Mark Antony Part III

 

Parthian Invasion

A Parthian army, led by Orodes II's eldest son Pacorus, invaded Syria in early 40 BC. Labienus, the Republican ally of Brutus and Cassius, accompanied him to advise him and to rally the former Republican soldiers stationed in Syria to the Parthian cause. Labienus recruited many of the former Republican soldiers to the Parthian campaign in opposition to Antony. The joint Parthian–Roman force, after initial success in Syria, separated to lead their offensive in two directions: Pacorus marched south toward Hasmonean Judea while Labienus crossed the Taurus Mountains to the north into Cilicia. Labienus conquered southern Anatolia with little resistance. The Roman governor of Asia, Lucius Munatius Plancus, a partisan of Antony, was forced to flee his province, allowing Labienus to recruit the Roman soldiers stationed there. For his part, Pacorus advanced south to Phoenicia and Palestine. In Hasmonean Judea, the exiled prince Antigonus allied himself with the Parthians. When his brother, Rome's client king Hyrcanus II, refused to accept Parthian domination, he was deposed in favor of Antigonus as Parthia's client king in Judea. Pacorus' conquest had captured much of the Syrian and Palestinian interior, with much of the Phoenician coast occupied as well. The city of Tyre remained the last major Roman outpost in the region.

Antony, then in Egypt with Cleopatra, did not respond immediately to the Parthian invasion. Though he left Alexandria for Tyre in early 40 BC, when he learned of the civil war between his wife and Octavian, he was forced to return to Italy with his army to secure his position in Rome rather than defeat the Parthians. Instead, Antony dispatched Publius Ventidius Bassus to check the Parthian advance. Arriving in the East in spring 39 BC, Ventidius surprised Labienus near the Taurus Mountains, claiming victory at the Cilician Gates. Ventidius ordered Labienus executed as a traitor and the formerly rebellious Roman soldiers under his command were reincorporated under Antony's control. He then met a Parthian army at the border between Cilicia and Syria, defeating it and killing a large portion of the Parthian soldiers at the Amanus Pass. Ventidius' actions temporarily halted the Parthian advance and restored Roman authority in the East, forcing Pacorus to abandon his conquests and return to Parthia.

In the spring of 38 BC, the Parthians resumed their offensive with Pacorus leading an army across the Euphrates. Ventidius, in order to gain time, leaked disinformation to Pacorus implying that he should cross the Euphrates River at their usual ford. Pacorus did not trust this information and decided to cross the river much farther downstream; this was what Ventidius hoped would occur and gave him time to get his forces ready. The Parthians faced no opposition and proceeded to the town of Gindarus in Cyrrhestica where Ventidius' army was waiting. At the Battle of Cyrrhestica, Ventidius inflicted an overwhelming defeat against the Parthians which resulted in the death of Pacorus. Overall, the Roman army had achieved a complete victory with Ventidius' three successive victories forcing the Parthians back across the Euphrates.[129] Pacorus' death threw the Parthian Empire into chaos. Shah Orodes II, overwhelmed by the grief of his son's death, appointed his younger son Phraates IV as his successor. However, Phraates IV assassinated Orodes II in late 38 BC, succeeding him on the throne.

Ventidius feared Antony's wrath if he invaded Parthian territory, thereby stealing his glory; so instead he attacked and subdued the eastern kingdoms, which had revolted against Roman control following the disastrous defeat of Crassus at Carrhae. One such rebel was King Antiochus of Commagene, whom he besieged in Samosata. Antiochus tried to make peace with Ventidius, but Ventidius told him to approach Antony directly. After peace was concluded, Antony sent Ventidius back to Rome where he celebrated a triumph, the first Roman to triumph over the Parthians.

