8. ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA ~ November 11th ~ November 17th ~ PART FOUR - The Queen of Beasts - 36 BC to 33 BC - Sections 18 - 20 - (324-370); No-Spoilers Please

[Vicki, Assisting Moderator - Ancient Roman History]

Hello Everyone,

For the week of November 11th - November 17th, we are reading Part Four - The Queen of Beasts - 36 BC to 33 BC - Sections 18 - 20 of the book Antony and Cleopatra.

The eighth week's reading assignment is:

Week 8 – November 11th - November 17th
Part Four - The Queen of Beasts - 36 BC to 33 BC - Sections 18 - 20 - (324-370)

We will open up a thread for each week's reading. Please make sure to post in the particular thread dedicated to those specific chapters and page numbers to avoid spoilers. We will also open up supplemental threads as we did for other spotlighted books.

This book was kicked off on September 23rd.

We look forward to your participation. Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Borders and other noted on line booksellers do have copies of the book and shipment can be expedited. The book can also be obtained easily at your local library, or on your Kindle. This weekly thread will be opened up on November 11th.

There is no rush and we are thrilled to have you join us. It is never too late to get started and/or to post.

Vicki Cline will be moderating this discussion and the back-up will be Jill.

Welcome,

Bentley

TO ALWAYS SEE ALL WEEKS' THREADS, SELECT VIEW ALL

by Colleen McCullough

REMEMBER NO SPOILERS ON THE WEEKLY NON SPOILER THREADS - ON EACH WEEKLY NON SPOILER THREAD - WE ONLY DISCUSS THE PAGES ASSIGNED OR THE PAGES WHICH WERE COVERED IN PREVIOUS WEEKS. IF YOU GO AHEAD OR WANT TO ENGAGE IN MORE EXPANSIVE DISCUSSION - POST THOSE COMMENTS IN ONE OF THE SPOILER THREADS. THESE CHAPTERS HAVE A LOT OF INFORMATION SO WHEN IN DOUBT CHECK WITH THE CHAPTER OVERVIEW AND SUMMARY TO RECALL WHETHER YOUR COMMENTS ARE ASSIGNMENT SPECIFIC. EXAMPLES OF SPOILER THREADS ARE THE GLOSSARY, THE BIBLIOGRAPHY, THE INTRODUCTION AND THE BOOK AS A WHOLE THREADS.

Notes:

It is always a tremendous help when you quote specifically from the book itself and reference the chapter and page numbers when responding. The text itself helps folks know what you are referencing and makes things clear.

Citations:

If an author or book is mentioned other than the book and author being discussed, citations must be included according to our guidelines. Also, when citing other sources, please provide credit where credit is due and/or the link. There is no need to re-cite the author and the book we are discussing however.

Here is the link to the thread titled Mechanics of the Board which will help you with the citations and how to do them.

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/2...

Introduction Thread:

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

Table of Contents and Syllabus

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

Glossary

Remember there is a glossary thread where ancillary information is placed by the moderator. This is also a thread where additional information can be placed by the group members regarding the subject matter being discussed.

Here is the link:

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/8...

Bibliography

There is a Bibliography where books cited in the text are posted with proper citations and reviews. We also post the books that the author may have used in his research or in her notes. Please also feel free to add to the Bibliography thread any related books, etc. with proper citations or other books either nonfiction or historical fiction that relate to the subject matter of the book itself. No self-promotion, please.

Here is the link:

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/8...

Book as a Whole and Final Thoughts - SPOILER THREAD

by Colleen McCullough

[Vicki, Assisting Moderator - Ancient Roman History]

Chapter Overview and Summaries

Part IV

The Queen of Beasts - 36 BC to 33 BC

Section – 18

In Leuke Kome, on the coast of Syria, all Antony’s troops from the failed Parthian campaign have finally arrived and been tended to by Cleopatra’s medical team. Cleopatra is surprised when Antony’s share of Sextus Pompey’s hoard arrives; she assumed Octavian would renege on the agreement. Antony is still drinking heavily. In Antioch, he receives a bunch of letters from various people about what’s been happening in Rome. In particular, he’s very upset at reading what Octavian said about him and Cleopatra in the Senate. Cleopatra sees that Antony will have to be separated from Rome and made to see that his future is in the East with her; once they are triumphant there, they can conquer Rome and Octavian and then Caesarion can be King of Rome. A few months later Antony and Cleopatra are married. Antony sobers up and lays out his (and Cleopatra’s) plans to Canidius for another try at Parthia starting in Armenia.

Section – 19

In Rome, Octavian tells his sister that he wants her to go to Athens with a fleet of ships and a bunch of war machines for Antony. She’s delighted at the thought of seeing her husband again. He sends Gaius Fonteius with her. Fonteius is devoted to Octavia and makes it his business to see that she has anything she wants. She’s disappointed that Antony won’t come to Athens, and has heard the news that he married Cleopatra. Fonteius gets her to see that the marriage was political and is really meaningless in Rome; she feels better. But a couple of harsh letters from Antony telling her to go back to Rome devastate her, and she does go back. Octavian has gotten what he wanted – cruel Antony married to a foreigner and deserting lovely Octavia, an ideal Roman matron. This will make Antony look very bad to the people and Senate of Rome.

Section – 20

Antony remains in Antioch while Cleopatra goes back to Alexandria. She’s “purchased” the services of Dellius as Antony’s new close adviser, replacing Fonteius. He’s sent to make a treaty with Media Atropatene so that Antony’s legions can concentrate of conquering Armenia.

Caesarion is almost thirteen and has found some papers written by his father, Caesar, detailing various reforms for Alexandria: free grain for the poor, universal citizenship, free elections. Cleopatra is appalled; these ideas will never be accepted by the Alexandrians. He insists he is Pharaoh along with her and as the male Pharaoh, he has more clout. She finally persuades him to go slowly, work out his ideas over several months and start with the free grain proposal.

[Debbie]

I loved that Cesarion had a chance to show what he was capable of.

[Vicki, Assisting Moderator - Ancient Roman History]

It's too bad we don't really know what he was like, but it's nice to think he was so much his father's son. I guess there are reasons to think he wasn't really Caesar's child, considering Caesar only had one offspring, Julia, Pompey's wife, through all his years of various marriages. That's certainly what Octavian's propaganda said.