| The Declaration of War on Cleopatra: An Examination of the Evidence for the Antiquity of the Ceremony Enacted by Octavian in the Campus Martius: First Edition
Neil Johnson Related title: In 32 BC, Octavian, the future Caesar Augustus, performed an impressive ceremony in the Campus Martius in Rome. Standing in front of the Temple of Bellona, and attired as a fetial priest, he cast a spear into a plot of land in front of the temple – land that had been designated as foreign territory. By his actions Octavian was signifying the readiness of the Roman people to declare war upon Egypt and Queen Cleopatra. In truth, the war was to be directed primarily against Cleopatra's lover Mark Antony, Octavian's rival for the sole and undisputed control of Rome. Octavian, by claiming to have disinterred an ancient Roman ceremony for the declaration of war, signified his concern to abide by Roman traditions, thereby distancing himself from Antony, whom he wished to portray as having rejected Rome for a foreign land and its queen. That is the story, as historians tell it - but this monograph poses, and tries to answer, some important questions. | Marius Press Tel: +44 (0)1524 733027 |
