"For more than two years did Antony seek out the assassins of Caesar." "At last, at Philippi  he was able to set against them his legions and those of Octavian  who was Caesar's heir." "Cassius was the first to die  by his own hand." "Then Brutus and the others." "Hail Antony!" "Hail Antony!" "Hail Antony's legion!" "You remember Philippi." "He won it." "My lord." " This way." " But my tent is this way." "Later." "I'll see him later." "Octavian depresses me." "You promised." "Well, the fighting's over." "We've won it all." "Your health should improve quickly." "Even if I die, my place is with you on the field." " You were wrong to prevent me." " Caesar was ill." "Caesar?" "Ah, yes." "I keep forgetting." "I have inherited the name." "I have made it mine." "Why not?" "You'll never be confused with the other one." "At least your troops fought bravely, under my command." "Agrippa has kept me fully informed." "What were you doing there?" "The battle was fought on land, between men, not wood bumping on water." "Why did you bring Agrippa?" "Were you expecting rain?" "Shall we choose a piece of land, just you and I?" "Be quiet." "There are matters to talk about." "Have you an objection to Agrippa remaining?" "I object to Agrippa at all times." "Lying here, indisposed you must have had time to consider the problem." "I think it is best to continue the Triumvirate." "You and I and Lepidus." "Very well." "Lepidus shall have Africa and the islands." "You, Spain and Gaul." "Rome and Italy to be administered by the three of us, jointly." " And you?" " All the rest." "Then, with Lepidus in Africa and you in the East bringing order to Rome and Italy will be my problem." " So it seems." " Spain and Gaul aren't enough." "I'll need money." " There have been tax riots in Rome." " So I've heard." "Done." "And done." "Would Caesar approve, do you think?" "Definitely." "Perhaps the veil of Isis would have bothered him a bit." "Three years and Rome remembers him only by the image on a gold coin." "Are they those I brought back with me?" "When Octavian had them struck off it was to commemorate Caesar's deification." "So that he could inherit Caesar's divinity together with all the rest." "Even a dead god cannot rewrite his will." "Antony did present Caesarion's claims to the Senate." "He kept that much of his promise." "And he will keep the rest of it." "After almost three years since Caesar's death more than a year since Philippi?" "Antony will come." "He will need Egypt." "Egypt is you." "That's what I meant, of course." "Antony will need me." "Finances!" "My head hurts when you talk of money." "Change the subject." "All right." "News from Rome." "Octavian has forced Lepidus out of his command and into exile." "I wish I hadn't..." "I wish I had not drunk so much today." "So do I." "Do I trouble you, Rufio?" "Yes, you do." "I'll wager Caesar was never befuddled by wine." "Nothing befuddled him." "The campaign against Parthia won't be easy." " How many legions have we left?" " It's hard to tell." " So many desertions." " Desertions?" "They haven't been paid in months." "You remember when we started into Greece?" "I lived with them, ate with them." "I was one of them." "They seem distant to me now, as if they were a memory." "We must find the gold to pay them the wheat to feed them, supplies, ships, armor." "And where do you suggest we look for all these?" " I thought perhaps further to the east." " Syria?" " Perhaps more to the south." " Ethiopia?" "To the north..." " I forbid her mention!" " I didn't." "I won't crawl to her!" "Why hasn't she offered assistance?" " She may not know." " She knows everything." " Lf only in gratitude..." " Perhaps she'll express it in person." "Then let her come." "Am I so much less than Caesar?" "Nor she less than queen of Egypt who you promised..." "Strip them naked, they're no longer queens." "It is also difficult to tell the rank of a naked general." "And generals without armies are naked, indeed." "All right." "I'll meet her halfway." "I'll send you to her." " Order her to come." " Lf I order, I need not journey." " Then summon her." " Even worse." "Then beg, entreat, find the word you like pour perfume, whinny like a stallion." "But see that she comes to me." "I understand your position, Rufio." "Surely you must understand mine." "I do not intend to join that long list of queens who have quivered happily at being summoned by Lord Antony." "But surely I didn't say "summoned."" "You said "invite." He meant "summon."" "In any case, I am the queen of Egypt." "And I choose to remain on Egyptian soil." "Tarsus is not the other end of the world, Your Majesty." "If it were one step from Egypt, that would be too far." "I will meet with Lord Antony but only on Egyptian soil." "My lady, a way must be found, a time, a place to satisfy you both." "Must it, Rufio?" "Cleopatra." "Cleopatra!" "It is." "It must be." "She said never, except on Egyptian soil." ""Never." Something women say to begin with." "Welcome Queen Cleopatra on my behalf." "Extend my invitation to a banquet in her honor." " Don't you think...?" " Still not convinced?" "Hurry back, there's much to be done." "Have the cooks sent to me." "Forgive me, noble Rufio." "It is you who do not understand." "Queen Cleopatra, at present in her chamber, is on Egyptian territory and intends to remain on it." "Most learned Sosigenes, forgive me but this is Tarsus, not Alexandria." "You are on Tarsus, noble Rufio." "I am on Egypt." "Tonight and tomorrow night, if Lord Antony desires to meet Her Majesty he will come to her, to Egypt." "I shall do my best to prevail upon Lord Antony to attend." "Marc Antony, how prompt you are." "If I had not been, it would be unforgivable of me." "I hoped to be here as you came aboard." "If you had, it would be unforgivable of me." "Be more tolerant." "Forgive yourself now and then." "Almost three years." "Have you possibly become more beautiful?" "Almost