Queen Cleopatra (2023) s01e02 Episode Script

1
Cleopatra.
African queen.
Mother to a nation of millions.
A living, breathing Egyptian goddess,
both feared and adored.
But she is also human.
Women must face dangers no man ever will.
Childbirth in ancient times
is at the mercy of the gods.
A pharaoh and her child
can die just as easily as any peasant.
The healthy boy she bears
could one day unite
the most powerful nations on earth.
Rome and Egypt.
Cleopatra, the mother of two nations,
securing her position,
and her immortality.
But fortune doesn't always favor the bold.
Cleopatra's story
is so significant
because it comes at a true turning point
in the history of the ancient world.
Cleopatra gives birth
to Julius Caesar's child
in her early 20's, probably around 22.
And his name, Caesarion, Little Caesar.
Perfect name.
Caesarion embodies
two great cultures,
two great civilizations.
There is no other child
like him in the world.
It was not a big deal
that she was not married
to the baby's father.
And considering
that she was a ruler
and then the baby's father is a ruler,
this child could be
the one that really unites Rome and Egypt.
With the birth of Caesarion,
Cleopatra really has a chance
to continue her dynasty.
After all of the problems
since Cleopatra returned to Egypt,
things have finally calmed down.
Ptolemy, her husband
and her brother is now deceased.
Not a sibling that Cleopatra
has to worry about any longer.
She's now in a very strong position.
Except
Cleopatra has a problem.
Cleopatra's problem is
her sister, Arsinoe.
After Julius Caesar
captures Arsinoe,
he brings her back to Rome
to be part of his triumph.
Part of the official celebration
of his victory in Egypt.
Cleopatra has exacted a promise
from Julius Caesar
that he will kill her.
She would have been about 17.
He parades Arsinoe.
And the people of Rome are appalled.
She's truly a child.
Why are you humiliating her this way?
So the people rise up against Caesar.
And so he thinks better of executing her.
The people of Rome revere Caesar.
But if they disagree
with one of his choices,
he has to walk that line.
Caesar commands
that Arsinoe's life be spared.
She's exiled to what is now
modern-day Turkey at the city of Ephesus.
Caesar really betrays Cleopatra.
She assumes
that her sister Arsinoe is dead
and no longer a threat to her throne.
When Cleopatra learns
that Arsinoe is still alive,
she is livid.
Because she knows
the threat she represents.
She knows you can't trust your siblings.
You can't trust them.
Cleopatra's, like,
"Just give me a moment
to think of a plan."
And that's the thing about Cleopatra.
She always has a plan.
The baby probably about a year old,
when she decides
to take Caesarion to Rome,
hoping, praying,
that Caesar will claim paternity,
will claim Caesarion as his son,
but more importantly, as his heir.
This will lend legitimacy
not just to Caesarion,
but also to Cleopatra.
And she, she wants that,
but she mostly wants it for Caesarion.
If Julius Caesar
recognizes Caesarion as his son,
this allows Cleopatra
to sidestep Arsinoe entirely.
She has with her,
her trusted confidantes,
Charmion and Iras.
She has with her,
her second brother-husband,
Ptolemy the XIV,
maybe feeling like he was a third wheel.
Cleopatra was in Rome to be with Caesar,
he's got to come along
because, you know, he's a co-pharaoh.
Roman hospitality
has left a lot to be desired.
It's just a show of strength.
If Egypt was in power
I'd do the same thing.
Ooh!
Rome, at this stage,
is the most powerful of empires.
Rome has made advances
in all sorts of fields,
from architecture to arts,
becoming the capital of the world.
And their empire is expanded.
It's going around
what we would today term Western Europe.
It's going all the way to Asia.
It's powerful.
Julius Caesar
is the world's biggest celebrity.
He's also a hero to many of the Romans.
Experience of life, experience of battle.
It's a sign of a powerful man.
Let's show them the Pharoah of Egypt.
Okay. Are you ready?
Eyes.
Rome welcomes you.
Ah. Caesar.
- Could you
- Oh, my boy.
There we go.
Thank you.
When Cleopatra is in Rome,
Caesar installs her, their child,
and their entourage,
in his garden villa on the Janiculum Hill.
Caesar had a Roman wife.
In Cleopatra's mind, "It's fine."
Caesar was known for his affairs.
