Mark Antony, Love or Ambitions?
Mark Antony planned to invade Parthia. Mark Antony needed the help and resources of Egypt the most, as it would be a crucial ally in his conquest of the east. Antony sent many requests to Cleopatra, but she simply declined. She must meet with Antony on her terms. Finally, she invited him on her boat and hosted an extremely expensive party. Furthermore, she told him that everything he saw he could keep. She dropped one of the two rarest and biggest pearls in the world into a glass of vinegar and drank it. She arrogantly showed him she was daring and sent a message that she had a tremendous amount of wealth and she didn't hesitate waste it. Cleopatra's conniving strategy to captivate Antony succeeded, later turning into love.
"Each day they hosted banquets for one another at which they squandered unbelievable sums."
- Plutarch (Plutarch, Life of Antony 28)
Cleopatra used her personality to persuade Antony to have a mutually beneficial relationship and an agreement between herself and Antony. She agreed to give her resources and wealth to win Parthia, in return for Antony's help to murder her sister, Arsinoe. After many events in Rome, he married Cleopatra, which made his other wife, Octavian's sister, Octavia, unhappy. Mark Antony and Octavian's rivalry reached its peak.
"Each day they hosted banquets for one another at which they squandered unbelievable sums."
- Plutarch (Plutarch, Life of Antony 28)
Cleopatra used her personality to persuade Antony to have a mutually beneficial relationship and an agreement between herself and Antony. She agreed to give her resources and wealth to win Parthia, in return for Antony's help to murder her sister, Arsinoe. After many events in Rome, he married Cleopatra, which made his other wife, Octavian's sister, Octavia, unhappy. Mark Antony and Octavian's rivalry reached its peak.