three?" "That long?" "The time has passed so quickly." "Your necklace." "It seems to be made of gold coins." "Coins of Caesar." " Do you find it attractive?" " Very." "And I find what you're wearing most becoming." "Greek, isn't it?" "I have a fondness for almost all Greek things." "As an almost all-Greek thing, I'm flattered." "An unusual necklace." "Nothing but gold coins of Caesar." " How did you come by it?" " I had it made." "I wear it always." "A fabulous feast." "One is so limited when one travels by ship." "This fabulous ship together with its queen, the fabulous Cleopatra." "The name of Marc Antony is not exactly unknown to the world." " In the last year or so since we met..." " Almost three." "By now you have become one-third the master of Rome." "You don't permit yourself to forget him?" "That's an odd way of putting it." ""Don't permit myself?"" "Is it necessary to wear him around your neck?" "You forget, Antony, in these almost three years how full your own life has been." "They can't have been uneventful for you." "You rule Egypt alone." "Oh, they have been busy, but not full." "There's a difference." "There cannot be enough hours in the days of a queen and her nights have too many." " So I fill them with memories." " Of Caesar?" "And of a dream that almost came true." "You may remember." "I remember that night in Rome, saying it could still come true." "You said so much that night to so many." "Let me get rid of them all." "Why?" "I have arranged an entertainment." "A dance in the Greek fashion to welcome the god Bacchus." "If I make a great show of going, they'll have to leave too." "Then I can return and we can talk alone, you and I." " When would you return?" " In an hour, no more than two." " How long would you stay?" " Until we had nothing more to say." "Are you a strong swimmer?" "We sail at sunrise." "I don't understand." "Home to Alexandria, to Egypt." "You've come all this way for one night." "All to make a fool of me." "Perhaps you would feel less a fool if you stayed the night with me, is that it?" "I've told you before." "With you, words do not come easily to me." "There is too much unsaid within me that I cannot say." "Then I cannot know it." "There is much unsaid within you too." "That is probably true of everybody." "Stay for a while." "I have known you so long but so little." "Give me time." "Not I. Not Egypt and Rome together." "Not even the gods have time to give you." "But, Antony, use what you have." "Don't waste it by playing at god here in Tarsus while Octavian in Rome becomes a god." "The dance, I take it, is over." "Sit up." "I want to see whether you sleep with your memories." "With so much left unsaid within you it must be a relief to break and tear things." " I want to say something now." " Perhaps some other time." "Now!" "Caesar." "Conquer and conquer." "Bring the world to its knees." ""You're not a Caesar." "Did you know that?" "Be braver than the bravest stronger than the strongest." "Still no Caesar." "Caesar's done it first and better." "Ruled better, loved better." "Run where you will, you can't get out." "There's no way out." "The shadow of Caesar will cover you and the universe for all of time."" ""Whenever you like," you said in Rome." ""Come to Alexandria whenever you like."" ""Now, tonight," I said." "To bow to the throne upon which Caesar put you." "To talk of a new treaty." "Caesar's can't be improved." "Copy it." "Of Caesar's son." "Of the dream you shared that still fills your life." "Alexander's design for a world to be ruled by you and Caesar." "Where is Antony?" "Where is Marc Antony?" "Antony the Great!" "The divine Antony!" "Here." "He's here." "One step behind Caesar." "At the right hand of Caesar." "In the shadow of Caesar." "Tell me, how many have loved you since him?" "One?" "Ten?" "Anyone?" "No one?" "Have they kissed you with Caesar's lips?" "Is it his name you cry out?" "Afterwards, has he reproached you and have you begged forgiveness?" "You've come here, then, running over with wine and self-pity to conquer Caesar." "For so long now, you've filled my life like a great noise I hear everywhere in my heart." "I want to be free of you, of wanting you of being afraid." "Yet, Caesar would not permit it." "But I will never be free of you." "From the first instant I saw you entering Rome on that monstrous stone beast shining in the sun like a little gold toy." "...how I envied Caesar." "Went suddenly sick with it." "Not his conquests or his triumphs." "Not his titles or the roaring of the mob." "I envied him you." "When we first met in Rome, I remembered you." "I wondered that I could ever have forgotten." "Remembered me?" "Years ago, when you were a young cavalry officer stationed at the palace in Alexandria under that Roman general." " What was his name?" " Gabinius." "Gabinius." "I was 12 years old, and I loved you." " Nonsense." " It's true." "Lovers always want so much never to have loved before." "It's possible, you know." "It becomes a game." "Who loved whom first?" "I did." "If you noticed me at all then, you were probably terrified of me." "With good reason." "Everybody knows Romans cut up little children and feed them to their horses." "We'll make this our beginning." "Beginning with tonight you must never envy Caesar or anyone, anything again." "After all this is nothing new." "For so many years Antony has fed upon the crumbs that fell from Julius Caesar's table." "I say they are deserving of each other." "Let him stay in Egypt." "Let him fritter away his life but not the possessions and the empire of the Roman people!" "The Roman people!" "The Roman people." "What are glory and possessions to them?" "Is their Antony content?" "Then so are they." "Does their Antony sweep their empire under Cleopatra's bed?" "His adoring Romans sigh and remain content." "Let him stay however distant for however long with never a thought of them." "The Roman people hold him close to their