Antony looked around the room, including Kleopatra in the faces that he met. “Now, does anyone else wish to join our colleagues across the bay before we discuss strategy?”
No one moved, but Antony’s question left a palpable degree of discomfort in the air. “Quintus Dellius, is the quality of the wine sufficient to keep you here, or will your lust for fine vintages hurl you into the arms of our enemies?”
“Better sour wine than sour grapes, Imperator,” Dellius replied, smiling, trying to make a joke of his cryptic retort.
Antony made no reaction but let the comment stand.
“That was tactless, Dellius,” Kleopatra said.
“It was a joke, Your Majesty,” he replied coldly.
Clearing his throat, Antony called the meeting back to order. “It is obvious that we cannot remain encamped here in this bug-infested hellhole. We must break out, even if it means great sacrifices.”
“Imperator, I have been studying the maps, and making a count of our forces,” Canidius began. “Why do we not abandon the fleet in the gulf, and engage Octavian on land? We are evenly matched in foot soldiers, and there is no man who is a greater commander of cavalry and infantry than yourself. Octavians legions have been fighting at sea for eight years against the pirate Sextus. His rowers are healthy and his men disciplined. We will not win a sea battle. But on land, he will never defeat you. He is neither experienced nor wily enough.”
Antony did not immediately respond, but Kleopatra knew he could not agree to this plan. What Canidius did not know-what none of the men knew-was that Kleopatra had brought a massive treasure with her aboard her flagship, the Antonia. Five hundred pounds of gold, sacks of diamonds and jewels, and twenty thousand talents sat in locked trunks in boarded staterooms on her main vessel, under the watch of her loyal Macedonian guards from Alexandria. Kleopatra would trust no Roman save Antony with the knowledge of what she had in her possession, nor with its safekeeping. The men who watched the treasure were from families who had served the Ptolemies loyally for generations, handpicked personal guards from the Royal Macedonian Household Troops. They were the queen’s men; of this she had no doubt. Many of these same guards had been at her side since she was forced into exile almost twenty years ago.
There would be no abandoning the ship containing the treasure, so there was no abandoning the navy. But Antony could not tell his commanders why.
Canidius pleaded on. “Sir, at least half our oarsmen are dead. The rest are not well. There is not enough food nor enough medication to revive them. Who will row the ships?”
“Imperator, we are having difficulty understanding why a man of your experience is unwilling to fight on land. Is it some newly pledged loyalty to Neptune that keeps you inured to engaging the enemy with the navy?”
Dellius had said this in such a way that even Antony laughed. When he did, some of the men joined in. Kleopatra was now deeply suspicious of Dellius, but she welcomed the modicum of levity that he had injected into the room.
Dellius continued. “Julius Caesar used to say you were his own lucky charm on the battlefield. He respected you above all men in matters of war, or at least that was always my own impression.” Dellius sent his most pointed look in Kleopatra’s direction. “Of course, I was never Caesar’s intimate as some were.”
Canidius was quick to jump in, averting any retort the queen might make. “Sir, there would be no shame in abandoning the fleet. The enemy is in control of the sea. But to abandon your land forces, or to fritter them away in useless naval skirmishes, would be a crime. A land war it must be. And it must be said-with all due respect to Your Majesty-that the queen’s presence would not be an asset in a land war.” He turned to Kleopatra, her loyal Roman champion, and in a low but firm voice said, “It would be better for Your Majesty to escape by land over the Peloponnese, or to attempt an escape by ship once we withdraw from the gulf.”
Kleopatra waited for Antony’s response.
“It is for the best,” Canidius added, looking not at the queen but at Antony. “Morale among the Roman legions would improve greatly. If you are going to ask the men to endure, you must make some concessions to their desires.”
“And what of the half the army that is not Roman?” Antony asked. “What of their desires? If the queen leaves, many of them will go with her. Besides, she is our ally, and we do not send our allies away.”