Conflict with Sextus Pompey

While Antony and the other Triumvirs ratified the Treaty of Brundisium to redivide the Roman world among themselves, the rebel Sextus Pompey, the son of Caesar's rival Pompey the Great, was largely ignored. From his stronghold on Sicily, he continued his piratical activities across Italy and blocked the shipment of grain to Rome. The lack of food in Rome caused the public to blame the Triumvirate and shift its sympathies towards Pompey. This pressure forced the Triumvirs to meet with Sextus in early 39 BC.

While Octavian wanted an end to the ongoing blockade of Italy, Antony sought peace in the West in order to make the Triumvirate's legions available for his service in his planned campaign against the Parthians. Though the Triumvirs rejected Sextus' initial request to replace Lepidus as the third man within the Triumvirate, they did grant other concessions. Under the terms of the Treaty of Misenum, Sextus was allowed to retain control over Sicily and Sardinia, with the provinces of Corsica and Greece being added to his territory. He was also promised a future position with the Priestly College of Augurs and the consulship for 35 BC. In exchange, Sextus agreed to end his naval blockade of Italy, supply Rome with grain, and halt his piracy of Roman merchant ships. However, the most important provision of the Treaty was the end of the proscription the Trimumvirate had begun in late 43 BC. Many of the proscribed senators, rather than face death, fled to Sicily seeking Sextus' protection. With the exception of those responsible for Caesar's assassination, all those proscribed were allowed to return to Rome and promised compensation. This caused Sextus to lose many valuable allies as the formerly exiled senators gradually aligned themselves with either Octavian or Antony. To secure the peace, Octavian betrothed his three-year-old nephew and Antony's stepson Marcus Claudius Marcellus to Sextus' daughter Pompeia. With peace in the West secured, Antony planned to retaliate against Parthia by invading their territory. Under an agreement with Octavian, Antony would be supplied with extra troops for his campaign. With this military purpose on his mind, Antony sailed to Greece with Octavia, where he behaved in a most extravagant manner, assuming the attributes of the Greek god Dionysus in 39 BC.

The peace with Sextus was short-lived, however. When Sextus demanded control over Greece as the agreement provided, Antony demanded the province's tax revenues be to fund the Parthian campaign. Sextus refused. Meanwhile, Sextus' admiral Menas betrayed him, shifting his loyalty to Octavian and thereby granting him control of Corsica, Sardinia, three of Sextus' legions, and a larger naval force. These actions worked to renew Sextus' blockade of Italy, preventing Octavian from sending the promised troops to Antony for the Parthian campaign. This new delay caused Antony to quarrel with Octavian, forcing Octavia to mediate a truce between them. Under the Treaty of Tarentum, Antony provided a large naval force for Octavian's use against Sextus while Octavian promised to raise new legions for Antony to support his invasion of Parthia. As the term of the Triumvirate was set to expire at the end of 38 BC, the two unilaterally extended their term of office another five years until 33 BC without seeking approval of the senate or the popular assemblies. To seal the Treaty, Antony's elder son Marcus Antonius Antyllus, then only 6 years old, was betrothed to Octavian's only daughter Julia, then only an infant. With the Treaty signed, Antony returned to the East, leaving Octavia in Italy.

Reconquest of Judea

With Publius Ventidius Bassus returned to Rome in triumph for his defensive campaign against the Parthians, Antony appointed Gaius Sosius as the new governor of Syria and Cilicia in early 38 BC. Antony, still in the West negotiating with Octavian, ordered Sosius to depose Antigonus, who had been installed in the recent Parthian invasion as the ruler of Hasmonean Judea, and to make Herod the new Roman client king in the region. Years before in 40 BC, the Roman senate had proclaimed Herod "King of the Jews" because Herod had been a loyal supporter of Hyrcanus II, Rome's previous client king before the Parthian invasion, and was from a family with long standing connections to Rome. The Romans hoped to use Herod as a bulwark against the Parthians in the coming campaign.