hearts." "Distant?" "Perhaps from Rome but not from Caesar, I think." "Nor from Caesar's son." "Germanicus, do you speak of me?" "No, I speak of Caesar." "I am Caesar." "Only while Antony remains distant from Rome." "Antony!" "Stay not too long in Alexandria!" "Germanicus stay not too long in Rome." " How much is known to Antony?" " All of it and more." "I've written him regularly." "Letters, dispatches by personal messenger." "And what has he answered?" "He wrote he was no longer interested in the matters I described." "That he would not return to Rome." "That he understood quite clearly what was at stake, what he would lose." "But that he would not leave you." "Let's try the goat." "Let's have that goat again." "There." "Not too much." "There." "The milk of a cow of a goat and of an ass." "Which is best for softening the beard?" "Is it true Octavian shaves but once a week?" "Even then, he has merely to face the wind and let the fuzz blow away." "You knew, didn't you, Germanicus was here from Rome?" "Yes." "Have you strong feelings about beards?" "I had one." "Bright red." "Why haven't you seen him?" "When you go must it be for very long?" "I must take some of these with me." "They don't have them." "At least, they didn't when I was last in Rome." "While they were digging the foundation of my tomb the workers found an old wall." "Someone had scratched on it hundreds of years ago:" ""You were not here last night, and I could not sleep." "Will you be here tonight?"" "Do you suppose they ever met again?" "Everything that I shall want to hold or look upon or have or be is here now with you." "I must not be sorry for myself." "Queens are sometimes no better at that than kings, or even princes." "It doesn't seem fair." "What I feel I should have felt long ago when I was very young." "When I could say to myself that this was how love was and how it would be." "But to have waited so long, to know so suddenly this late how it hurts." "How love can stab the heart." "Be careful with Octavian." "Let him be careful with me." "The Romans want no war between the two of you." "In any case, you are not ready yet." "War?" "The world is filled with love." "There'll be no more wars." "You must have your share." "Your titles and powers must be spelled out exactly." "There can be no question of your complete authority in the East." "Antony, how will I live?" "The same as I." "One breath upon the other." "Each bringing us one breath closer." "You take so much of me with you so far." "Remember, remember." "They'll want you to forget." " Please..." " Forget?" "How?" "I can never be more far away from you than this." "He will come first to Brindisium." "Agrippa and I plan to welcome his arrival with a great ceremony." "He must see how dear to the hearts of the Romans, of us all he is and has been." "He has been away for a very long time." "Perhaps we can persuade him to stay with us even longer." "Perhaps, Octavia, if you came to Brindisium, you could help." "You may have forgotten." "It is only six months since..." "Begging the pardon of Agrippa and our ancestors I do not agree that a young widow must retire from life." "You haven't left my house since your husband died." "If only for the sake of your health, the change alone..." "Then, begging the pardon of Lord Agrippa and our ancestors I would look forward very much to the change." "Nothing, no one, could possibly shine more brightly in the sun." "Not only Antony." "Any man would not hold out his greedy fists for Octavia." "After all, what greater pledge could I offer of my goodwill toward him?" "And how could Antony better show his love of peace and Rome than by accepting?" "And Cleopatra?" "Are you suggesting we invite her to the wedding?" "You remember when Julius Caesar returned and those months while she was in Rome?" "There was a poison in his heart, in his brain." "Yes, the falling sickness." "But more than that." " Cleopatra." " I remember well." " Antony is no Caesar." " I am grateful for that." "Granted that he marries Octavia, will he forget Cleopatra?" " Will she permit him to forget?" " Most probably not." " Have I permission to speak?" " Quickly." "A galley came to Pelusium with news from Rome." "Antony and Octavian have sealed a great pact." "Antony has 10 more legions and all of the East for his domain." "Egypt will be declared ally of Rome." "It is done." " There is more." " No." "No more, my lord." " He's afraid." " Is there anything more?" "Forgive me, Divine Majesty." "There has been a marriage." "A marriage of state." "Between Octavia, the sister of Caesar and Lord Antony." "Anything more?" "They're presently in Athens." "Sometime within the year, Lady Octavia is to return to Rome." "Antony will come here to negotiate the alliance of Rome and Egypt." "Leave me." "No." "Completely alone." "Antony!" "Do you find it pleasing, my lord?" "Oh, yes." "Very." "It was made here in Athens." "Not as practical as our Roman ones, of course." "The Greeks have such a weakness for beauty." "Does the dinner not please you, my lord?" "Very much." "I'm not particularly hungry." "If anything would please you more..." "Believe me, I am pleased." "The gods know you do nothing but please me in every way." "Word from Domitius?" "He never even reached the palace." "He was not permitted through the city gate." "If I may be excused." "There's no need for you to go." "When I hear matters of state discussed by men invariably I find myself wondering about why the wine has gone sour." "Good night, Rufio." "Good night, my lord." "Domitius turned away at the gate." "That makes how many?" "Five of your ambassadors turned away within this year." " Lf you'd gone when..." " It was the only favor I ever asked." "You granted it." "The treaty with Egypt must be made." "We've received no wheat, no gold..." "I cannot go to her to negotiate a treaty!" "She'll have no one else." "And what if she should turn me away?" "That would be quite