I'd like to believe the above picture is Cleopatra returning from Rome. She is broken-hearted over Caesar and still undergoing the grieving process. I wanted to share some of my favorite quotes about Caesar.

"I was Isis and here lay my Osiris, attacked by those who had called him 'father of his country' and vowed to protect his life with their own. Now I saw the places in his toga - it seemed like hundreds of them - that had been ripped by the daggers. He had been set upon as if by a pack of wolves, killed by those sworn to protect him. He had been without any weapon, for it was against the law to have weapons in the Senate."

"And I would avenge him, if it took me all the rest of my life. Somehow I would do it, using any weapon, or person, that came to hand."

"I am here, Caesar. I will not desert, nor will I leave your enemies unpunished. And what I leave undone, your son, Caesarion, will finish. This I solemnly swear to you."

During the return trip home, Cleopatra discovers she is pregnant and she grieves for her unborn baby who will never meet its father. But the boat trip is a time for introspection and she realizes that Caesarion and Egypt are her responsibility and must be her focus from now on. Nothing must tear her away from that. She must prepare for a possible attack by the Parthians and protect her land by rebuilding the navy and gathering troops. To deal with her grief, she involves herself in her work running the richest country of the east. She is still worried about assassination attempts on Caesarion and works hard to protect him. She hires food tasters. She also goes about getting a new wardrobe.

The assassins have left Rome and are heading East. Cleopatra fears they will flee to Egypt, but they do not. If they did, she would kill them. She begins to study prophecies and Oracles for clues about Caesar. She is still hanging onto him. She miscarries and this brings on more mixed emotions to sort through.

One night she sees a comet and is sure that it is Caesar signaling to her and Rome to stop mourning. She makes a conscious decision to leave Caesar behind and move on. This is healthy and it is what she should do. There are a number of matters that are quite pressing and need attended to.

Ptolemy is diagnosed with consumption and she takes him to a healing shrine where he dies. She lays him to rest in Soma, a royal tomb. Egypt must mourn for seven days.

There is a crocodile plague and the Nile is not rising high enough, Cleopatra fears drought and famine. With the low water, the crocodile plague ended, but there will not be enough grain for her people. She plans to empty her treasury to feed her people. Egypt survived and no one starved.

For defense, she orders 200 ships built, half warships and half quadriremes and a miniature one for Caesarion. Cassius sends word he needs ships. He is warring in Asia. Cleopatra refuses citing the famine and drought as an excuse, but her real reason is that she wants to remain loyal to Caesar.

In Roman news, Antony and Octavian are at war. Octavian got the Senate to turn against Antony and he fled to the Alps after attempting to take Near Gaul from Decimus. Decimus fled, too. He was intercepted by Octavian and fled back to Gaul where he was killed by a chieftan. One by one, Antony and Octavian are killing the conspirators. Antony killed two more Consuls and met with Lepidus in the mountains to draft a pact establishing them as Triumvirs. Cleopatra vows to help them with their revenge. Octavian joins the Triumvirs.

Cleopatra realizes that Octavian is power-hungry and manipulative. He wants to rule Rome. She fears for Antony and Lepidus who trust him and is afraid Octavian will come after Caesarion. Despite her fears, she sends her navy to Brundisium and Triumvirs. Antony has promised her he would pronounce Caesarion Caesar's heir and allow him to co-rule with her in Egypt. (I think this is the beginning of their official courtship.) Cleopatra is blind to his interest and focused on securing things for Caesarion and Egypt. The navy is destroyed in a storm and Cleopatra does not have time to build another. She mourns her decision, because now Egypt is vulnerable to Parthian attack again.

In Roman news, Octavian and Antony fight Brutus and Cassius and win. Both Cassius and Brutus commit suicide. Lepidus is untrustworthy and cut from Triumvirs. Antony receives Gaul, East, and plans to conquer Parthians. He wants to complete his commander's business. Octavian is given Spain and Africa and settles with troops in Italy. He plans to attack and kill Sextus.

In Egypt, Cleopatra's staff is urging her to marry and she goes along and meets Archelaus of Comana and Herod of Judea. She is still in love with Caesar. No one will be good enough. So she uses the meetings to learn about Roamn news and Antony's conquests. He has triumphed in Asia.

She also receives word that Antony wants her to answer to treasonous charges. She is insulted and refuses to go to Tarsus to see him. If he wants to discuss these matters he will have to come to Egypt.

Antony will not give up, but she remains firm. This is a good sign. If it had been Caesar she would have gone immediately. She is maintaining control in her relations with Antony even though she is oblivious to his feelings towards her. Eventually, she realizes she needs him to continue fighting for Caesarion and decides to go to Tarsus.

She goes on her terms and entertains the citizens and troops on her ships with lavish gifts of gold plates and utensils and couches.

Antony confesses he needed to see her. He's loved her since she was a little girl. He impresses her by knowing they have been apart three years, five months and ten days. He begs forgiveness for his summons. She grants it. He tells her of his plans to fight the Parthians. After the banquet, he returns to woe her.

Cleopatra is unsure and full of mixed emotions, but decides this night can be for her and she sleeps with him. He promises her this is just the beginning and gets her to remove Caesar's pendant. Antony holds a banquet for her, and she holds another before she departs. She gets him to promise to come to Alexandria, but tricking him into thinking she drank a pearl dissolved in vinegar (she actually just swallowed it). She again gives lavish gifts and this time includes horses with trappings of gold and silver.

Before she leaves, Antony explains that Caesar left Caesarion out of his will out of love for her and their son. This brings her a small amount of peace. He must have been confidant she could fight her own battles and she can. She is a lot stronger and tougher now. She is more protective of her heart. To prove his love for her, Antony must destroy her sister Arsinoe and a pretender of her brother Ptolemy.

This is the beginning of the great love story forever contained in myth and legend. I hope that Antony will be better for her than Caesar, but it is still too early to tell. Cleopatra has grown up a lot and I believe she is recognizing her fate and is ready to embrace it. She definitely has feelings for Antony that she needs to explore, but this time she won't be as vulnerable. She has proven she can hold her own and Antony respects that. I hope things work out for them. I want them to be happy. I've grown to really care for Cleopatra and Caesarion as if I knew them. Cleopatra is becoming someone I can admire. I have to allow for the fact that she too, was human. Humans make mistakes, this is part of the human condition. In order to learn and grow one has to fall down and try again. The one solid characteristic I've seen in her is her ability to keep going when she is knocked down. She doesn't give up, she just readjusts her priorities and keeps fighting. She won't give up until Egypt and Rome are one ruled by her and Antony and ready to be passed to their children. I can't wait to see what happens next. I'm pretty psyched.

I welcome all criticisms, questions and comments. If you are reading this along with me, let mew know what you think and add your own personal knowledge to my own review. I can't wait to hear from you, so comment or contact me.

Let's get the discussion rolling. What do you think about what's happened so far? Is she a good mother? Would you have made similar choices if you were her? Would you have loved Caesar? Would you have slept with Marc Antony? Would you have slept with married men to further your own agenda? What could she have done differently? What can we learn from her? How can we avoid similar mistakes? I want to know, so let me know. Buy the book and read it with me.