Yes, if he sends me away, he sends away his money, Kleopatra thought. He is trying to say this to his commanders without actually uttering the words. But they will think that he avoids a land war out of deference to me. She knew that she must say something to alleviate this idea, to stop the spread of poison before it left the tent.
“Canidius Crassus, if we abandon our navy, then the enemy will have complete control of the seas. He will be able to blockade us in wherever we go. It takes time and money to build ships. Do you really wish to be an army without a navy? It would leave us indefensible.”
“The queen is entirely correct,” Antony said. “We will not abandon one of our greatest assets. It is my assessment that no war should be waged from this vantage point. Our men have grown weak. Morale is low, the disease and defection rate high. We have resources to regroup and to win, but we must get our army out of this mire. I move that we withdraw from the gulf, and take the winter to gather new armies and supplies. Let Octavian remain encamped in Greece. Let his army and his navy suffer the same indignities we have endured these last months. Our best plan is to escape and fight another day.”
“And how does the Imperator suggest we escape?” Sosius asked. He had taken a back seat at the meeting and he did not look happy. “We are blockaded.”
“Remember the disaster at Phraaspa, gentlemen? We were in severe and desperate conditions. I called a retreat. You spent a very comfortable winter in Syria, drinking and dining on the queen’s purse, and we went back the next year and were victorious.”
“History shall repeat itself,” Kleopatra promised. “I believe you shall all find accommodations in Alexandria to your liking.”
“Leave the details to us,” Antony said, referring to himself and the queen. “We shall escape this place within the week.”
All summer long Kleopatra’s mind had been weighted down with the heat and humidity that pressed on the Gulf of Ambracia like some invisible anvil. She longed for escape from this place. Every moment was lived in anticipation of a time when her ships would break free from the double pressure of the soggy atmosphere and Octavian’s vessels that kept them imprisoned in their encampment on the shores at Actium. She did not walk about in the hazy malarial stupor that had descended upon most of the troops. She felt rather as if the power was being squeezed out of her body by unseen forces. If she might only escape this place, she could breathe again and think once more with clarity.
They had waited for a harbinger of good weather, clear skies and winds from the east that would bring the westerly afternoon breeze known as the Maestro. Finally, after what seemed an interminable time spent watching the skies, she and Antony stood under a blood-red sunset-auspicious for sailors-and he announced that tomorrow would be the day they left this place for good.
That night, Kleopatra watched as two hundred of her ships-the ships for which she had bargained for the very timber, supervised the planning and the construction, and paid for the finest rowers to man them-were destroyed in titanic flames. The sailors had soaked the polished Cypriot beams in flammable oils and then lit them with torches. The army stood on the shore, the shadows of the flames dancing on their red, sweaty faces, and watched their mammoth warships burn. There were no men to crew them, and it was far better to destroy them than to leave them for the enemy. Kleopatra knew that Octavian was watching and hoped he was not aware of their plan.
“Once we are safely in Egypt, we will begin again,” Antony said, feeling her sadness as they watched the navy they had so carefully constructed become great black hulls that would be left to ghost the shores. “We’ll rest and restore
the men on good Greek food and wine and sunny Egyptian skies, and we’ll begin recruiting once more.”
“I will order timber for new ships immediately,” Kleopatra said, turning her face away from the blaze, but the fire lit their camp as if it was the middle of the day. “And as far as recruits, they are being born every minute. We shall send all the way to India if necessary. Some of the spices we import are from as far away as that land. Why can we not import men if we can import cumin? We will make it worth their while.”
“And they will teach us those mystical ideas that so fascinated Alexander,” Antony said. “It is said that they harbor great secrets that bring a man and a woman in touch with the very gods during coupling.”
“That is surely knowledge worth paying for,” she replied, trying to smile at him in the old way that meant that in minutes they would be escaping to their quarters, arms and legs wrapped about each other in a tangle of lust. She wanted to respond to his efforts to bolster her, but she thought her voice sounded hollow.