impossible." "Have you ever really left her?" "No." "Three days I've waited for an audience with you." "What is the purpose?" "Get out, all of you." " You're before the throne of Egypt." " I know!" "State your purpose!" "Matters I won't discuss publicly." "I do not grant private audiences to unidentified persons." "I am Marcus Antonius." "I know who you are." "What are you, at the moment?" "Envoy of Rome, proconsul of all the Roman Empire to the east of Italy." "An impressive title." "Worthy, perhaps, of a private audience?" "Without a treaty of alliance with Egypt you could not hold the territories under your command." "True?" "Possibly." "Then, Lord Antony, you come before me as a suppliant." " Lf you choose to regard me as such." " I do." "You will therefore assume the position of a suppliant before this throne." "You will kneel." " I will what?" " On your knees." "You dare ask the proconsul of the Roman Empire..." "I asked it of Julius Caesar." "I demand it of you!" "Now you may have the treaty you asked for on the following conditions:" "By your authority as proconsul of Rome you will cede to Egypt immediately the following territories:" "Judea, Jordan, Armenia, Phoenicia, the provinces of Sinai and Arabia the islands of Cyprus and Crete." "You ask for one-third of the Roman Empire!" "Put it another way." "I give to you two-thirds." "Most generous." "I cannot accept." "I suggest you deliberate further." "Perhaps consult with your superior in Rome." "My superior?" "Octavian." "Caesar Octavian?" "You have not been dismissed!" "You are now dismissed." "Outside, all of you." "Her Majesty and I will speak in private." "Out!" "Before I chop you up and feed you to my horses." "That's how Romans frighten little girls." "They like to frighten little girls." "Wait outside." "I married Octavia at her brother's insistence as a gesture of faith, of peace." "A bargain sealed." "With a kiss?" "Or did you simply shake hands on your wedding night?" "Rome was celebrating the marriage even before I arrived." "How could I refuse?" "By saying no." "As you have said no to all my demands." "They're unreasonable!" "The kind laid down for a helpless enemy!" "You're not helpless... yet." "I can't cede the territories." "It would cause a break between Rome and me." "Why do you think I asked for them?" "It would be playing into Octavian's hands!" "It would not be wise!" "What is wise?" "To hand over Rome, Italy, the world to Octavian?" "To grovel publicly before his authority?" "Take his sister to wed and to bed." "As if to beg forgiveness for having stayed so long with your Egyptian harlot." "What has angered you?" "That I dealt with him how I could or that I married his sister?" "Jealousy or politics?" "Both!" "And damn you for not understanding either." "I wouldn't look to you for instruction." "Which is why you have come back chained to Octavian like a slave." " Slave!" " And with such exquisite chains." "So softly spoken, so virtuous." "She sleeps, I hear, fully clothed." "I'm back." "That's all that should concern you." "Should it?" "How long before your master snaps his finger and you run back to him, or her?" "I have only one master." "My love for you." "No." "Your master must not be love." "Never love." "Give yourself to love and you give yourself to forgetfulness of what you are and who you are and what you want." "And what you want is worth so much more?" "I will not have love as my master." " Then you will not have love." " Nor will I have Octavian." " Never fear." " How confident you are." "And has Octavian a master?" "His ambition:" "To rule the Roman world as emperor and god." "The Roman world, to begin with." "And what stands in his way?" " You and I." " And my son!" "The rightful heir to the name and glory of great Caesar." "Octavian has already stolen those and he will now destroy in the name of his sister, Rome's love for you." "And by your marriage to her he has made of me, unmistakably, your whore." "Never fear Octavian?" "It is he, now, who I think must be unafraid." "Show me a city and I'll take it." "I'll find an army's weak points and hit them hard." "But make me to sit down and talk in whispers of this and that with an emphasis here and a shrug, and I'm soon confounded and defeated." "Meaning to do the best I suppose I could not have done worse." "There is still time." "Let someone ask me what I want:" "To live with you in peace and love." "Do you have conditions for total surrender?" "First, as did Caesar you will marry me according to Egyptian ritual." "That's not a condition, that's a reward." "You'll declare, by your authority Caesarion to be king of Egypt and we will rule together in his name." "Happily granted." "You will cede to Egypt all the territories I have demanded." "You must." "If only to assert your own authority and power." "Otherwise, inevitably, in time we will lose everything." "Can't you see that?" "I can see nothing but you." "I am no longer content to forgive Antony!" "To marry this Egyptian under their barbaric rites!" "Meaningless under Roman law!" "Great Caesar himself..." "Yes." "Bit by bit, Antony crawls behind his memory." "But tell us this, Germanicus:" "Did great Caesar also toss one-third of the Roman Empire into Cleopatra's undoubtedly deserving lap?" "The territories in dispute were subjugated by Julius Caesar." "The right to rule over them is the heritage of his son." "And in the name of the mighty Caesar I grant to King Ptolemy Caesarion that right." "Let it be known the greatness of Rome lies not in what she takes but in what she gives." ""Rome's greatness lies in what she gives," he says." "Then calmly gives what is not his." "And Cleopatra takes and will take more." "And war will come." "She knows and I know that war will come." "But I will not speak for it nor will I speak against Antony." "I must be forced into war." "The people of Rome must force this war upon me." "They must storm the doors of the