| Pompey himself has escaped the carnage and fled by ship to Egypt. (Pompey obviously
hoped to recoup his losses with the help of young Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII and his sister
Cleopatra VII. Pompey had been made their guardian on the death of their father, Ptolemy
Auletes.)  Caesar pursues Pompey and
arrives in Alexandria (October 2, 48 BC) on a busy market day. The docks are packed with
merchants' stalls and customers. Ptolemey's advisors assume that the Romans will bull
their way to the palace, upsetting the populace, but instead, Caesar shops his way through
the crowd.
The Pharaoh is a boy and most of his advisors seem to slither. Egypt is in the midst of
a Civil War between Cleopatra and Ptolemy and he holds the city. Caesar is presented with
Pompey's ring and severed head. (Pompey did not reckon on the deviousness of the
Egyptians. When he arrived by ship in Alexandria, his wife and children watched from the
deck and Ptolemy watched from the dock as he stepped ashore and was immediately executed
by the Egyptian soldiers.)
| As Caesar sets up in the Palace and is organizing the defenses, a 'rug
merchant' arrives with a gift from Cleopatra. The officers are dismissed and Caesar cuts
the bindings of the rug and spills the concealed Cleopatra out on the floor. |
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There ensues a verbal battle over who is the host and who is the guest which goes on
for some time after this. In actuality, Caesar and Cleopatra became lovers that first
night and Ptolemy was odd-man-out the very next day. (There obviously is no record of who
seduced whom, that secret was locked in Caesar's bedroom. It can be said, however, that
there is no record of Cleopatra having any other men in her life except Caesar and Mark
Antony. Caesar, on the other hand, had a long and semi-public history of sensuality -
leaving a trail of lovers all over Gaul and the rest of the Empire.)
Cleopatra spies on Caesar through a peep hole (the Palace is replete with secret
passages). Among other things, she discovers that he is epileptic. That disease also
afflicted other great men in history we find out later, Hannibal and Alexander among them.
 |
Cleopatra and Caesar continue the dueling, including an encounter in her
bath. She warns that her brother's forces are surrounding the Palace and they vastly
outnumber the Romans. Caesar later orders the Egyptian fleet burned (to give him control
of the harbor). |
That night, the Egyptian ships are ablaze as ordered. The fire unfortunately spreads to
the adjacent buildings in the city, including the famous Library of Alexandria. Cleopatra
confronts Caesar about the fire, but there is little that can be done about it. He's busy
directing the Roman forces in repelling the Egyptian attack on the Palace gate. The Romans
sortie to destroy the Egyptian balista (catapults) emplacements using the 'Turtle' - a
moving block of men completely covered with their shields on all sides and top.
An attempted poisoning is foiled when Cleopatra's handmaiden notices the taster wipe
the rim of the cup after tasting the wine. (Interesting punishment) The next day, Caesar
pronounces the decision of Rome on the warring participants. The bottom line is that
Ptolemy is out (with his advisors) and Cleopatra is in. At this point in the movie, they
become lovers.
| Cleopatra is crowned Queen by Caesar and everyone kneels and bows properly
- even the Romans. That night they talk of politics and the world and then of them
together. She promises him sons. |
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"I am the Nile. I will bear many sons. Isis has told me. My breasts are filled
with love and life. My hips are round and well apart. Such women, they say, have
sons."
Some time later they continue the discussion at the Tomb of Alexander. She dreams of a
united Rome and Egypt ruling a unified world. On the personal side, she tells him she is
pregnant. Sure enough, when the time finally comes Caesar has a son which he immediately
embraces in public as his. (50-year-old men who have babies invariably behave like
idiots.) Back in Rome, it's the talk of the city, and the Senate.
Caesar at last departs to return to Rome to a Triumph - a huge parade-like event where
the conquering hero is honored. Cleopatra, meanwhile, festers in Egypt for two years.
Caesar is made 'dictator-for-life' and at last calls for Cleopatra to come to Rome.
| The arrival day is filled with expectation. Caesar heads the Roman
Delegation on the steps of the Senate. Cleopatra does not disappoint the Roman crowd. Her
entrance is spectacular. She and Caesarion, dressed in gold, ride atop an Egyptian Sphinx
pulled by a multitude of burly servants. It's all a grand and glorious hoopla. |
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Caesar sets them up in Rome and spends a great deal of time there.
Talk about fanning the rumor flames! Gossip shot all around town at the speed of light.
From Senators to peasants, the city was buzzing with talk of the Egyptian Queen. On the
darker side, the Senate is also alive with complaints that Caesar was taking too much
power and that he wanted to be King. (Rome had a long standing tradition against kings.)
The Ides of March (the 15th) arrives. The Senate is to vote that day on new
powers for Caesar. He's confident of victory and shrugs aside warning from Calpurnia (his
wife) and Cleopatra for caution. Sure enough, as he approaches the Senate, he is attacked
by a group of Senators and stabbed to death with their daggers.
Cleopatra and Mark Antony discuss the situation after Caesar's funeral pyre is
completed. Octavian (Caesar's grand-nephew) and not Mark Antony has been named Caesar's
heir. There is no future for her in Rome. She sails back to Alexandria.
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