The fact that he was married
wouldn't have bothered Cleopatra.
And although monogamy
was expected on the high political level
that we're talking about
with Caesar and Cleopatra,
very different rules applied.
Oh, who's that?
Well, oh, who is this?
Who do I have here?
Who do I have here?
Hi, you.
United by this child,
it means they are a partnership.
Careful.
He's not used to rough play.
Well, that is what fathers are for.
He has your chin.
Well, look at that.
Strong. A Roman jaw.
- Feeding time.
- Oh
- Already?
- Yeah.
You can have him all
to yourself after lunch.
Maybe even show him the Senate.
Maybe.
I'm glad you brought him.
I promised I would.
And you made me a promise too.
Did I?
Why is Arsinoe still alive?
Because the Roman public decreed it.
And she is no longer a threat.
To you.
The only way out of that temple
is through me
or with an army.
She's not likely to get either.
We underestimated her once.
You were naked.
I was distracted.
- And are you not distracted now?
- What is this?
You made a promise to me.
Any promise I made to you
does not supersede
a promise I make to the Roman people.
One of the things that would have
attracted Cleopatra to Julius Caesar
is he was a very savvy
political power player.
And this is key and inherent
to the DNA of being a Ptolemy.
She would have found in him
an equal who valued, uh,
playing with power
in the way
that she had been raised to as an infant.
I tried to hide ♪
Anything you'd like to share?
But I'm found ♪
Show me a light ♪
We see that she's very strategic.
Cleopatra is focusing on men
who can bring something
to the relationship.
Me ♪
Are you afraid ♪
Of what's inside of me ♪
I missed you.
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh ♪
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh ♪
Given the fluidity of sexuality
in ancient Egypt,
Julius Caesar is probably not
Cleopatra's first sexual partner.
And break ♪
I am unbreakable ♪
It really was a meeting
of both mind and heart,
of two powerful and strong individuals.
He would never have met
a woman like Cleopatra
with complete control and confidence
in her own possession
of her sexuality and her identity.
He would have been overwhelmed.
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh ♪
Cleopatra is probably one of the best
educated women in the Mediterranean.
She speaks multiple languages,
she's incredibly sophisticated.
She has traveled extensively.
She has learned at the feet
of some of the best minds of the world
in one of the most sophisticated
intellectual capitals of the world.
Rome, on the other hand, was just a baby.
A young, growing, right, empire.
This is a city that was founded
by farmer-soldiers.
They were down-to-earth,
sturdy people.
The Roman power system
is very male-oriented,
and Cleopatra's reputation becomes damaged
because she is not what the Romans expect
of a proper woman at all.
Egypt's women
had almost equal rights
to men under the law.
Women could choose who they married,
they chose who they divorced,
they could start businesses,
they kept their own property.
Women in Rome
were supposed to stay at home.
Especially elite, high-class women.
Egypt's women did not need
to conform to that idea.
And the Roman male elite
are disgusted by her
because she's different,
because she's foreign.
Caesar!
What a positively striking symbol
of Egypt she is.
Ripe and ready for the plucking.
Is this the respect
Rome affords its women?
"Ripe and ready for the plucking"?
Cicero, even if I was,
one wonders
if you could even find your tool.
Alongside Julius Caesar,
Mark Antony is one of Rome's
most prominent Generals.
We know that he was a bit more
of a hedonist than Julius Caesar.
He seems to be
a little less interested in philosophy
and more interested in drinking parties.
Cicero, this important
Roman senator,
dislikes Cleopatra.
And there is a letter where he says,
"She's insolent and arrogant, and I"
He says, "I hate her."
I meant no disrespect.
I forgive you.
It's not every day Rome welcomes a Queen.
Rome has never had
and never will have a queen.
And whilst I have the utmost respect
for your ancient civilization,
that's just it.
It's ancient.
Rome is the future.
There is no future without the past.
There is no Rome without Egypt.
Are you seriously suggesting
that we would not have existed
without you?
Hm.
I'll leave you to ponder that.
Finally!
A guest who actually elevates
the conversation.
A toast to Cleopatra!
At last
someone who has bested Cicero!
Rome was against the idea
of a woman being a ruler.
It's that simple.
Rome is a republic.
It is ruled by a group of men
in a semi-democratic rule.
