Marcus Antonius Research Paper

The Life of Marcus Antonius

Marcus Antonius is popularly known as a “Roman politician and general under Julius Caesar and later triumvir, who, with Cleopatra, queen of Egypt, was defeated by Octavian in the last of the civil wars that destroyed the Roman Republic” (Grant). On the other hand, Rosell mentions that “Marcus Antonius played a critical role in transforming the Roman Republic from an oligarchy into the autocratic Roman Empire.” For the purposes of this paper, the life of Marcus Antonius will be discussed.

Antony’s Early Life

Mark Antony has the same name with his father and grandfather. However, his father was also called as Creticus because of his military role in Crete; and his grandfather, who was considered as one of the

This is the reason why he allied with Cleopatra. However, the alliance was followed by a romance between the two (Mason). Their love affair was disrupted because Antony's brother and wife defied Octavian way back in Italy. Thus, Antony returned to the west to iron things out. Later on, Antony married Octavia, the sister of Octavian, after the death of his first wife. In 36 B.C.E., Antony returned to the east to beat back the Parthians (Encyclopedia of World Biography). As a result, his love affair with Cleopatra was rekindled. This time around, their affair was romantically and politically motivated. Mason believes that different scholars have dissenting opinions with the intention of Cleopatra. However, Mason asserts that Cleopatra also yearned to use Antony just like how the latter used her. In fact, Cleopatra regarded his alliance with Antony as an opportunity where she can “revive the past glories of the Ptolemies, the royal family line from which she was descended” (Encyclopedia of World Biography). Meanwhile, Mark mentions that the relationship of Antony to Octavian deteriorated over time because of his relationship with Cleopatra when in fact, he was married to