ANST - FW: Musing on August 30th -- Asp Not What Your Country Can Do for You

[j'lynn yeates]

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- -----Original Message-----
From: Ellsworth Weaver [mailto:astroweaver at yahoo.com]
Sent: Thursday, August 31, 2000 01:24
To: 2thpix at surfari.net
Subject: Musing on August 30th -- Asp Not What Your Country Can Do
for
You


Dear Folk,

Well she was just seventeen, you know what I mean? Okay, I’ll stop
with
the Beatles and talk about August 30, 30 BCE. What does "I Saw Her
Standing There" have to do with today? Listen.

Rome was at its height. There had been republican sentiment and some
rule by the Senate. Rome depended on its outlying provinces for many,
but the key to any civilization is where can it get its food. For
Rome
the answer was Egypt. It was the Nile and the fertile land which
produced more than it consumed which held Rome’s attention. It grew
wheat. Can’t make much pasta without wheat, no matter what the health
food stores try to sell you.

Egypt had been ruled by the Ptolemies. These were Macedonians who had
remained to govern after Alexander the Great’s conquest of Egypt in
331
BCE. The latest king, Ptolemy XII, died leaving his two children to
govern. Cleopatra was just 17. Tada! She and her brother Ptolemy XIII
were slated to get married to each other. This was not as strange as
you might think: it kept outside families from horning in on the
dynastic rule. Cleo went through with it for the sake of governing
Egypt. Her brother dear was a little weasel and decided he would rule
by himself. He sent a hit team to take her out.

Small aside: the Ptolemies had been allies with Rome for almost 200
years. Roman was rising and Egypt was fast declining. There were few
priests who spoke the ancient Egyptian language where every word was
a
prayer. There were fewer still who could still read hieroglyphics.
Interestingly enough, Cleopatra could do both. She had, as a child,
found willing teachers in Alexandria. She was the last pharaoh who
could perform as the personification of the Goddess for her people.

Cleopatra escaped to Syria and rallied an army. Brother Ptolemy
raised
his own guards to meet them. It seemed certain that there would be
some
slicing and dicing. Ptolemy held the palace and most of Alexandria.
Cleo did an end-around. Julius Caesar arrived in Egypt seeking help
in
tracking down Pompey. The story is that Cleo had herself carried into
the palace, past Ptolemy’s guards, and into Caesar’s presence wrapped
in a rug. What a burrito that was!

To preserve the Pax Romana (or as the Egyptians viewed it, the "Pox
Romana") Julius had to decide who would sit the throne: a
pimply-faced
whining boy or an incredible babe of 22. Well, you must remember that
Julius was a soldier and overseas. Ptolemy XIII got angry, provoked
another war, and got himself terminally deceased thanks to the
unbiased
help of Julie.

In 47 BCE Cleo officially married her younger brother, Ptolemy XIV.
Not
very originally in naming folks. For her honeymoon, she and Julius
Caesar went on a pleasure cruise up the Nile. Guess Ptolemy XIV was
needed back in Alexandria to hold down the fort or something. All
along
the route Cleo was worshipped as the Goddess Isis. Made Julie just a
trifle envious, truth to tell. They became lovers, and she bore him a
son, Caesarion. In 45 BC, Cleopatra and Caesarion left Alexandria for
Rome, where they stayed in a palace built by Caesar in their honor. I
know that Julie was already married. That was an embarrassing detail.
Hey, so was Cleo.

Caesar's fondness for this very exotic lady was anything but
overlooked
by the Romans. In 44 BC, Julie was killed in a conspiracy by his
Senators. It wasn’t just the business of Cleo, it was that Julie was
an
absolute dictator. Remember those republican forces?

With Julie’s death and then the whacking of his assassins, Rome split
between supporters of Mark Antony  and Octavian.  Octavian was
officially Caesar’s heir. Cleopatra was watching in silence, and when
Mark Antony seemed to prevail, she supported him and, shortly after,
they too became lovers. Don’t put her down for that. Cleo was trying
to
preserve her country. Besides, Antony was a stud muffin, himself.

Mark Antony's alliance with Cleopatra ticked off Rome even more. The
senators called her a sorceress, and accused her of all sorts of bad
juju. The Romans became even more furious as Antony was giving away
parts of their Empire - Tarsus, Cyrene, Crete, Cyprus, and Palestine
- -
all were gifts to Cleopatra and her children. Antony knew how to show
a
goddess a good time.

Octavian declared war on Cleopatra, and off the coast of Greece in
the
Adriatic Sea they met in one of the most famous battles in history:
Actium.  Octavian won and everybody said it was because Cleo left the
battle early and Antony followed. Most modern historians doubt that.
Octavian’s forces won, enough said.

Octavian waited for a full year before he claimed Egypt as a Roman
province. He arrived in Alexandria and tussled with  Mark Antony
outside the city, near present day Camp César. Antony in defeat fell
on
his own sword. As he lay dying, Antony asked to be taken to
Cleopatra.
He died in her arms and was buried as a pharaoh.

Ocatvian entered Alexandria in 30 BC. Cleopatra was captured and
taken
to him. Okay, dry your eyes, put on some makeup, and go play nice
with
the new guy. Unfortunately, it became clear that this Roman Emperor
had
no interest in any relation, reconciliation, or even negotiation with
the Egyptian Queen. Realizing that her end was close, she decided to
join Julie and Tony in the silent halls of death on this day August
30th, in the year 30 BCE. Did she do herself in with an asp? No one
knows for sure. It could have happened.

Cleopatra was the last Pharaoh. Egypt became part of Rome. Octavian
became Caesar Augustus and we have already talked of him.

What have we learned? Marrying your brother is not as exciting as
some
might think? Ladies have little difficulty in paying attention to men
who give them lavish gifts? Soldiers overseas sure can be a nuisance?
How about never underestimate the power of a woman?

If you are sending missives back to Rome, conquering denial, or just
floating your boat, and you wish to forward these scraps of
electronic
papyrus, please leave my name and sig. attached.

Remembering Liz Taylor as she was then:
Violet eyes to die for,

J. Ellsworth Weaver

SCA – Sir Balthazar of Endor
AS – Polyphemus Theognis
TRV – Sebastian Yeats



=====
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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