Senate, crying for it." "If we move quickly, they won't know we've crossed the Mediterranean until we land in Greece." "You and General Rufio, start embarking the troops." "Yes, Your Majesty." "If it is decided to move our armies into Greece." "It has been decided." "My men do not travel well by sea." "They fight on land." "They move on land." "Your men will do as they are told, as mine will." "My men will do as they're told by me." "They have not yet become..." "They are still Roman." "However since I do as I'm told..." "The final decision will, of course, be Lord Antony's." "And I'm sure that in time he will make it." "That is all." "It would be wiser not to disagree in the presence of our officers." "Your officers." "What final decision have you decided I am to make?" "Why do you oppose transporting our armies to Greece?" "Because I do not want war against Rome." "One hundred thousand men led by Marc Antony." "Octavian is no fool." "He won't fight." "He'll have to, instantly, on the spot where they land." "Rome will not declare war against you." "I do not agree." "I have not asked for your opinion." "Not for some time." "Not since I doubted the necessity of building 300 ships." "The way to prevent war is to be ready for it." "Have 300 warships ever been built for war without war?" "We shall have what we want without it." "Your Majesty, please hear me." "I think we are very near the edge." "Strings are being pulled, and not by us." "We are being managed and maneuvered without our choosing." "The deputation sent on behalf of Lady Octavia chosen from the most highly revered men of Rome." "Why?" "They can take back to their people nothing but Lord Antony's forgive me, insulting and unnecessary divorce of her and his rejection of them." "It was done at my bidding." "The responsibility is mine." "The doing was mine." "What do you propose?" "Let me go to Rome and approach Octavian, possibly the Roman people and assure them that we want peace." "Go then." "Go to Rome." "Sosigenes!" "Take care." "He's very dear to you." "Your concern and worry are written all over you." "Forgive me, but it's a kind of love that you're showing." "Let them talk." "Let them negotiate all they want." "Time is on our side." "We can only grow stronger." "These walls must not believe their ears to hear such silence from the right from the left." "The call of the Roman people can be clearly heard yet the Roman Senate has no answer." "Shall we then just sit and listen?" "There is not one of us that would not willingly make war upon Cleopatra." "But how without also making war upon Marc Antony loved by Rome and loving Rome?" ""Loved by Rome and loving Rome."" "I have here the last will and testament of Antony, who so loves Rome." "Read for yourselves how dearly Antony loves you, loves Rome in this, his last will under his seal." "Only lately brought from Egypt and deposited in our holy temple at Antony's request by the distinguished Sosigenes." "An extraordinary mission for an extraordinary man." "So wise, so close to Cleopatra, so trusted by her." "Read in Antony's will at the end." "Commit to memory the last request of your beloved Antony." "It bears witness to his love for Rome." "When he is dead, it says when Marc Antony has died it is his wish to be buried in his beloved Alexandria!" "In Egypt!" "Among Egyptians." "Beside his Egyptian whore!" "Is what I say the truth?" "Do I speak the truth?" " War!" " War!" "I hold before you the Golden Spear of War." "Placed into my hands without dissent by the command and will of the Senate of Rome." "And now it is you, the people of Rome, who must direct me." "Where is the enemy?" "Where is Egypt?" "Show me the way!" "No!" "No!" "There!" "There is Egypt." "And so once more, the Romans warred upon each other." "And just as Antony had foretold  the forces of Octavian came to meet them  on the spot where they landed." "Which was at Actium, in Greece." "Action begins with the rise of the sun." "Your plan is brave and simple." "It's possible on land but we debate its wisdom on the sea." "I have an enemy on land with fewer troops, on sea with fewer ships." "Let him debate the wisdom of his position." "I have a happy choice." "To destroy him wet or dry." "I have chosen wet." "I think it best, Euphranor, you report to Cleopatra aboard her vessel." "There you may point out to her the reasons why my brave simplicity has failed." "In any case, you are relieved of your battle command." "This final commitment of yourself, your ships, of all of us to fight at sea, when did you decide?" " Forgive me." "I had..." " We've worked hard for many months." "We've trained an army of 200,000 men from 20 countries." " They won't be wasted..." " Of which 20,000 of them will be herded onto those ships and dragged out to sea, puking and afraid." " Why, my lord?" "Why?" " Because I have decided it will be so!" "I consider it an honor to fight beside Lord Antony at any time, anywhere." "Spoken like a Roman, Ramos." "And you shall fight at my side, in Rufio's place." "Rufio, you will remain with Her Majesty aboard her vessel." "As you command." "Canidius, you will remain with the land forces cheering from the hilltop, if you like." " As you command." " Exactly." "As I command." "You're all dismissed." "Antony." "What has happened?" "To me?" "You have happened to me." "Do the lookouts have Octavian's insignia?" " A golden eagle." "Sighted at sunrise." " By sunset we'll have those feathers." "Let Octavian know we're coming!" "Let the enemy hear the voice of Antony's legions!" "He's on his way." "Signal Lord Caesar's ship." "Does it fly his insignia?" "My orders are to be followed exactly as issued." "And may the gods grant that Antony has not changed his plan of battle." "There he goes as he's done 100 times on land." "Straight for the center." "If only it were on land, and we were there to protect his flanks." "But we're not." "This and all dispositions are to