Download Analyse in detail Augustus` relationship with Cleopatra, Octavia and

Analyse in detail Augustus’ relationship with Cleopatra, Octavia and Julia
To what extent did Augustus use these women to increase his political power?
Young Octavian began his road to glory in 44BC following the assassination of Julius Caesar, his great-uncle and adoptive father.
By 31BC he was undisputed ruler of Rome and by 27BC he was name ‘Augustus’. His reign would last forty-five years. During
his life, it is known that Augustus manipulated people to his advantage, in particular, his friends and family. In this essay, I will
examine the role Octavia, Cleopatra and Julia played in Augustus’ life and how Augustus used them to advance himself
politically.
Octavia was Augustus’ elder sister and only sibling whom he loved dearly. She was a respectable Roman woman who upheld the
old Roman principles and Augustus was incredibly proud of her and her virtue. She was a desirable young woman, proven to be
fertile, so on the death of her first husband, Marcellus, there were many contenders for her hand. However Octavian (not being
Augustus then) has other ideas. In 42BC Octavian formed the second triumvirate with Mark Antony and Lepidus. Following the
debacle of the civil uprising sparked by Lucius Antonius and Fulvia (Antony’s brother and wife) and the Siege of Perusia in 4140BC, Antony attempted to land at Brundisium and was refused on apparent orders from Octavian. War seemed imminent if
Lepidus and veterans did not intervene. Here, in 40BC they formed the treaty of Brundisium, making peace and solidifying their
allegiance through the arranged marriage of Octavia to Mark Antony (Fulvia having died earlier that year). This union was similar
to that of Caesar and Pompey, united by their mutual love of Julia, Caesar’s daughter and Pompey’s wife. This love prevented the
two men from fighting. Octavian hoped that the same thing would apply for himself and Antony; so long as Octavia lived and
held their regard, theoretically there would be peace between them.
Octavia produced two daughters in her marriage Antony, adding to the brood of children she already had as well as Mark
Antony’s children she was also raising. However, Antony soon tired of Octavia, returning to his Egyptian mistress, divorcing
Octavia in 32BC. This was all the incentive and opportunity that Octavian needed to eliminate Antony and in 31BC, he defeated
Antony and Cleopatra at Actium, cementing his supreme power over the Roman Empire. Following his Actium triumph, Octavian
faced the problem of what to do with Antony and Cleopatra’s children. He would be publically chastised for executing children so
instead he turned to Octavia, giving them to her to raise. Like the good, Roman matron she was, Octavia obliged.
Once Augustus had cemented his position in Rome, he immediately set about finding a successor, preferable of the Julii bloodline.
His first choice was his nephew Marcellus and Octavia’s only son. He promoted Marcellus to the public and senate, letting him
ride beside him in his Actium triumph in 29BC and allowing him to be an Aedile. Octavia was undoubtedly very proud of her son
and the likelihood he would succeed Augustus and thus she was completely devastated when he died in 23BC of food poisoning,
aged only 20. It is said his death affected her so much that following his death, she could not bear to hear his name and withdrew
from much of her public life. Augustus did not help matters as in 20BC he forced Marcus Agrippa to divorce Octavia’s daughter,
Marcella, so that Agrippa could marry Julia and provide Augustus with an heir. This, compounded with her son’s death lead to her
complete withdrawal from all Roman public life. She died of her grief in 11BC, having assisted Augustus in his rise in political
power in Rome, but ultimately becoming very unhappy as a result of it.
Cleopatra, the last Empress of Egypt was inadvertently Octavian’s ally in his political advancement, despite the fact she appeared
to be his enemy. When Mark Antony left Rome in 42BC to conquer the East, he like Caesar before him, fell under the spell of the
Ptolemy queen, the two having a son, Alexander. Despite his marriage to Octavia 40BC, Antony returned to Cleopatra, sending
pregnant Octavia back to Rome in 34BC, divorcing her in 32BC. He had twins with Cleopatra, named Cleopatra and Ptolemy, and
continued his campaign in the East, financed by Cleopatra. It was now that Cleopatra became advantageous to Octavian as her
could use her as an excuse for eliminating the threat of Antony. He did this by promoting the idea that Mark Antony had fallen
under the spell of an Egyptian harlot, just as Caesar had fallen before him. The turning point was when he read Antony’s alleged
will to the senate in 32BC which claimed that Caesarion was the true heir of Caesar, that he wished to be buried with Cleopatra in
Alexandria, that he left Roman land to his children with Cleopatra and finally and most importantly, that he intended to make
Cleopatra the Queen of Rome with Alexandria as its capital. This, compounded with Romans natural dislike and fear of Egypt was
all the excuse Rome needed to wage war on Cleopatra, and consequently, Antony. In that same year, all of Rome swore an Oath
of Allegiance to Octavian and Octavian and Agrippa lead their armies out to face Antony and Egypt.