Advancing south, Sosius captured the island-city of Aradus on the coast of Phoenicia by the end of 38 BC. The following year, the Romans besieged Jerusalem. After a forty-day siege, the Roman soldiers stormed the city and, despite Herod's pleas for restraint, acted without mercy, pillaging and killing all in their path, prompting Herod to complain to Antony. Herod finally resorted to bribing Sosius and his troops in order that they would not leave him "king of a desert". Antigonus was forced to surrender to Sosius, and was sent to Antony for the triumphal procession in Rome. Herod, however, fearing that Antigonus would win backing in Rome, bribed Antony to execute Antigonus. Antony, who recognized that Antigonus would remain a permanent threat to Herod, ordered him beheaded in Antioch. Now secure on his throne, Herod would rule the Herodian Kingdom until his death in 4 BC, and would be an ever-faithful client king of Rome.

Parthian Campaign

With the Triumvirate renewed in 38 BC, Antony returned to Athens in the winter with his new wife Octavia, the sister of Octavian. With the assassination of the Parthian king Orodes II by his son Phraates IV, who then seized the Parthian throne, in late 38 BC, Antony prepared to invade Parthia himself.

Antony, however, realized Octavian had no intention of sending him the additional legions he had promised under the Treaty of Tarentum. To supplement his own armies, Antony instead looked to Rome's principal vassal in the East: his lover Cleopatra. In addition to significant financial resources, Cleopatra's backing of his Parthian campaign allowed Antony to amass the largest army Rome had ever assembled in the East. Wintering in Antioch during 37, Antony's combined Roman–Egyptian army numbered some 200,000, including sixteen legions (approximately 160,000 soldiers) plus an additional 40,000 auxiliaries.[citation needed] Such a force was twice the size of Marcus Licinius Crassus's army from his failed Parthian invasion of 53 BC and three times those of Lucius Licinius Lucullus and Lucius Cornelius Sulla during the Mithridatic Wars. The size of his army indicated Antony's intention to conquer Parthia, or at least receive its submission by capturing the Parthian capital of Ecbatana. Antony's rear was protected by Rome's client kingdoms in Anatolia, Syria, and Judea, while the client kingdoms of Cappadocia, Pontus, and Commagene would provide supplies along the march.

Antony's first target for his invasion was the Kingdom of Armenia. Ruled by King Artavasdes II of Armenia, Armenia had been an ally of Rome since the defeat of Tigranes the Great by Pompey the Great in 66 BC during the Third Mithridatic War. However, following Marcus Licinius Crassus's defeat at the Battle of Carrhae in 53 BC, Armenia was forced into an alliance with Parthia due to Rome's weakened position in the East. Antony dispatched Publius Canidius Crassus to Armenia, receiving Artavasdes II's surrender without opposition. Canidius then led an invasion into the South Caucasus, subduing Iberia. There, Canidius forced the Iberian King Pharnavaz II into an alliance against Zober, king of neighboring Albania, subduing the kingdom and reducing it to a Roman protectorate.

With Armenia and the Caucasus secured, Antony marched south, crossing into the Parthian province of Media Atropatene. Though Antony desired a pitched battle, the Parthians would not engage, allowing Antony to march deep into Parthian territory by mid-August of 36 BC. This forced Antony to leave his logistics train in the care of two legions (approximately 10,000 soldiers), which was then attacked and completely destroyed by the Parthian army before Antony could rescue them. Though the Armenian King Artavasdes II and his cavalry were present during the massacre, they did not intervene. Despite the ambush, Antony continued the campaign. However, Antony was soon forced to retreat in mid-October after a failed two-month siege of the provincial capital.

The retreat soon proved a disaster as Antony's demoralized army faced increasing supply difficulties in the mountainous terrain during winter while constantly being harassed by the Parthian army. According to the Greek historian Plutarch, eighteen battles were fought between the retreating Romans and the Parthians during the month-long march back to Armenia, with approximately 20,000 infantry and 4,000 cavalry dying during the retreat alone. Once in Armenia, Antony quickly marched back to Syria to protect his interests there by late 36 BC, losing an additional 8,000 soldiers along the way. In all, two-fifths of his original army (some 80,000 men) had died during his failed campaign.