be signaled to Euphranor." "But Euphranor's in command of..." "In command of moving toy ships on a painted ocean so that Egypt's queen can more clearly follow her war upon water to which she has committed Marc Antony and 20,000 Romans." "Just as he said he would." "Antony and his escorts by themselves are after Octavian." " He's already broken through." " They let him through." "They'll close behind him." "Not if we engage, as Antony said." "They won't engage." "Agrippa will pull them back and back, behind Antony as Antony chases Octavian." "What report?" "Lord Antony is already through the center of the Roman line." "He is now deep within the Roman fleet, in pursuit of Octavian." "Faster!" "Faster!" "They've increased their own speed." "We're too heavy to catch them." "Then we'll slow them down." "Start the ballistas." "Javelin throwers." "Aim high." "Overshoot rather than under." "Ballistas." "Javelins." "Ballistas!" "Octavian's ships are so much faster than our Egyptian tubs." "Why doesn't Agrippa keep him away from Antony's ballistas?" "Ballistas!" "Ballistas!" "Ballistas!" "My lord!" "My lord!" "A direct hit on the enemy!" "A bank of oars is destroyed!" "He's coming around broadside." "We've got him!" "Collision course." "We'll ram him, board and destroy him." "Octavian!" "Octavian!" "Now is your time to be a Caesar!" " Where is he hiding?" " My Lord Octavian is not on board." "And now we close the trap." "Now we hit my Lord Antony with everything we have." "No word of Lord Antony?" "By now he must have Octavian." "You said he rammed his ship." "It may be Lord Antony rammed a ship flying Octavian's insignia." "But if it is Octavian's ship, if Octavian is on board..." "If he finds and kills Octavian, he's still surrounded by the Roman fleet." " Then send him help." " I've none to send." "They're pulling our ships apart now." "They've got Antony alone and cut off closing in on him like a pack of dogs on a wounded bear." " Lord Antony's ship?" " Gone." " And Octavian's ship?" " Burning, helpless." "Would you say, admiral that Lord Antony is dead?" "How is the wind for Egypt?" "Fair." "We'll sail at once." "Man the oar banks." "Hoist anchor." "We sail for Egypt!" "My Lord Canidius!" "Remember always, that after the battle of Actium with Octavian dead and Antony dead you saw the victor sail away on her golden barge." "She's going." "Cleopatra's going!" "Leaving me!" "My lord." "My lord, our casualties are heavy." "We have little armor left." "Our men need regrouping, someone to give them courage." "The dying are calling for you." "The living need your help." "You can't leave them." "Listen to me!" "Help!" "Help!" "Caesar, news!" "Great news!" "Cleopatra is leaving the battle." "Antony follows." "We have won a great victory." "Weigh oars!" "Her Majesty is most anxious to see you." "Will you come below?" "Perhaps if you remain, she will come to you." "Shall I send you food?" "Wine?" "Her Majesty's orders." "She's afraid you might harm yourself." "Please." "Octavian has crossed from Syria into Egypt." "He can be here in a matter of weeks." "There are two full legions here in Alexandria who have remained loyal to you." "They and their officers are waiting for you to command them." "If not to me, won't you speak to Rufio at least or to anyone you choose?" "Antony, just say what you want done and it will be." "It's been so long since you've looked at me." "Don't turn away even like this with your eyes filled with hate." "How they burn with hate." "Why, Antony?" "Why?" "Because I ran away?" "They told me you were dead!" "What could I do?" "Where could I go in a world suddenly without you except to my son and my country Caesarion and Egypt?" "I wanted to save them from Octavian." "You would have wanted me to go." "You would have commanded me to go." "Tell me you would have!" "They told me you were dead." "They told me you were dead." "You were quite right." "I am dead." "The armies of Gaius Julius Caesar are advancing without opposition upon Alexandria." "Gaius Julius Caesar?" "So now Octavian has stolen all of the name." "Caesar wishes it known he has no quarrel with Cleopatra of Egypt." "Then let him take his armies out of here and go home." "He has charged me to say that the choice of war or peace now rests with Egypt." "And that for himself, he desires only peace." "And what are his terms for this unconditional peace?" "A small token." "A demonstration." "A gesture." "An indication of Queen Cleopatra's goodwill and good faith." "What does Octavian want?" "Marc Antony." "The head of Marc Antony?" "Take this to him as my answer." "Egyptian generosity." "Octavian may have two heads for the price of one." "Either two or none." "I'm told you come here to sleep." "Not to sleep." "To pass the night then." "I'm not alone." "The old boy and I exchange memories of life." "It's like having a roommate, or should I say, "tomb-mate"?" "If he were in your place, would I find Caesar here?" "Hidden away, wrapped in moonlight and endless self-pity?" "Self-pity!" "You repeat yourself!" "Find new reproaches!" "Until now it has just been a part of your being drunk." "Singing sad songs for Antony." "Your time would be better spent negotiating with Octavian." "Why not give over my head?" "It's no great loss to me." "Dying the second time is painless and possibly an advantage to you." "The basis of a great new alliance with Rome." "I do not want a great new alliance with Rome." "Then what do you want?" "I have come for Marc Antony." "What is left of his army, Rufio, my son and I all of Egypt are waiting for him." "There is little time." "Marc Antony?" "There is no one here by that name alive." "Time for what?" "For Marc Antony to appear in shiny armor swords flashing in both hands?" "Agrippa." "Octavian." "Stand back!" "Rejoice!" "Marc Antony will save the day!" "Antony, you say?" "He died at Actium running away." "He tried to run on the water, but you weren't there to