Egypt, on the other hand,
has been dynastically ruled
by a singular or double ruler
for thousands of years.
These two systems of government
couldn't be more different.
Rome was one of the earliest examples
of representative government,
and they prided themselves
on their republican roots.
This notion of democracy
characterized Rome at the time.
When Julius Caesar returns
from the Alexandrian War,
the Senate is so grateful
for all that he's done,
that the Senate declares him Dictator.
The idea of a dictator
is not how we understand it today
in terms of unlimited power
and unlimited time.
A dictator was still a ruler
who had a limited term, a few years.
What's this?
Well, this is the public library.
Instead of one door
why not have several open archways?
That way, you have several points
of entry into the building.
She brings a whole new dimension
to anything that happens
around Julius Caesar at this time
because all eyes are on him
and ultimately, all eyes are on her.
Perfect.
How about this?
Hm.
It seems a lot of work.
Julius Caesar,
under Cleopatra's influence,
was planning to build a library in Rome.
It's similar to the one
that was damaged in Alexandria.
Julius Caesar also adjusts
the Roman calendar.
The ancient Egyptians
were consummate astronomers,
and they had created
a very effective solar-based calendar.
Twelve months of the year,
each month with 30 days,
and they had five days at the end
to create a year of 365 days.
The origin of our calendar
and the one that Julius Caesar adopts
when Cleopatra visits Rome.
Cleopatra saw Caesar's openness
to reforming the calendar,
to building a library
as proof that she could mold him,
as well as mold the City of Rome.
The fact that she exerts so much influence
over Julius Caesar during her visit
breeds a tremendous amount of resentment.
There was the rumor
that Caesar wants to move the capital,
from Rome to Alexandria.
Also that Caesar
is going to fashion himself
as a polygamist,
so then he can have a Roman wife,
he can have an Egyptian wife,
he can have a Greek wife.
He's now in bed, literally,
both metaphorically and literally
with somebody from a foreign country
and a country that was dependent on Rome.
This power battles between Egypt and Rome,
it's sort of now been flipped
and Cleopatra was making all the calls.
He erects a statue made of gold.
And it's dedicated to Isis slash Venus.
But it's in the likeness of Cleopatra.
The Romans did not like the idea
of turning people into gods.
Most Romans were probably appalled.
They believed she must have had
some kind of control or power over him.
But the truth of the matter is,
she's not entirely happy.
She doesn't get 100 percent
of what she wants.
One of Cleopatra's main goals
in going to Rome
is to have Julius Caesar
recognize his son Caesarion.
That is one thing
that Cleopatra does not accomplish.
Cleopatra returns to Egypt
because she'd been away
from her own country for so long.
Cleopatra feels very close
to the, uh, Egyptian people.
And she wants the Egyptian people
to know that she cares about them
and that they are important to her.
While Cleopatra is back in Egypt,
tensions continue to rise in Rome.
In 44 BCE,
Julius Caesar requests
to be appointed dictator for life.
There had been
so much political instability
that the Senate grants his request.
He is now dictator
for the remainder of his life.
He is at, sort of,
the height of his power,
but that also means
that he's also at a tipping point.
Julius Caesar is the first Roman
to be appointed dictator for life.
He puts his portrait on coinage.
He wears purple robes,
sits in ornate thrones,
and even has a statue
dedicated to himself as a god.
Romans begin to get the sense
that Julius Caesar
wants to be king to Cleopatra's queen,
and this idea is anathema
to Republican Rome.
It's political suicide
to try to become explicitly a king.
The Lupercalia Festival
is a prime chance for Julius Caesar
to show the people
the kind of person he is.
A humble person
who doesn't want to be the king.
Mark Antony is essentially a commoner
who's risen through the ranks
to become this important figure
in the Roman army
and to become somebody
who's very much trusted by Julius Caesar.
Mark Antony approaches him
with a diadem, a crown.
Hey.
Yeah!
The calendar is not the only thing
he's trying to change.
The people burst out in approval.
"Yay! See? He doesn't wanna be king."
But for some others, no,
this is a moment where
it's becoming clear
that he's cooking something up.
He was separating himself
from the other elite
and almost starting to take control.
A faction of senators
see Caesar be made dictator for life
as an affront
to the republican values of Rome.
Cleopatra comes for the second time
to Rome in 44 BCE.