Antony and Cleopatra

Meanwhile, in Rome, the triumvirate was no more. Octavian forced Lepidus to resign after the older triumvir attempted to take control of Sicily after the defeat of Sextus. Now in sole power, Octavian was occupied in wooing the traditional Republican aristocracy to his side. He married Livia and started to attack Antony in order to raise himself to power. He argued that Antony was a man of low morals to have left his faithful wife abandoned in Rome with the children to be with the promiscuous queen of Egypt. Antony was accused of everything, but most of all, of "going native", an unforgivable crime to the proud Romans. Several times Antony was summoned to Rome, but remained in Alexandria with Cleopatra.

Again with Egyptian money, Antony invaded Armenia, this time successfully. In the return, a mock Roman triumph was celebrated in the streets of Alexandria. The parade through the city was a pastiche of Rome's most important military celebration. For the finale, the whole city was summoned to hear a very important political statement. Surrounded by Cleopatra and her children, Antony ended his alliance with Octavian.

He distributed kingdoms among his children: Alexander Helios was named king of Armenia, Media and Parthia (territories which were not for the most part under the control of Rome), his twin Cleopatra Selene got Cyrenaica and Libya, and the young Ptolemy Philadelphus was awarded Syria and Cilicia. As for Cleopatra, she was proclaimed Queen of Kings and Queen of Egypt, to rule with Caesarion (Ptolemy XV Caesar, son of Cleopatra by Julius Caesar), King of Kings and King of Egypt. Most important of all, Caesarion was declared legitimate son and heir of Caesar. These proclamations were known as the Donations of Alexandria and caused a fatal breach in Antony's relations with Rome.

While the distribution of nations among Cleopatra's children was hardly a conciliatory gesture, it did not pose an immediate threat to Octavian's political position. Far more dangerous was the acknowledgment of Caesarion as legitimate and heir to Caesar's name. Octavian's base of power was his link with Caesar through adoption, which granted him much-needed popularity and loyalty of the legions. To see this convenient situation attacked by a child borne by the richest woman in the world was something Octavian could not accept. The triumvirate expired on the last day of 33 BC and was not renewed. Another civil war was beginning.

During 33 and 32 BC, a propaganda war was fought in the political arena of Rome, with accusations flying between sides. Antony (in Egypt) divorced Octavia and accused Octavian of being a social upstart, of usurping power, and of forging the adoption papers by Caesar. Octavian responded with treason charges: of illegally keeping provinces that should be given to other men by lots, as was Rome's tradition, and of starting wars against foreign nations (Armenia and Parthia) without the consent of the senate.

Antony was also held responsible for Sextus Pompey's execution without a trial. In 32 BC, the senate deprived him of his powers and declared war against Cleopatra – not Antony, because Octavian had no wish to advertise his role in perpetuating Rome's internecine bloodshed. Octavian and other Roman Senators believed that turning the hostilities towards Cleopatra as the villain would gather the most support from Romans for war. Along with years of propaganda against Cleopatra being published by the Romans dating back to the days of Julius Caesar. Octavian, informed of Antony's will by two Antonian defectors, sacrilegiously raided the Temple of Vesta to secure it. The will, which some modern scholars have suggested was partially forged – largely on legal grounds – is never so described in the ancient sources. Octavian's publication of the will's provisions, which named Antony and Cleopatra's children as heirs and directed his burial in Alexandria, was used as a political weapon in Rome to declare war against Cleopatra and Egypt as a whole. Dio. This was the perfect summation of their attacks on the woman Antony loved and they believed threatened their republic. Both consuls, Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and Gaius Sosius, and a third of the senate abandoned Rome to meet Antony and Cleopatra in Greece.