hold his hand!" "Rufio, my legions, waiting." "For what?" "To ask me what they carry in their eyes in their hearts, in their sleep, as I have." "Why are you not dead?" "Why do you live?" "How can you live?" "Why do you not lie in the deepest hole of the sea bloodless and bloated and at peace with honorable death?" "You begged forgiveness from me for running away." "You wept and gave reason." "A mother to her child, a queen to her country." "Where and how can I weep and beg?" "From whom?" "The thousands and thousands who can no longer hear me?" "Shall I give my reason?" "Shall I say simply, I loved?" "When I saw you go, I saw nothing." "Felt, heard, thought nothing except your going." "Not the dying and dead, not Rome, not Egypt not victory or defeat, honor or disgrace only that my love was going and I must be with her." "That my love, my master, called." "And I followed." "And that only then I looked back and I saw." "How right you were." ""Have as your master anyone, anything but never love."" "How wrong." "How wrong I was." "Antony, the love you followed is here." "To be had upon payment of an empire." "Without you, Antony this is not a world I want to live in much less conquer." "Because for me there would be no love anywhere." "Do you want me to die with you?" "I will." "Or do you want me to live with you?" "Whatever you choose." "Are we too late, do you think, if we choose to live?" "Better too late than never." "My lady, there is disturbing news from the city." "The people are frightened." "Some are beginning to leave their homes." "During the night, hundreds of notices were posted everywhere." "They were found stuck up in the marketplace." "Even painted on temples and other holy places." "Signed by Octavian Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus promising the Egyptian people peace if they surrender to him and destruction if they do not." "I've had all of them removed and I've ordered the death penalty for anyone who spreads the rumors that Antony's men might desert him." "And what penalty if the rumors might come true?" "How do you know?" "I know the Romans." "There is only one commander they will never desert." "His name is "Victory."" "But yet, just now, you let Lord Antony go as if..." "If you could have seen him, how proud he was unafraid as he used to be." "All of my attendants, have they been given their freedom?" "Have they gone?" "Yes." "They wanted once more to tidy up." "Octavian can do his own housecleaning." "The captain of the guards and three of his best men are to report to me disguised as merchants." "They are to escort Caesarion out of Egypt for the time being." "And you?" "Your Majesty, please reconsider." "There are two of Euphranor's ships in the east harbor." "And would you roll me on board in a carpet?" "No." "There are no more Caesars to go to, at least not for me." " Then it is still your intention..." " To remain in Alexandria." "In the last possible place anyone would look." "Literally, the last possible place." "Your Majesty, I have never questioned your decisions." "It's not the time to begin." "Let me stay with you." "Charmian and Eiras will look after me." "If Lord Antony should..." "When Lord Antony returns you will be here to tell him where to find me waiting for him." "Together, we will then do what he thinks best." "Is that clear?" " Yes, my lady." " Was there anything more?" "I have always loved you." "And I have always known." "Rome has never known such an army." "We should be taking on all of Asia." "It seems a waste to slaughter what's left of Antony's army and Antony." "There will be no slaughter." "I doubt there will be even bloodshed." "Has a battle ever been won without a blow being struck?" "I wonder." "At any rate, let me make it clear once more." "I want Antony alive, and I want her alive." "She must be taken alive." "Queen Cleopatra's second procession into Rome will surpass her first." "The ring your father gave you." "It is yours now to keep." "Wear it with pride and with honor." "I'm afraid." "I know I shouldn't be." "Who told you that?" "All kings and especially queens, are afraid." "They just manage not to show it." "Something ordinary people cannot do." "Hail Antony!" " How near is Octavian?" " Very near." "Over that low ridge." "As it grows dark, the glow from his campfires will light up the sky." "Our troops must find it attractive to watch." "Inviting, even." "Antony's legions warm themselves at their own fires." "Yes." "I could feel the warmth as I rode by." " How many legions has he?" " Twenty." " And we?" " Two." "The 12th and one made up..." "Made up from what was left of the others." "As I remember it, Caesar held Alexandria with two." "How are they deployed?" "Rufio." "Cavalry to the left, cavalry to the right, infantry to the center." "Three elephants deployed to stamp out a fly." "My lords Octavian and Agrippa have all the strategic brilliance of two vestal virgins." "We can move to ground too soft for cavalry and fight their infantry." "Stand?" "And let them stamp on us?" "No." "Let the elephants stand." "We flies will bite and buzz and tickle." "At the first light of day while Octavian's glow still lights up the sky we will attack." "By sunset, both our loyal legions will have grown larger and even more loyal, I promise you." "Good night." "Rufio, tell the guards, please I am to be awakened just before dawn." "Of course." "And, Rufio if, for whatever reason, the guards should forget or misjudge the time will you, yourself, wake me?" "The guards will wake you." " But if they don't?" " Then I will." "Never fear." "I never fear." "Not anymore." "Rufio!" "Rufio." "Fight!" "Fight!" "Fight!" "Why don't you fight?" "Is there no one who would grant Antony an honorable way to die?" "Before me this was carried by another Roman killed by Rome." "Another Caesar." "No." "We will have him." "We will have them both together." "Where is she?" "Where is she?" "Her Majesty