In 31BC, Octavian and Agrippa and their armies engaged with Cleopatra and Antony off the coast of Actium, Greece. The battle
was decided when Cleopatra, on a favourable wind, fled with her ships, Antony following in hot pursuit, abandoning his men who
surrendered within the week. Cleopatra and Antony returned to Egypt to await Octavian. There allegedly because of a
miscommunication, Antony committed suicide and was dead before Octavian could face him in 30BC. Octavian met Cleopatra,
executed Caesarion and refused her offer of co-rule. He intended to lead her in triumph in Rome and legend has it, Cleopatra and
her maids committed suicide by asp bite, rather than face the humiliation. Cleopatra’s action aided Octavian, rather than ruining
his plans as there was always the question of what to do with her following the triumph. There was also the chance that she may
win the sympathy of the crowd as was the case of her sister when she was lead in triumph by Caesar. Her death provided Octavian
with the perfect way out of the situation. This convenient ending raises the question of whether she actually committed suicide or
if she was dispatched. Either way, her death allowed Octavian to be named Princeps without any controversy and gave him access
to the huge Ptolemy treasuries and the wealthy Egypt, using it as his own personal bank. This wealth and undisputed ascension
inadvertently bequeathed to him by Cleopatra helped him increase his political power in Rome as it allowed him to solidify his
position as defender of Rome and subsequently set himself up to be the supreme leader of Rome.
In Egypt, it was custom for the Royal family to be worshipped as Gods. Indeed Cleopatra was worshipped as the Goddess Isis and
Aphrodite, Mark Antony as Dionysus. Octavian did not dare to promote himself as a God in Rome as it would not be tolerated.
Instead he had statues of himself stationed in the provinces beside the countries Gods. This often meant he was worshipped as a
god and as a result of this, cemented his position of power even more.
Julia was Augustus’ daughter and only child by his second wife, Scribonia. As she was not a boy, she could not be Augustus’ heir
so Augustus married her off accordingly to men of his choice, in the hope she would produce him with a grandson and successor.
When Julia was but a child, she was betrothed to a son of Mark Antony. However, this engagement fell through when Antony fell
from favour, so she was married to her cousin Marcellus instead. Augustus hoped that they would bear a son which would carry
his blood both paternally and maternally. When Marcellus died in 23BC, Julia had not borne him any children to Augustus’ bitter
disappointment. In 20BC, Augustus married Julia off to his friend Agrippa, decades her senior. They produced five children and
three sons; Gaius, Lucius and Agrippa Postumus- Augustus’ new heir. Following the death of Agrippa in 12BC, while she was
still in mourning and pregnant with Agrippa Postumus, she was betrothed to her step-brother, Tiberius, Augustus’ next choice of
successor. Augustus did this so that his grandsons had a guardian and also in the hope that Julia would have more children.
However, their union was not a happy one, ended when Tiberius exiled himself to the island of Rhodes in 6BC.
Augustus used his daughter to advance himself politically by marrying her off to potential successors which would secure his
dynasty. Unfortunately for him, he discovered she was incredibly promiscuous and had brought his name into disrepute.
Humiliated, he exiled her to the island of Pandateria, then remote Italy. She died in AD 14 of starvation; Emperor Tiberius taking
his revenge of his dissolute ex-wife. Despite the fact she produce heirs for Augustus, her depravity called her sons legitimacy into
question. It could be said that the timely deaths of Gaius and Lucius and the banishment of Postumus avoided the question of their
legitimacy. Despite this, if they had lived, I believe they would’ve been Augustus’ heirs and subsequently without Julia, he
would’ve had even more difficulty in securing a successor and continuing the political advancement of himself and his name.
Augustus used Octavia, Cleopatra and Julia to increase his political power. He did this by using them to solidify his position
politically, either by marriage or using them as a scapegoat. Despite the fact Augustus benefited from these ‘relationships’, these
women did not, all suffering misery and ultimately death for Augustus’ benefit. Ultimately, this mattered little to Augustus as
through their sacrifice, he was able to become the undisputed, first Emperor of Rome.