In 31 B.C. Anthony's forces fought the Romans in a sea battle off the eastern coast of Actium, Greece. Cleopatra was there with sixty ships of her own. However, the battle did not go well for Anthony. His ships were slow and awkward. The Roman ships were lighter and swifter.

[Left, below] Map of Actium on the east coast of Greece.

[Right] A diorama showing the Battle of Actium (Pharoanic Village in Cairo, Egypt.)

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Seeing that the battle was being lost, Cleopatra fled (escaped; ran away). This act of cowardice dealt a serious blow to the morale (the spirit; feelings; attitude) of Antony's men. Octavian's sailors cheered and fought even harder! Why did she do this? The battle was nowhere near lost. There was not even clear which fleet was winning before Cleopatra cut her cables and ran.

Then something even more surprising happened: Anthony abandoned his men to follow her! The Romans saw this as proof that Anthony was bewitched by his love of Cleopatra, unable to think or act on his own. The Romans knew that victory would be theirs.

Cleopatra and Mark Anthony returned to Egypt. Anthony lived alone for a time, brooding (feeling sorry for himself), while Cleopatra prepared for an invasion by the Roman ships. Then Anthony heard that his forces had surrendered at Actium and his allies (soldier who fought on his side) had changed sides and gone over to Octavian. He returned to Cleopatra to party away their final days before the Romans came for them.

In 30 B.C. Octavian's ships reached Alexandria. Mark Anthony marched his army out of the city to meet the enemy. He stopped on high ground to watch what he expected would be a naval battle at sea between his fleet and the Roman fleet. Instead he saw his fleet salute the Romans with their oars and join them. At this, Anthony's cavalry (horse soldiers) also deserted him (left him; went to the other side). His infantry (foot soldiers) were soon defeated and Anthony returned to the city, thinking that Cleopatra had betrayed him.

Terrified that he would harm her, Cleopatra fled and locked herself in her palace. She ordered her servants to tell Anthony she was dead. Believing it, Anthony cried out, "Now, Anthony, why delay longer? Fate has snatched away your only reason for living."

He went to his room, stabbed himself in the stomach and passed out on a couch. When he woke up he begged his servants to put him out of his misery (to kill him so he wouldn't suffer), but they ran away. At last Cleopatra's servant came and told him Cleopatra wanted to see him.

Overjoyed to hear Cleopatra was alive, Anthony had himself carried to her. Cleopatra was afraid to open the door because of the approach of Octavian's army, but she and her two serving women let down ropes from a window and pulled him up. Distraught (very upset), Cleopatra laid Anthony on her bed, cried, and called him her lord, husband and emperor. Anthony told her not to pity him, but to remember his past happiness. Then he died.

A silver plate showing Battle against Mark Anthony and Cleopatra's army. Octavian is carrying a banner.

When Octavian and his Roman soldiers finally reached her home, Cleopatra pulled out a dagger (small knife) and tried to stab herself. However, she was disarmed and taken prisoner. Her children were also taken prisoner and were treated well.

Octavian allowed Cleopatra to arrange Anthony's funeral. She buried him with royal splendor. After the funeral she took to her bed, sick with grief. She wanted to kill herself, but Octavian kept her under close guard. One day he visited her and she flung herself at his feet, nearly naked, and told him she wanted to live. (Was this a trick so she could kill herself, or was she trying to get Octavian's attention and capture his heart?) But Octavian showed no interest in her.

Cleopatra was determined to die. She knew Octavian intended to humiliate (to embarrass) her by marching her through Rome in chains. According to legend, she returned to her guarded home, took a bath, and ordered a feast. While the meal was being prepared a man arrived with a basket of figs. The guards checked the basket and found nothing suspicious, so they allowed the man to deliver it to Cleopatra.

After she had eaten, Cleopatra wrote a letter, sealed it, and sent it to Octavian. He opened it and found Cleopatra's plea that he would allow her to be buried in Anthony's tomb. Alarmed, Octavian sent messengers to alert her guards that Cleopatra planned to commit suicide. But it was too late.

They found the 39-year old queen dead on her golden bed, with one maid dying at her feet. Her other maid was weakly adjusting Cleopatra's crown. And she too fell over dead.

Two small puncture wounds were found on Cleopatra's arm, and it was believed that she had allowed herself to be bitten by an asp (a small poisonous snake) that was smuggled in with the figs.

As she had wished, she was buried beside Anthony.

. . Jean Andre Rixens (1846-1924): "The Death of Cleopatra" (Global Gallery Art Source)

. . .A silver basin showing the death of Cleopatra. [Getty Museum]

What Happened to Her Children?

Cleopatra was the last pharaoh. After her death Egypt became a Roman province. Because Caesarion was Julius Caesar's son and might pose a threat to Octavian's power, Octavian had the boy strangled by his tutor. He was about 17 years old then: 47-30 B.C. Cleopatra's other children were sent to Rome to be raised by Octavia, his half sister and Mark Anthony's Roman wife. Cleopatra Selene married King Juba II of Mauretania and had two children. No one knows what happened to Cleopatra's two sons by Mark Anthony, but they seem to have disappeared mysteriously.

Is it True that She Died by a Snake Bite?

It is possible, but death by snake bite would have been a painful way to go. Since Egyptians at that time were skilled in preparing poisons and medicines, it's possible that she poisoned herself. This seems more probable (more likely), since her two maids also died. A snake would not be able to kill three people. But we'll never know for sure which account is true. (One historian reports that Cleopatra experimented with poisons and tested them on condemned prisoners, as shown in this 19th century painting by Cabanel.)

Was Cleopatra Beautiful?

From Plutarch's Lives, we learn: "For her actual beauty, it is said, was not in itself so remarkable that none could be compared with her, or that no one could see her without being struck by it, but the contact of her presence, if you lived with her, was irresistible; the attraction of her person, joining with the charm of her conversation, and the character that attended all she said or did, was something bewitching. It was a pleasure merely to hear the sound of her voice, with which, like an instrument of many strings, she could pass from one language to another..." Take a look at these images of her and make up your own mind. Images of Cleopatra (from ancient coins).