said to tell you she can be found in the last possible place anyone would look." "Literally, the last possible place." "She might have waited." "Once more, it seems Cleopatra is out of reach and I must hurry after." "Throughout life and now beyond." "One woman, one love!" "Nothing changes except life into death." "Will you help me?" "Help me to die, Apollodorus!" "I want to!" "But I can't." "I've always envied Rufio his long arms." "The ultimate desertion:" "I from myself." "Else, how could I have missed what I must have aimed for all my life?" "Will you finish me now?" "Where is my sword?" "I beg you to finish me." "I lied to you." "I let you think the queen is dead." "But she's alive in her tomb, waiting for you." "Cleopatra waiting?" "There will be just enough time if you'll help me." "Perhaps, my lady, if we were to bind his wounds tightly..." "It would only give him pain." "Let him sleep." "Sleep." "Will you come tonight so that I can sleep the dark sleep?" "They did meet after all the lovers." "They will always meet." "Be lonely for me." "But not for very long." "I promise." "I thought always I would die so well as becomes a soldier." "A soldier's death." "I lived always as I saw fit." "Unfittingly." "I would make it up, I thought, in death." "I expected..." "I expected too much of me in death as in life." "Are you holding me?" "Never so closely." "Even closer." "You and I will prove death so much less than love." "You and I, we will..." "We'll make of dying nothing more than one last embrace." "A kiss to take my breath away." "There has never been such a silence." "Turn him over." "Strange people." "Poisons that smell like perfume." "Find more." "Have it analyzed." "Test it on one of the badly wounded." "My lord, they have found Queen Cleopatra." "She is locked in a building, that is to say, a tomb." "Hurry." "Oh, Marc Antony is with her, they say." "He's dead." " What?" " Lord Antony is dead." "Is that how one says it?" "As simply as that." "Marc Antony is dead." "Lord Antony is dead." "The soup is hot." "The soup is cold." "Antony is living." "Antony is dead." "Shake with terror when such words pass your lips for fear they be untrue and Antony cut out your tongue for the lie!" "And if true for your lifetime boast that you were honored to speak his name even in death." "The dying of such a man must be shouted." "Screamed." "It must echo back from the corners of the universe." "Antony is dead!" "Marc Antony of Rome lives no more!" "You needn't lower your head before Caesar." "I never did." "But if he were here, I'd be happy to." "I am Caesar." "If it pleases you, Octavian." "Look at me." "If it pleases you." "After all this time and all that has happened I suppose you are still beautiful, in a way." "You flatter me." "My interest is impersonal." "Should you have any intention..." "Now you flatter yourself." "The fighting is over." "Your country, your possessions and you are mine by right of conquest." "I permit you to rule Egypt as a Roman province and return your possessions." "There is one condition." "You will first accompany me to Rome." "Behind your chariot?" "Look at me!" "Would the proud citizens of Rome wait for hours in the hot sun to see my dead body dragged through the Forum?" "I'll have you closely watched." "Octavian when I am ready to die I will die." "What if I promise no harm will come to you that you will be returned to Alexandria?" "Look at me!" "What more could you ask?" "You have not spoken of my son." "Your son." "I'd forgotten him." "Where is he?" "Safe." "If I go with you to Rome would you permit my son to rule Egypt?" "And his sons?" "And theirs?" "I'll do everything I can." "Do I have your word as a Roman emperor and god?" "Yes." "When will you require me to go?" "As soon as possible." "At the moment, I am very tired and would like to rest." "If you'll leave me." "Do I have your word that you will not harm yourself in any way?" "I swear it." "On the life of my son." "Must the guards remain inside?" "I have sworn after all on the life of my son." "And now I must make ready to go." "There's little to do." "First, I shall want something to eat." "Something to sustain me on my way." "Some fruit, perhaps?" "Bring it to me." "Charmian." "You then, Eiras." "You have never been without us." "You cannot leave us behind." "Perhaps there may be enough for us all." "Bring me a tablet to write on." "I want a message brought to Octavian." "Words are wasted on such a man." "I have wasted so many on so many men." "A few more." "One last request." "Will he grant it, do you think?" "I may never know." "In this case I think I shall." "I will serve Her Majesty as always." "I have always served her." "You will both wait to dress me for my travels." "I will wear..." "I want to be as Antony first saw me." "The dress of gold?" "He must know at once even from a great distance that it is I." "This will be the last thing you do." "Drop this to one of the guards outside for Octavian." "But be sure to wait." "And now let me see if the figs are as they should be." "The taste of these, they say, is sharp and swiftly over." "How strangely awake I feel." "As if living had been just a long dream." "Someone else's dream." "Now finished at last." "But then now will begin a dream of my own." "Which will never end." "Antony?" "Antony, wait." "From the Egyptian queen, message for Caesar." "Read it." "Whatever she wants will be granted upon her arrival in Rome." "We will discuss it as she walks beside my chariot." "What is it?" ""My one wish, which I implore you to grant is to be buried at the site of Antony and to remain there until all things end."" "Was this well done of your lady?" "Extremely well." "As befitting the last of so many noble rulers." "And the Roman asked:" ""Was this well done of your lady?"" "And the servant answered:" ""Extremely well." "As befitting the last  of so many noble rulers. "" "Subtitles by SDI Media Group" "[ENGLISH]"