Famous Lovers

                               

  Lovers

February is a month of love with Valentine's Day,  cupids, candy, and flowers.

Romeo and Juliet is a famous love story by Shakespeare, but it is fiction.

Who were these two historical figures? What do we know about them?

Ladies First-Cleopatra:

She was Cleopatra the VII, but we drop off the Roman Numberal and know her as Cleopatra, the ruler of Egypt. She was a co-regent  ( at 18) with her brother PtolemyIII (age 10). As was the custom at the time, Cleopatra and her brother married and ruled together. He died while swimming in the Nile River. She married her next bother, Ptolemy XIV. After Rome took over Egypt, Cleopatra went to Rome to have an affair with Julius Caesar. They had a child whom she named Caesarion. Caesar did not recognize the boy as his son.  Cleopatra asked Julius Ceasar to kill her brother in Egypt, which he did. She returned to Egypt and ruled with her son under the Roman Empire. 

Some ancient scholars wrote that Cleopatra was an expert in botany and pharmacology. She was attractive, intelligent, and cultured, speaking several languages. She was the ruler of Egypt and commanded over 200 ships. 

Second-Mark Anthony

 He was the right-hand general in Julius Caesar's army. Julius Caesar was assassinated by Brutus and Cassius. Mark Anthony and Octavian, Caesar's nephew, defeated the assassins and their forces. Octavian and Anthony formed an alliance to take over Caesar's rule. Octavian took over Italy and other western territories, and Anthony was in charge of the eastern domains of the Roman Republic, which included Egypt.

Anthony summoned Cleopatra to Tarsus in 41 B.C. Anthony was married to Fulvia and had two children. They were Marcus Antonius Antylllus and Lullus Antonius.Fulvia knew of Mark Anthony's romance with Cleopatra. Fulvia died, and Cleopatra and Anthony had twins Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene II.  Later, they had a son named Ptolemy Philadelphus. However, Mark Anthony's relationship with Octavian was rocky, so he married Octavian's sister, Octavia. This did not stop him from playing dice games and hunting with Cleopatra. She also conspired with Mark Anthony to kill her sister ArsinoeIV.

The daughter, Cleopatra Selene II , later married a ruler in the northern African Territories

Some ancient scholars contend Mark Anthony and Cleopatra did marry in Egypt, but this was not recognized in Rome, where he was considered to be the husband of Octavia.

Together:

Now, Mark Anthony was the Queen of Egypt's consort, which gave him dominion over Egypt's power. The flooding of the Nile made Egypt a great source of wheat, and Egypt's trading routes across the Indian Ocean brought in the riches of black spices, incense, silks, and gems. Egypt's bringing stability in the East helped Anthony maintain control. 

And Cleopatra gained from her affair (or, some say, marriage). Mark Anthony ordered King Herod of Judea to collect an annual tribute of 200 talents from the king of Nabataea and give it to Cleopatra. King Herod the Great had to grant Cleopatra the Dead Sea bitumen deposits. The bitumen was used for caulking ships and baskets and for embalming mummies. Mark Anthony also ordered King Herod to grant agricultural land near Jericho, which produced harvests of date palms. He also gifted to her areas noted for timber production used for building ships.

When Mark Anthony divorced Octavian's sister, Octavia, it infuriated Octavian, who now was called Caesar Augustus. Caesar knew the Senate would not approve a war against Mark Anthony, so he declared war against Cleopatra.

She supplied Mark Anthony with 200 talents from the royal treasury, food, ships, and other supplies to fight Octavian. 

Octavian won at the Battle of Actium and annexed Egypt. Cleopatra and Mark Anthony fled to Alexandria, and Ocativian followed. Mark Anthony killed himself with a sword, and Cleopatra had a poisonous snake bite her. Some scholars contend she used poison rather than a snake.  

Her son, Caesarion, whom she had with Julius Caesar, was killed by Octavian Augustus. Octavian was Augustus Caesar, the ruler of all his territory, including Mark Anthony's and Egypt. 

Mark Anthony and Cleopatra's love affair was used for political advantage and to strengthen their power. But it all fell apart when Otavian had enough after his sister getting divorced.

This famous love affair proved to be disastrous for them and the way they are remembered in history; however, it unified the powers of Rome. 

