Amidst these theatrical surroundings Antony acted, with a kind of childish extravagance, the part of the half-divine Autocrator of the East. When he was sober his mind must have been full of cares and anxieties; but on the many occasions when he was somewhat intoxicated he behaved himself in the manner of an overgrown boy. He delighted in the general recognition of his identity with Bacchus or Dionysos; and he loved to hear himself spoken of as the new “Liber Pater.” In the festivals of that deity he was driven through the streets of Alexandria in a car constructed like that traditionally used by the bibulous god; a golden crown upon his head, often poised, it would seem, at a peculiar angle, garlands of ivy tossed about his shoulders, buskins on his feet, and the thyrsus in his hand. In this manner he was trundled along the stately Street of Canopus, surrounded by leaping women and prancing men, the crowds on either side of the road shouting and yelling their merry salutations to him. A temple in his honour was begun in the Regia at Alexandria, just to the west of the Forum; but this was not completed until some years afterwards, when it was converted into a shrine in honour of Octavian, and was known as the Cæsareum. On one occasion he assigned the part of the sea-god Glaucus to his friend Plancus, who forthwith danced about at a banquet, naked and painted blue, a chaplet of sea-weed upon his head and a fish-tail tied from his waist.
Antony had never troubled himself much in regard to his dignity; and now, in the character of the jolly ruler of the East, he was quite unmindful of his appearance in the eyes of serious men. Often he was to be seen walking on foot by the side of Cleopatra’s chariot, talking to the eunuchs and servants who followed in her train. He caused the Queen to give him the post of Superintendent of the Games,—a position which was not considered to be particularly honourable. It is apparent that her company had become very essential to him, and much notice was taken of the fact that he now accompanied her wherever she went. He rode through the streets at her side, conducted the official and religious ceremonies for her, or sat by her when she was trying cases in the public tribunal. Sometimes when he himself was alone upon the judicial bench, looking out of the window in the midst of some intricate judgment and by chance seeing Cleopatra’s chariot passing by across the square, he would without explanation start up from his seat, run over to her, and walk back to the Palace at her side, leaving the magistrate, police, and prisoners in open-mouthed astonishment.
We hear nothing in regard to Antony’s relations with his children, and it is difficult to picture him as he appeared in the family circle. His stepson Cæsarion, his two sons Alexander and Ptolemy, and his daughter Cleopatra, were all at this time residing in the Palace; and moreover his son by Fulvia, Antyllus, a boy somewhat younger than Cæsarion, had now come to live with him in Alexandria. It is probable that he was an affectionate and indulgent father; and there must have been many happy scenes enacted in the royal nurseries, which, could they have been recorded, would have gone far to correct the popular estimate of the nature of Antony’s home-life with Cleopatra. The Queen was his legal wife;[107] and in contemplating the extravagances and eccentricities of his behaviour at Alexandria, we must not lose sight of the obvious fact that his life at this period had also its domestic aspect. He did not admit to himself that his union with Cleopatra was in any way scandalous; and writing to Octavian in the following year he seems to be quite surprised that his family life should be regarded as infamous. “Is it because I live in intimate relations with a Queen?” he asks. “She is my wife. Is this a new thing with me? Have I not acted so for these nine years?” Indeed, as compared with Octavian’s private life, the family circle at Alexandria, in spite of Antony’s buffoonery and heavy drinking, was by no means wholly shameful. In Rome Octavian was at this time employing his friends to search the town for women to amuse him, and these agents, acting on his orders, are related to have kidnapped respectable girls, and to have torn their clothes from them, as did the common slave-dealers, in order to ascertain whether they were fit presents for their vile master. We hear no such stories in regard to the jovial Antony.
A characteristic tale is told by Plutarch which illustrates the open-handed opulence of the Alexandrian court at this time. A certain Philotas, while dining with Antony’s son Antyllus, shut the mouth of a rather noisy comrade by a very absurd syllogism, which made everybody laugh. Antyllus was so delighted that he promptly made a present of a sideboard covered with valuable plate to the embarrassed Philotas, who, of course, refused it, not imagining that a youth of that age could dispose in this light manner of such costly objects. Having returned to his house, however, a friend presently arrived, bringing the plate to him; and on his still objecting to receive it, “What ails the man?” said the bearer of the gift. “Don’t you know that he who gives you this is Antony’s son, who is free to give it even if it were all gold?”
