Augustus

Plutarch’s life of Antony is the main source for Antony’s and Cleopatra’s last days, supported by Dio. Peter Green’s From Alexander to Actium gives background on Hellenistic culture and Ptolemaic Egypt.

“all the solitude he could desire” Plut Ant 69 1.

“A young man” Vell Pat 2881.

“actually kill” Dio 51 6.

his seal ring This ring was later replaced by one with the head of Alexander the Great. His last seal ring showed Augustus’ head and was used by his successors.

his fifty-fourth year Three years have been proposed for the date of Antony’s birth: 86, 83, and 81. I assume 83, the most popular date among modern scholars.

“Cleopatra and Antony now dissolved” Plut Ant 71 3.

“There are many different ways” Ibid., 75 1.

“about the hour of midnight” Ibid., 75 3–4.

“clinging with both hands” Ibid., 77 3.

“greatest emporium” Strabo 17 1 13.

“No Latin ruler” Ernle Bradford, Cleopatra (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1971), p. 49.

“she had abandoned” Plut Ant 83 1.

“by no means insensible” Ibid., 84 1.

“So here it is”: Ibid., 86 1.

“lying dead upon a golden couch” Ibid., 85 3–4.

“no one knows clearly” Dio 51 14 1. For a helpful discussion of asp bites, see Sunday Times of London article, “Cleopatra and the Asp” by Richard Girling. November 28, 2004. www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2099-1362193,00.htm.

It is possible For this theory, see W. R. Johnson, Arion (Boston: Boston University Press, 1967), p. 393 n. 16.

he was no looter Suet Aug 71 1.

“Would you now like” Ibid., 18 2.

Julius Caesar was accused Green, p. 667 n. 151.

“indiscreet talk when drunk” Ovid Trist 2446.

“I am the only man in Rome” Suet Aug 66 2.

having sexual intercourse Pliny 7 184.

a bridge over the stream See L. A. Holland, Janus and the Bridge, Papers and Monographs, American Academy in Rome. 21, 1961.

XVI. ABDICATION

The quality of the ancient literary sources now declines sharply, and many episodes are only known about in general and partial terms. Sometimes years pass without explicit incident. This chapter draws on Suetonius, Velleius Paterculus, and (above all) Dio Cassius. The archaeological record is of considerable but occasional assistance. The description of the Palatine is indebted to the official guidebook, The Palatine (Milan: Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali, Soprintendenza Archeologica di Roma, pub. Electa, 1998).

“Wars, both civil and foreign” Res Gest 13.

“Plotting destruction to” Hor Odes 1376–12.

“High up on the poop” Virgil Aen 8 678–81.

“Atia’s [his mother’s] emphatic declaration” Dio 45 1 2–5; also the source for other episodes in this section.

“Romans, you shall have an end” Plut Cic 44 3.

“cheerful in mind and disposition” Vell Pat 2932.

minimum ages of officeholders See Syme RR, p. 369.

physical incompatibility Pliny 757.

“more a rustic at heart” Ibid., 35 26.

a collector on a grand scale Ibid., 35 26 and 34 62.

“outdo a woman” Vell Pat 2882.

heated swimming pool Dio 5576.

“Goodbye, my ebony of Medullia” Macr 24.

“was…well-disciplined” Vell Pat 2791.

is said to have worn a sword Suet Aug 35 1–2.

“I lay down my office” Dio 53 4 3–4.

presumably with proconsular authority There has been much scholarly debate about the nature of Octavian’s powers. Some say that they were proconsular (cf. Pompey’s governorship of Spain in the fifties B.C.), others that his imperium as consul was sufficient. The difficulty with the latter explanation is that a consul’s imperium lasted only one year. Even though Octavian had developed the habit of assuming the consulship annually, that could not guarantee authority over his provincia for a decade.

“in recognition of my valour” Res Gest 34.

“When I had put an end” Ibid.

“After this time” Ibid.

XVII. WHOM THE GODS LOVE

Dio is the main narrative source, with contributions from Suetonius and Virgil.

Whom the Gods Love [die young] Men Double, Fragment 4.