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Cleopatra at Antony's tomb, in Plutarch

30 BCE, Alexandria. As Plutarch tells it, over a century later.

Where and when

30 BCEAlexandria

2,055 years ago

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Cleopatra

, AlexandriaAs Plutarch tells it, over a century later

In plain words, ours

These are my last offerings to you. Nothing parted us in life, but in death we may swap places: you buried here, and me in Italy.

Do not expect other honours or libations; these are the last from Cleopatra the captive. For though in life nothing could part us from each other, in death we are likely to change places; thou, the Roman, lying buried here, while I, the hapless woman, lie in Italy, and get only so much of thy country as my portion.

Plutarch, Life of Antony 84.3Translated by Bernadotte Perrin (1920)Read the full passage (Plutarch, Life of Antony 84.3, opens scaife.perseus.org)

What was going on, our summary

As Plutarch tells it, over a century later: Antony is dead and Cleopatra is closely guarded in Alexandria, 30 BCE. Told that Octavian means to send her and her children away within three days, she asks to pour offerings at Antony's tomb, and speaks to the urn with his ashes.

Checked claim by claim against: Antony and Cleopatra take their own lives, the passage around the quote.

Why it matters

About the event it belongs to: Antony and Cleopatra take their own lives

With Antony dead, Octavian became the undisputed master of the Roman world. After Cleopatra's death Egypt became a Roman province, marking the end of the Hellenistic period.

Based on Wikipedia: Mark Antony, Cleopatra

With Antony dead, Octavian became the undisputed master of the Roman world.

After her death, Egypt became a province of the Roman Empire, marking the end of the Hellenistic period, which had begun with the death of Alexander in 323 BC.

Wikipedia, Mark Antony (opens en.wikipedia.org), as of 2026-09-17; Wikipedia, Cleopatra (opens en.wikipedia.org), as of 2026-09-30. Text CC BY-SA 4.0. Our line is checked against these sentences only.

Related moments

In time order, with this one in its place. Each says why it is here.

  1. by 399 BCEabout 369 years earlier Aspasia on honest matchmaking Also about friendship and love
  2. c. 335–322 BCEabout 298 years earlier Aristotle on friendship Also about friendship and love
  3. 41 BCE11 years earlier Cleopatra sails to Antony, in Plutarch More from Cleopatra
  4. 31 BCE1 year earlier Octavian's fleet beats Antony and Cleopatra at Actium Same years
  5. 30 BCESame year Antony and Cleopatra take their own lives The event behind itAlso in AlexandriaAlso about death
  6. 30 BCEThis momentCleopatra at Antony's tomb, in Plutarch
  7. 30 BCESame year Antony's last words, as Plutarch tells it Also in Alexandria
  8. 30 BCESame year Antony on his courage, per Plutarch Also in AlexandriaAlso about death
  9. by 30 BCEBy this year Plutarch on Cleopatra's many languages More from Cleopatra
  10. 30 BCESame year Cleopatra and the asp, as Plutarch tells it Same passageMore from Cleopatra
  11. 27 BCE3 years later Octavian takes the name Augustus Same years

Just before and after

The text around the quote, word for word from the same translation.

Show the passageHide the passage

This man was not without a certain tenderness for Cleopatra; and so now, in response to her request, he secretly sent word to her that Caesar himself was preparing to march with his land forces through Syria, and had resolved to send off her and her children within three days. After Cleopatra had heard this, in the first place, she begged Caesar that she might be permitted to pour libations for Antony; and when the request was granted, she had herself carried to the tomb, and embracing the urn which held his ashes, in company with the women usually about her, she said: Dear Antony, I buried thee but lately with hands still free; now, however, I pour libations for thee as a captive, and so carefully guarded that I cannot either with blows or tears disfigure this body of mine, which is a slave’s body, and closely watched that it may grace the triumph over thee.

The quote: Do not expect other honours or libations; these are the last from Cleopatra the captive. For though in life nothing could part us from each other, in death we are likely to change places; thou, the Roman, lying buried here, while I, the hapless woman, lie in Italy, and get only so much of thy country as my portion.

But if indeed there is any might or power in the gods of that country (for the gods of this country have betrayed us), do not abandon thine own wife while she lives, nor permit a triumph to be celebrated over thyself in my person, but hide and bury me here with thyself, since out of all my innumerable ills not one is so great and dreadful as this short time that I have lived apart from thee. After such lamentations, she wreathed and kissed the urn, and then ordered a bath to be prepared for herself. After her bath, she reclined at table and was making a sumptuous meal.

Plutarch, Life of Antony 84.1–85.1Translated by Bernadotte Perrin (1920)Read the full passage (opens scaife.perseus.org)

When, and whose words

Date
30 BCE. Her last days in Alexandria, 30 BCE; Plutarch wrote c. 100–120 CE.
Whose words
As Plutarch tells it, over a century later.
How this post was checked
  • The plain-words line was read against the quote alone by a second, independent pass, which found it adds no claim the quote does not make (2026-10-03).
  • Each claim in the summary was checked by an independent pass against only the material it cites.
  • The quote itself is checked by the build: word for word, once, at the cited section of the stored translation.

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