Thus the winter of B.C. 34–33 passed, and in the spring of 33 Antony set out for his summer quarters in Syria. He desired to cement the agreement with the King of Media, in order to guard himself against a Parthian attack while engaged in the coming war with Octavian; and for this purpose he determined to proceed at once to the borders of that country. Cleopatra, therefore, did not accompany him; and in this fact we may perhaps see an indication of some loss of interest on her part, due to her growing disrespect for him. Passing through Syria he went north-eastwards into Armenia, and there he seems to have effected a meeting with the King of Media. To him he now gave a large portion of Greater Armenia, and to the King of Pontus he handed over the territory known as Lesser Armenia. The little Median princess, Iotapa, who had been married to the young Alexander Helios, was placed in the care of Antony with the idea that she should be educated at Alexandria. With her the King sent Antony a present of the eagles captured from his army at the time when the siege-train was lost in B.C. 36; and he also presented him with a regiment of the famous mounted archers who had wrought so much havoc on the Roman lines in the late campaign, while in return for these men Antony sent a detachment of legionaries to the Median capital.
The Parthian danger being thus circumvented by this extremely important and far-reaching compact with Media, Antony set out for Egypt with the idea of spending the winter there once more.[108] He took with him the little Princess Iotapa, and in the early autumn he reached Alexandria. His news in regard to Media must have been very satisfactory to Cleopatra, and Iotapa thenceforth became the companion of the royal children in the Palace. But the news which he had to relate in connection with Octavian was of the worst, and Cleopatra must have asked him in astonishment how he could think of spending the winter quietly in Alexandria in view of the imminence of war. In the first place, the Triumvirate[109] came to an end at the close of the year, and it seemed likely that Octavian would bring matters to an issue on that date. Then Octavian had attacked him violently in the Senate, and excited the public mind against his rival; and Antony, hearing of this while in Armenia, wrote to him an obscene letter, much too disgusting to quote here. To this Octavian replied in like manner. Antony then charged him with acting unfairly, firstly, by not dividing the spoils captured from Sextus Pompeius; secondly, by not returning the ships which had been lent to him for the Pompeian war; thirdly, by not sharing the province of Africa taken over after the retirement of Lepidus; and lastly, that he had parcelled out almost all the free land in Italy amongst his own soldiers, thus leaving none for Antony’s legionaries. Octavian had replied that he would divide all the spoils of war as soon as Antony gave him a share in Armenia and Egypt, while in regard to the lands given as rewards to his legionaries, Antony’s troops could hardly want them, since, no doubt, by now they had all Media and Parthia to share amongst themselves. This reference to Egypt, as though it were a province of Rome instead of an independent kingdom, must have been deeply annoying to Cleopatra; but, on the other hand, it was pleasant to hear that Octavian had abused Antony for living immorally with the Queen, and that Antony had replied by stating emphatically that she was his legal wife.
The war, thus, was now on the eve of breaking out, and Cleopatra must have been in a fever of excitement. Antony’s vague and casual behaviour seems, therefore, to have annoyed her very considerably; and it was not until he had decided to take up his winter quarters at Ephesus instead of in Egypt that harmony was restored. Once aroused, he acted with energy. He sent messengers in all directions to gather in his forces; and he eagerly helped Cleopatra to make her warlike preparations in her own country. In a few weeks the arrangements were complete, and Antony and Cleopatra set out for Ephesus early in the winter of B.C. 33, at the head of a huge assemblage of naval and military armaments and munitions. The people of Alexandria must have realised that their Queen was going forth upon the most marvellous adventure. Only a few years ago they had lain prone under the heel of Italy, expecting at any moment to be deprived of their independent existence. Now, thanks to the skill, the tact, and the charm of their divine Queen, their incarnate Isis-Aphrodite, they were privileged to witness the departure of the ships, the hosts, and the captains of Egypt for the conquest of mighty Rome. They had heard Cleopatra swear to seat herself and her son Cæsarion in the Capitol; and there could have been few in the cheering crowds whose hearts did not swell with pride at the thought of the glorious future which awaited their country and their royal house.