Since they had decided to flee and regroup, Antony’s spirits were high. He brushed off the betrayal of Ahenobarbus and Amyntas and was once more looking to the future. He was a man who thrived on a soldier’s freedom, Kleopatra reminded herself, a man who would remain by one’s side forever as long as he did not think he was required to do so. The confinement the naval barricade had imposed upon him must had been overwhelmingly difficult, more so than he had revealed to her or to his men. If he had prowled about their quarters moodily like a caged lion, she must forgive him, for that was what he was in these circumstances.
The sky was a seamless blue on the morning of the flight, and the heat of the summer was swept away by the cool autumn winds arriving from the north. They could not have commanded the sky god to have furnished them with more auspicious weather.
“If only we could have had more days such as today,” Antony remarked as he dressed for sea battle. His trunks were already packed and loaded onto Kleopatra’s flagship. Charmion had removed all valuables from their tent the day before. Nothing of consequence was left behind. They were staking everything on their success. “We would not have had to bury so many this summer.”
“The gods choose who lives and who dies, my darling,” she replied.
“Perhaps. But the burden falls too often on those whom the gods choose to command other men,” he said. “It is not always pleasant to share these responsibilities with the gods.”
They said a hasty good-bye away from the sight of others, but as Kleopatra’s escort came to help her board her flagship, Canidius Crassus requested entrance to their quarters.
“Sir, there is grumbling among the men.” Canidius was clean-shaven, with little red nicks on his neck. Even the barbers’ razors were wearing thin, Kleopatra thought.
“Are you sure it isn’t the rumbling of their stomachs? Do they not know that we are moving them out of here and toward lavish meals?” Antony was in a hurry and in no mood for a disruption of his plans.
“Sir, the land forces are not a problem. But the legionnaires who have been assigned to the ships know that you’ve ordered the sails to be stowed away on board. They know that can only mean one thing- flight. And yet they have been instructed to engage the enemy in battle.”
“Yes, we are going to fight our way out of here like soldiers. Do they think Agrippa is going to give us an escort to the opening of the gulf?”
“No sir, but half the men wish to stay and fight. I’ve heard them swear that if they think they can win the day, they will do so. No one wishes the war to drag on another year.”
“Are you telling me that my orders are going to be defied?” Antony spoke quietly, but there was menace in his voice. Kleopatra realized that he could not tolerate one more day in the present situation. He had set his sights and his soul on escape. Anyone who threatened the success of that would surely die.
“Not exactly, sir. But there is confusion in the dual purpose of the mission.”
“There is no dual purpose!” Antony roared. “We are little more than two hundred ships against Agrippa’s four hundred. Those are not good odds, Canidius, even for me. The naval orders are to engage the enemy until the queen’s sixty ships escape, and then turn around and follow. Isn’t that clear? The army marches north through Macedonia, on to Syria, and then to Egypt. What could be simpler?”
“Ships will be lost.”
“For the sake of the gods, Canidius, of course there will be losses. It’s a damned war!” Antony was beyond patience. Kleopatra did not like to see him so upset before such an important maneuver, one that would require all his calm and his cunning.
“I am simply reporting what I hear in the ranks to you as is my duty.”
Kleopatra could not dislike Canidius even though he, too, had turned against her involvement in the war. He was dignified and loyal, as loyal as a eunuch, she mused as he patiently withstood Antony’s anger. It was not a trait she perceived in many Roman commanders. Canidius had filled the role Antony had played with Caesar. Had Caesar lived, Antony would forever have been contented to remain Caesar’s second. But circumstance and Fate pushed Antony to take on Caesar’s position. Canidius was one of the few men capable of commanding in the first position, but he would never thrust himself forward. How rare. Kleopatra wondered if this Marcus Agrippa who was responsible for Octavian’s victories would remain loyal to his commander, or would Octavian, like his uncle, soon meet with the Roman daggers of his so-called friends?