In 31 BC, the war started. Octavian's general Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa captured the Greek city and naval port of Methone, loyal to Antony. The enormous popularity of Octavian with the legions secured the defection of the provinces of Cyrenaica and Greece to his side. On 2 September, the naval Battle of Actium took place. Antony and Cleopatra's navy was overwhelmed, and they were forced to escape to Egypt with 60 ships.

Death

Octavian, now close to absolute power, invaded Egypt in August, 30 BC, assisted by Agrippa. With no other refuge to escape to, Antony stabbed himself with his sword in the mistaken belief that Cleopatra had already done so. When he found out that Cleopatra was still alive, his friends brought him to Cleopatra's monument in which she was hiding, and he died in her arms.

Cleopatra was allowed to conduct Antony's burial rites after she had been captured by Octavian. Realizing that she was destined for Octavian's triumph in Rome, she made several attempts to take her life and finally succeeded in mid-August. Octavian had Caesarion and Antyllus killed, but he spared Iullus as well as Antony's children by Cleopatra, who were paraded through the streets of Rome.

Aftermath and legacy

Cicero's son, Cicero Minor, announced Antony's death to the senate. Antony's honors were revoked and his statues removed, but he was not subject to a complete damnatio memoriae. Cicero Minor also made a decree that no member of the Antonii would ever bear the name Marcus again. "In this way Heaven entrusted the family of Cicero the final acts in the punishment of Antony."

When Antony died, Octavian became uncontested ruler of Rome. In the following years, Octavian, who was known as Augustus after 27 BC, managed to accumulate in his person all administrative, political, and military offices. When Augustus died in AD 14, his political powers passed to his adopted son Tiberius; the Roman Empire had begun.

The rise of Caesar and the subsequent civil war between his two most powerful adherents effectively ended the credibility of the Roman oligarchy as a governing power and ensured that all future power struggles would centre upon which one individual would achieve supreme control of the government, eliminating the senate and the former magisterial structure as important foci of power in these conflicts. Thus, in history, Antony appears as one of Caesar's main adherents, he and Octavian Augustus being the two men around whom power coalesced following the assassination of Caesar, and finally as one of the three men chiefly responsible for the demise of the Roman Republic.

Marriages and issue

Antony was known to have an obsession with women and sex. He had many mistresses (including Cytheris) and was married in succession to Fadia, Antonia, Fulvia, Octavia and Cleopatra. He left a number of children. Through his daughters by Octavia, he would be ancestor to the Roman emperors Caligula, Claudius and Nero.

Marriage to Fadia, a daughter of a freedman. According to Cicero, Fadia bore Antony several children. Nothing is known about Fadia or their children. Cicero is the only Roman source that mentions Antony's first wife.

Marriage to first paternal cousin Antonia Hybrida Minor. According to Plutarch, Antony threw her out of his house in Rome because she slept with his friend, the tribune Publius Cornelius Dolabella. This occurred by 47 BC and Antony divorced her. By Antonia, he had a daughter:

Antonia, married the wealthy Greek Pythodoros of Tralles.

Marriage to Fulvia, by whom he had two sons:

Marcus Antonius Antyllus, murdered by Octavian in 30 BC.

Iullus Antonius, married Claudia Marcella the Elder, daughter of Octavia.

Marriage to Octavia the Younger, sister of Octavian, later emperor Augustus; they had two daughters:

Antonia the Elder married Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus (consul 16 BC); maternal grandmother of the Empress Valeria Messalina and paternal grandmother of the emperor Nero.

Antonia the Younger married Nero Claudius Drusus, the younger son of the Empress Livia Drusilla and brother of the emperor Tiberius; mother of the emperor Claudius, paternal grandmother of the emperor Caligula and empress Agrippina the Younger, and maternal great-grandmother of the emperor Nero.

Children with the Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt, the former lover of Julius Caesar:

Alexander Helios

Cleopatra Selene II, married King Juba II of Numidia and later Mauretania; the queen of Syria, Zenobia of Palmyra, was reportedly descended from Selene and Juba II.