When she comes back,
she needs to be extremely careful
about the position
that she finds herself in.
Every day that passes
in Caesarion's life,
he's becoming more of a threat to Rome.
The older he gets,
the more likely Cleopatra is to raise him
as the future king, an emperor.
She wanted Caesarion
to be recognized by Julius Caesar
and to be written
into his will as his heir.
The number one thing
that Caesarion is to her
is an ace in that hand of poker
that she's playing from,
if Julius Caesar
is able to hold onto his power.
Because of Julius Caesar's
popularity with the people
and his growing power,
the political elite are threatened
and they begin to conspire against him.
These politicians are really concerned
that Caesar is going to become an autocrat
because of the influence of Cleopatra.
Cleopatra's presence in Rome
gives the conspirators
the ammunition they need.
"Hey. Look, look who's here.
Why is she back here?"
Look!
On the morning of March 15th,
Julius Caesar
is making his way to the Senate.
Mark Antony is with him.
If I get it started I'ma finish ♪
There's some discrepancy
about who stabs him first.
And he dies.
Charmion, what's going on?
They killed him.
They killed Caesar.
Fifteenth of March, 44 BC,
he's stabbed dozens of times.
What do you mean?
It's barbaric.
The Senate, they killed him.
That can't be.
That can't be.
Why, why
Why would they do that?
Why would they
If they loved him so much, why would
Why would they let the Senate kill him?
Why? Why, why would they do that?
We need to go
before they break down the doors.
No, no one is breaking down the doors!
No one is breaking down the doors.
We're staying.
Until I've heard
Until I've heard Caesar's will read,
we're staying.
I want public recognition for my son.
He deserves that.
I deserve that.
The news knocks
the wind out of her.
Whoever has murdered Julius Caesar
will certainly want to murder his son.
Her and her son's life
were under threat.
She is, effectively, in a foreign country.
She doesn't have any immediate protection.
She was highly vulnerable
in a vulnerable position.
We're with you.
I want to find out
what is in that will.
Okay, okay. Okay.
Bye.
With Julius Caesar dead,
Cleopatra is in some ways,
back to square one,
forced to reassess
how to maintain her power,
how to maintain her position.
She needs to push Caesarion
into a position of leadership.
Someone close to them
will be named as Caesar's heir.
Considering his connections
with the Senate,
and how long he had loyally served
alongside Caesar,
Mark Antony had some expectation,
realistic or not,
that he might be the great man's heir.
Cleopatra expects
that this is gonna be Caesarion.
Octavian, Caesar's great nephew.
He named him heir.
Why would he name someone
no one has ever met
when he has an heir?
- Did you see for yourself?
- I did.
Caesar has a son.
A son that I birthed.
A legitimate heir.
I need to speak to the Senate.
What matters is what Caesar wrote
and he wrote that.
You were like a son to him.
What did he leave you?
There's a gathering at the Senate.
I need to be there.
Iras?
So it's shocking to her
that here is his natural son
who is not named as an heir.
We might assume
that if Octavian inherits Caesar's wealth,
that he's also going
to inherit his office.
But Republican Rome
has a representative government
and there are still
other power players in the mix.
Word is sent to Octavian
to tell him that he is the heir.
Mark Antony tries
to gather his supporters,
so there's gonna be a little bit
of a power play and some saber rattling.
Cleopatra departs Rome
after Caesar's assassination.
We can imagine
that she is devastated by her loss.
She's not only lost a lover and a friend,
but also her main political alliance.
Caesar's death
is not Cleopatra's only problem.
Her sister Arsinoe,
who is supposed to be imprisoned.
However, she makes an alliance
with the governor of Cyprus,
who breaks her out.
Because of her alliance
with the governor of Cyprus,
Arsinoe is freed from prison.
This enables her
to conspire with her brother Ptolemy
against Cleopatra
in an attempt to gain the throne.
Why am I learning about Arsinoe
and the Cyprian Governor
from a bureaucrat's wife?
Maybe I should hire her
as an advisor instead.
I wouldn't.
She gives away
as much information as she gets.
And we let her?
We give her enough bait to lure a catch.
But we never take our eyes off her.
Understood.
The only way out of that temple
is through me or with an army.
Well, she's got an army.
Uh, trying to get an army.
How worried should I be?
I'll let you know
when it's time to be on the offensive.
Make it happen.
