80 BC story
Fluter and his sister Cleopatra V Tryphaena marry, while his younger brother Ptolemy is given Cyprus. Fluter recognizes that Rome is the true source of all power and sets off on an extended royal visit, spending much money to bribe both Caesar and the Senate to recognize him as true king of Egypt. He neglects to include his brother Ptolemy of Cyprus in this arrangement; the Romans send an army to annex Cyprus, and Ptolemy, unwilling to become a client of Rome, sinks the royal treasury at sea and commits suicide. Fluter returns to Egypt but the people, and Cleopatra, blame him for the loss of Cyprus and the death of Ptolemy. Fluter returns to Rome to seek Roman armed support and the Egyptians, furious at this subservience, depose him in his absence and make his wife, Cleopatra Tryphaena (Cleopatra V Tryphaena), and his daughter, Berenike (Berenice IV), joint rulers. Cleopatra keeps sending delegations to Rome to press their case and Fluter keeps having them murdered. Cleopatra Tryphaena dies leaving Berenike as sole ruler. She needs a husband to share the rule, the first candidate her advisers find is so repulsive she has him strangled. They then find her a young Greek general, Archelaus, who is much to her liking. But he is killed in battle, and Berenike refuses to flee and waits on the throne to confront her father, Fluter, who has her killed.
14 total · 1 choice · 7 major · 6 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| courtly intrigues | choice | The plot turns on people jockeying for power in the royal court of Ptolemaic Egypt in the years surrounding 80 BC. Ptolemy XII "Fluter" used his charm and Egypt's substantial supply of treasure to bribe his way through Roman politics all the way to the senate, and attain formal recognition for both himself as king, and Egypt as a "friend of Rome". |
| bribery | major | A point of the story is that Ptolemy XII "Fluter" embarked on a charm offensive to Rome where he sought to dazzle and bribe his way to recognition for both Egypt and himself. |
| corruption in society | major | The Roman Senate was portrayed as a body in which bribery was the most expedient way of getting legislation passed. Specifically, Ptolemy XII "Fluter" and his delegation took full advantage of this by bribing their way to getting Egypt legally recognized as a friendly independent kingdom with himself affirmed as its king. |
| diplomacy vs. force | major | A point of the story is that Ptolemy XII "Fluter" embarked on a charm offensive to Rome where he sought to dazzle and bribe his way to recognition for both Egypt and himself. Many people in the Egyptian court were aghast at his sycophantic and weak approach. Some called for war. |
| imperialism | major | Those in the Ptolemaic court could see that the rise of Rome meant Egypt's days as an independent kingdom were numbered. Rome had previously taken over Syria. In this installment, Rome annexed Cyprus and was applying pressure on Egypt. |
| incest in society | major | The viewer is confronted with the prevailing norm in the Ptolemaic court of marrying within the family to preserve the royal line. |
| life in the ancient Greco-Roman world | major | The story is primarily set in the royal court of Ptolemaic Egypt in the years surrounding 80 BC. Parts of the story are set in Rome and parts are set in the court of Cyprus. |
| romantic love | major | Berenike and Archelaus became genuinely besotted with each other. |
| coping with the death of a lover | minor | Berenike went into denial upon being informed that her lover, Archelaus, had died in battle. |
| human health condition | minor | Berenike's suitor carried a body odor so offensive that he was called Salt Fish Peddler. Berenike had him taken away to be executed. |