Ptolemy Philadelphus.

Descendants

Through his daughters by Octavia, he was the paternal great grandfather of Roman emperor Caligula, the maternal grandfather of emperor Claudius, and both maternal great-great-grandfather and paternal great-great uncle of the emperor Nero of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Through his eldest daughter, he was ancestor to the long line of kings and co-rulers of the Bosporan Kingdom, the longest-living Roman client kingdom, as well as the rulers and royalty of several other Roman client states. Through his daughter by Cleopatra, Antony was ancestor to the royal family of Mauretania, another Roman client kingdom, while through his sole surviving son Iullus, he was ancestor to several famous Roman statesmen.

1. Antonia, born 50 BC, had 1 child

A. Pythodorida of Pontus, 30 BC or 29 BC – 38 AD, had 3 children

I. Artaxias III, King of Armenia, 13 BC – 35 AD, died without issue

II. Polemon II, King of Pontus, 12 BC or 11 BC – 74 AD, died without issue

III. Antonia Tryphaena, Queen of Thrace, 10 BC – 55 AD, had 4 children

a. Rhoemetalces II, King of Thrace, died 38 AD, died without issue

b. Gepaepyris, Queen of the Bosporan Kingdom, had 2 children

i. Tiberius Julius Mithridates, King of the Bosporan Kingdom, died 68 AD, died without issue

ii. Tiberius Julius Cotys I, King of the Bosporan Kingdom, had 1 child

i. Tiberius Julius Rhescuporis I, King of the Bosporan Kingdom, died 90 AD, had 1 child

i. Tiberius Julius Sauromates I, King of the Bosporan Kingdom, had 1 child

i. Tiberius Julius Cotys II, King of the Bosporan Kingdom, had 1 child

2. Marcus Antonius Antyllus, 47–30 BC, died without issue

3. Iullus Antonius, 43–2 BC, had 3 children

A. Antonius, died young, no issue

B. Lucius Antonius, 20 BC – 25 AD, issue unknown

C. Iulla Antonia ?? born after 19 BC, issue unknown

4. Prince Alexander Helios of Egypt, born 40 BC, died without issue (presumably)

5. Cleopatra Selene, Queen of Mauretania, 40 BC – 6 AD, had 2 children

A. Ptolemy, King of Mauretania, 1 BC – 40 AD, had 1 child

I. Drusilla, 38–79 AD, had 1 child

a. Gaius Julius Alexion, King of Emesa, had 1 child

B. Julia, born around 9 BC

6. Antonia Major, 39 BC – before 25 AD, had 3 children

A. Domitia Lepida the Elder, c. 19 BC – 59 AD, had 1 child

I. Quintus Haterius Antoninus

B. Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, 17 BC – 40 AD, had 1 child

I. Nero (Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus)

C. Domitia Lepida the Younger, 10 BC – 54 AD, had 3 children

I. Marcus Valerius Messala Corvinus

II. Valeria Messalina, 17 or 20–48 AD, had 2 children

a. (Messalina was the mother of the two youngest children of the Roman emperor Claudius l

III. Faustus Cornelius Sulla Felix, 22–62 AD, had 1 child

a. a son (this child and the only child of the Claudia Antonia

7. Antonia Minor, 36 BC – 37 AD, had 3 children

A. Germanicus Julius Caesar, 15 BC – 19 AD, had 6 children

I. Nero Julius Caesar Germanicus, 6–30 AD, died without issue

II. Drusus Julius Caesar Germanicus, 8–33 AD, died without issue

III. Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (Caligula), 12–41 AD, had 1 child;

a. Julia Drusilla, 39–41 AD, died young

IV. Julia Agrippina (Agrippina the Younger), 15–59 AD, had 1 child;

a. Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, 37–68 AD, had 1 child;