“I am not going to alter my plan for a few disgruntled soldiers,” Antony said. “I will be in the very visible position of commanding the right squadrons. I am personally taking on the task of facing the portion of the flotilla under Agrippa’s command despite the fact that he has me severely outnumbered. I am asking nothing of the men that I am not demanding of myself-despite my advanced years.” He smiled at Kleopatra. “We shall fight until we have weakened their center. Then, Kleopatra’s squadrons shall hoist sails and catch the afternoon breeze out to sea. At that point, I shall retreat from the enemy and escape. As many ships as are still afloat will follow me.”
Kleopatra knew she still claimed Canidius’s respect. She no longer addressed Antony in a personal way when Romans were present, but she was not afraid of Canidius’s judgment. She grabbed Antony by the cloth of his cloak. “You convinced Gabinius’s army to make a monthlong march across a waterless desert to restore my father to his throne. Surely you will have no difficulty inspiring your own men today.”
Antony gave her a light kiss on the lips. He took her hands and freed himself from her grip. “I’ll join you in Cape Taenarum. May the gods be with us both.”
As her ship left shore, Kleopatra looked out over the lush green mass of land they were leaving, with its patches of brown left by the hot summer sun and the abuses of the soldiers. Shepherd boys with their small flocks had come out to the sloping hillsides to watch the action, and Kleopatra could see one of them resting in the noonday sun in the stalky shade of a cypress tree. He looked as if he was taking his lunch while his sheep, indifferent to the looming confrontation, helped themselves to the thick blades of grass on the hills. She had forgotten to eat, and she wished she could leave her ship and join the shepherd boy in his meal of bread, grapes, and cheese, washed down with sweet peasant wine. Antony’s army had lined up along the shore in the event that the enemy navy pushed his ships back to land. It was ready to engage if that were the case. Octavian’s army, following suit, had lined up on the opposite shore. Like pieces in a board game, they faced each other across the water.
Antony waited until he felt the first stirrings of the Maestro before he gave the signal to move. Slowly, his three squadrons of one hundred seventy ships eased into the gulf, the wings moving forward before the center, to tease Agrippa’s ships into an identical motion, and leaving the middle free so that when given the command, Kleopatra’s squadron could quickly sail straight through the fighting, out of the gulf, and into the open sea.
Agrippa did not take the bait but spread his line longer, moving his south flank toward the open sea as well, blocking any quick escape of the treasure-loaded fleet that lagged behind the action. Kleopatra worried that Agrippa had uncovered their plan; either that, or someone had uncovered it for him. But it was too late to worry over betrayals now. Antony’s vessels were quickly outflanked on the north and the south by Agrippa’s greater numbers. Kleopatra had not anticipated how difficult it would be to remain out of the action, watching as their navy took blows and assaults from Agrippa’s warships. They were so outnumbered that many vessels were attacked by multiple ships. Before long, twelve of their boats were surrounded and forced to surrender.
How could she refrain from engaging? Could her sixty ships, armed with men and weapons, not save some of their navy? Kleopatra ran the length of the vessel to find Eumenes, the Graeco-Egyptian commander of the squadron, defying Antony’s orders to remain either below with her staff or safely out of sight at the ship’s rear.
“Admiral!” she yelled to him above the creaking rhythm of the rowers. “We must reinforce the front line! We’ve already lost a dozen vessels. If we cannot escape, then let us at least die fighting with honor.”
The admiral merely shook his head. “The Imperator anticipated Your Majesty’s will to join the fighting. He assured me that if I disobeyed his orders, he would execute me with his own hands. He was not speaking lightly.”
Kleopatra wanted to rip Eumenes’ fine black beard off his face. “But can you not see that the plan is falling apart? You might be executed anyway for your reticence while our men are dying.”
“Your Majesty, I assure you that the Imperator has already calculat-
ed these risks. Please. He will get us out of here. You must not allow the small defeats to test you. They are a grim but necessary step to victory.”