τῆς ἀρχῆς καὶ ποιήσας ἄτιμον αὐτὸς ἔχει στρατὸν καὶ χώραν καὶ προσόδους τὰς ἐκείνῳ προσνεμηθείσας·
By reporting these things to the senate and by frequent denunciations before the people Caesar tried to inflame the multitude against Antony. Antony, too, kept sending counter-accusations against Caesar. The chief accusations which he made were, in the first place, that after taking Sicily away from Pompey, Caesar had not assigned a part of the island to him; in the second place, that after borrowing ships from him for the war he had kept them for himself; thirdly, that after ejecting his colleague Lepidus from office and degrading him, he was keeping for himself the army, the territory, and the revenues which had been assigned to Lepidus:
ἐπὶ πᾶσιν, ὅτι τοῖς αὑτοῦ στρατιώταις ἅπασαν ὀλίγου δεῖν Ἰταλίαν κατακεκληρούχηκε, μηδὲν λιπὼν τοῖς ἐκείνου. πρὸς ταῦτα Καῖσαρ ἀπελογεῖτο Λέπιδον μὲν ὑβρίζοντα καταπαῦσαι τῆς ἀρχῆς, ἃ δὲ ἔσχηκε πολεμήσας, νεμήσεσθαι πρὸς Ἀντώνιον ὅταν κἀκεῖνος Ἀρμενίαν πρὸς αὐτόν· τοῖς δὲ στρατιώταις Ἰταλίας μὴ μετεῖναι· Μηδίαν γὰρ ἔχειν καὶ Παρθίαν αὐτούς, ἃς προσεκτήσαντο Ῥωμαίοις καλῶς ἀγωνισάμενοι μετὰ τοῦ αὐτοκράτορος.
finally that he had distributed almost all Italy in allotments, to his own soldiers, and had left nothing for the soldiers of Antony. To these charges Caesar replied by saying that he had deposed Lepidus from office because he was abusing it, and as for what he bad acquired in war, he would share it with Antony whenever Antony, on his part, should share Armenia with him; and Antony’s soldiers had no claim upon Italy, since they had Media and Parthia, which countries they had added to the Roman dominion by their noble struggles under their imperator.
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