i. Claudia Augusta, January 63 AD – April 63 AD, died young

V. Julia Drusilla, 16–38 AD, died without issue

VI. Julia Livilla, 18–42 AD, died without issue

B. Claudia Livia Julia (Livilla), 13 BC – 31 AD, had three children

I. Julia Livia, 7–43 AD, had 4 children

a. Rubellius Plautus, 33–62 AD, had several children

b. Gaius Rubellius Blandus

c. Rubellius Drusus

II. Tiberius Julius Caesar Nero Gemellus, 19–37 or 38 AD, died without issue

III. Tiberius Claudius Caesar Germanicus II Gemellus, 19–23 AD, died young

C. Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, 10 BC – 54 AD, had 4 children

I. Tiberius Claudius Drusus, died young

II. Claudia Antonia, c. 30–66 AD, had 1 child

a. a son, died young

III. Claudia Octavia, 39 or 40–62 AD, died without issue

IV. Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus, 41–55 AD, died without issue

8. Prince Ptolemy Philadelphus of Egypt, 36–29 BC, died without issue (presumably)

Artistic portrayals

Antony (George Coulouris) addresses the crowd in the Mercury Theatre production of Caesar (1937), Orson Welles's modern-dress adaptation of Shakespeare's tragedy

Works in which the character of Mark Antony plays a central role:

William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar (1950 film) based on this (played by Charlton Heston)

Julius Caesar (1953 film) based on this (played by Marlon Brando)

Julius Caesar (1970 film) based on this (played by Charlton Heston again)

Antony and Cleopatra, several works with that title

John Dryden's 1677 play All for Love

Jules Massenet's 1914 opera Cléopâtre

The 1934 film Cleopatra (played by Henry Wilcoxon)

Orson Welles' innovative 1937 adaptation of William Shakespeare at Mercury Theatre has George Coulouris as Marcus Antonius.

The 1953 film Serpent of the Nile (played by Raymond Burr)

The 1963 film Cleopatra (played by Richard Burton)

The 1964 film Carry On Cleo (played by Sid James)

The 1983 miniseries The Cleopatras (played by Christopher Neame)

The TV series Xena: Warrior Princess (played by Manu Bennett)

In the Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome, Mark Antony featured as a short swordsman.

The 1999 film Cleopatra (played by Billy Zane)

The Capcom video game Shadow of Rome, in which he is depicted as the main antagonist

The 2003 TV movie Imperium: Augustus (played by Massimo Ghini)

The 2005 TV mini series Empire (played by Vincent Regan)

The 2005–2007 HBO/BBC TV series Rome (played by James Purefoy)

The 2009–2013 TV series Horrible Histories (played by Mathew Baynton), and the 2015 reboot series of the same name (portrayed by Tom Stourton in 2019)

The 2006 BBC One docudrama Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire (played by Alex Ferns)

As Cleopatra's guardian and level boss (of Lust) in the Xbox 360 game Dante's Inferno released by Visceral Games in 2010.

The Choices: Stories You Play visual novel A Courtesan of Rome, in which he is depicted as one of the love interests.

The 2021 TV series Domina (played by Liam Garrigan)

Novels

In Colleen McCullough's Masters of Rome series (1990–2007), Antony is portrayed as a deeply flawed character, a brave warrior but sexually promiscuous, often drunk and foolish, and a monster of vanity who loves riding in a chariot drawn by lions.

Margaret George's The Memoirs of Cleopatra (1997)

Conn Iggulden's Emperor novels (2003–13)

Robert Harris's Dictator (2015)

Michael Livingston's The Shards of Heaven (2015)

Poetry

Geoffrey Chaucer's fourteenth-century poem The Legend of Good Women.

Lytle, William Haines (1826–1863), Antony and Cleopatra.

Constantine P. Cavafy's poem The God Abandons Antony (1911), a hymn to human dignity, depicts the imaginary last moments of Mark Antony while he sees his fortunes turning around.

Mark Antony. (2023, January 13). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Antony