Cleopatra could have had Arsinoe
assassinated herself,
but to some extent she's protected
because she's out of Egypt at this point.
Arsinoe goes
and makes an alliance with her brother,
Ptolemy the XIV.
Even though Ptolemy the XIV
is only a child,
he could very easily
become a rallying point
for opposition to Cleopatra.
Why?
Why can't we all just get along?
She cannot permit anything
to come between Caesarion
and what she sees
as his rightful, uh, position.
And so she takes immediate action.
Ptolemy the XIV, um, becomes unwell
and, um, and he passes away, he dies.
Wait.
May you become one with the gods.
You may begin.
I think it's highly likely
that Cleopatra removed her brother
from the equation.
He's just too big a threat,
so he is executed.
There can only be one king.
And her brother, Ptolemy, has to die
so that she can elevate
her own son, Caesarion, to co-regent.
Although this seems
a horrific thing to do to us moderns,
it would have actually been
almost a typical family solution.
She's lost a brother and a husband,
but she has gained a tremendous amount
of security as queen of Egypt.
After Caesar's assassination,
we essentially have a civil war.
We have a polarized Roman elite,
the assassins,
and those who are trying
to bring the assassins down.
Mark Antony and Octavian,
who joined forces at that stage.
Three years after the assassination
of Julius Caesar,
Cleopatra has another chance
to forge an alliance with Rome.
Mark Antony requests her presence
for a conference
regarding, uh, Egypt's position
within the power-sharing community
of the eastern part of the Roman Empire.
Mark Antony has received intelligence
that Cleopatra has given aid
to some of the conspirators.
Well?
What?
Mark Antony needs
to meet Cleopatra
to determine
if she's been helping his enemies,
the men who assassinated Caesar.
I told you.
Cleopatra is the pharaoh of Egypt.
Cleopatra does not
answer summons
from the likes of Mark Antony.
For weeks,
Mark Antony keeps sending her summons.
"Come to Tarsus."
Tell Mark Antony
I accept his invitation to meet.
Tell him I accept.
What?
Do as I say.
She needs someone
she can trust as an ally,
somebody who will be able to provide
some protection to Alexandria
if it's needed
because of attacks from Cyprus.
But at the end of the day, Mark Antony
does have military power.
Tarsus is an important city
in what is now southern Turkey.
Cleopatra enters the port
in one of the most lavish ships
ever created.
In anger, Mark Antony goes to the ship.
Cleopatra dresses herself
like the goddess Venus.
She has set a goal
of conquering Mark Antony,
and this opulent ship
will be her battlefield.
You and Octavian summoned me here.
You know he's taking the name Caesar?
Hm.
That's bold.
The Roman people spared Arsinoe.
I need to make sure
that doesn't happen again.
So what do you want?
An alliance.
Everything here
can help you retake all of Rome.
But can I trust you?
Yes.
Everything here.
Everything.
Everything?
Mark Antony needed Egyptian wealth.
She was demonstrating
the value of an alliance with Egypt,
that she could bring wealth
in a way that he needed.
Cleopatra sees an opportunity
in Mark Antony.
He is another Roman of considerable power,
somebody to continue
where she left off with Caesar.
She was using these relationships
quite strategically
in order to elevate her own status
and protect herself and her country.
It was precisely because she was a woman,
because she could have children
with powerful Roman men,
form both military, diplomatic,
and romantic allegiances
that gave her an element of power
that male kings of the time did not have.
Together ♪
We light the fire ♪
Forever ♪
You are ♪
Mark Antony's intelligence reports
are wrong.
It is not Cleopatra
who is helping Caesar's assassins,
but rather, her sister Arsinoe.
entwined ♪
Forever ♪
You are in me ♪
During pillow talk,
Cleopatra says, "I think
it would be the mark
of a strong Roman leader
if Arsinoe met an untimely death."
Burning ♪
We'll set the world alight ♪
Stop turning ♪
What we really see in Cleopatra
is a survivor.
It's somebody who will do anything
in order to survive.
Cleopatra's alliance
with Mark Antony
allows her to triumph
over her final sibling.
And with Arsinoe's death,
Cleopatra is the final Ptolemaic ruler
still standing.
But Cleopatra still has
an even bigger rival, Octavian,
and he is not going to stop
until all of her plans are destroyed.