                                                                 Star Crossed Lovers

                            (Was it love or was it politics or both?)

Laws!?!

                    Could this be True?

 The news is filled with courtroom trials, so I researched some laws and trials for your edification in case you ever need them. 

 A homeless woman in Washington State confessed to stealing $299.00 of merchandise from Bon Marche. She was convicted, but the story doesn't end there. She appealed stating that the merchandise at Nordstrom was less than $250.00  which was less than the felony. The Supreme Court of Washington State agreed with her and overturned the conviction. It was determined that market value and not retail value were the criteria for the felony or misdemeanor. The ruling seemed to indicate comparison shoplifting.

Justice Richard P. Guy, the dissenting judge, said, "A thief, at a minimum, should comparison shop before, not after, he or she decides to steal."

-State v. Kleist, 126 Washington 2d 432,895 P.2d 398 (1995)

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In Maryland, in an appellate court, the judge listened to the defendant who, after being convicted of bribing a judge for $2,500.00 wanted to have his money refunded.  The judge said to him, "For whatever else you may lack, you do not suffer for lack of chutzpah." 

State v. Strickland, 42 Md.App.357, 400 A.2d 451 (Maryland Ct.Spec.App. 1979)

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Do You Believe This One?

In the state of Georgia, a defendant in a crime broke into the sheriff's office and stole some weapons that were under a desk.

Judge H.Sol Clark, in the appeals court, describes the burglar's behavior as chutzpah. He said this as support of his finding, "The definition of Chutzpah in Leo Rosten's Joy of Yiddish of Chutzpah, is one who, having killed his mother and father, throws himself upon the mercy of the court because he is an orphan."

Can you believe it? The judge reversed the conviction. I can't believe it!

Williams v. State,, 126, Ga. App. 350, 190 S.E. 2dthe the  785 (Georgia Ct. App. 1972)

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 In Illinois, a defendant was on trial for the murder of a prison kitchen supervisor. He objected to his public defender's refusal to call witnesses and went into the judge's chambers for a discussion. He threw a chair on his counsel's head and punched the judge.

He was convicted of the murder so he appealed because the judge and public defender could have been prejudiced against him because of his assaults.

His conviction was sustained.

People v. Hall, 114 Illinois 2d 376, 499 N.E.2d 1335 (1986)

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Here is an interesting law in Nevada Revised Statutes, 642.480

Funeral directors in Nevada can be arrested for using profane language in the presence of a "dead human body."  Does this mean that to enforce this law, Nevada may need to have undercover police act as a dead body to collect the evidence. Sounds risky to me.

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Sleepwalkers in Oklahoma need to be aware of this law: It is illegal to trespass at night and injure melons. ( I guess other fruits and vegetables are okay to step on.) Oklahoma Statutes, Title 21 1772

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Traffic!Traffic!Traffic! Have you been caught in the lane for carpools and buses during rush hour?

It happened to the driver of a mortuary van. He was ticketed on an Orange County freeway for not having at least two occupants in the vehicle.

The driver took it to court and said the occupants were four frozen cadavers. However, the judge said the passengers must be alive to qualify. The driver had to pay the ticket.

People v. Hanshew, 5 Cal Rptr.2d 172 (California Ct. App. 1992)

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I wonder how this law works in Oklahoma? If a driver of a car hits and kills a person, the driver must give his name, address, and vehicle registration to the person who was struck and killed. What does the deceased do with the information?  I wonder.  Oklahoma Statues, 47-10-104

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Do you like soap operas? The state of Washington must have many drivers who do. A law forbids a TV in the front seat even during gripping soap operas. Revised Code of Washington. 46.37.480

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A woman in New York and her new husband left their wedding reception. The groom later wanted to stop and get out of the car. He stood in front of it and told her to drive over him. She did.

The commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles revoked her driver's license. The woman thought that was excessive punishment and challenged the decision.  The commissioner said she could reapply for her license after thirty days. I don't know if she did. 

Bonitatibus v.Melton, 74 A.D. 2d 975,426 N.Y.S. 2d 188 (New York. App. Div. 1980

From Ludicrous laws & Mindless Misdemeanors by Lance S. Davidson 

I would love to have your comments on this. Pat Stinson  pstinson23@comcast.net