The True Story Of 'Antony And Cleopatra' Antony and Cleopatra are among history's most famous lovers. The story of their affair, their war, their defeat and, finally, their suicides has been told and retold for centuries. Now, Adrian Goldsworthy, author of Antony and Cleopatra, uncovers the couple's true story.

The True Story Of 'Antony And Cleopatra'

The True Story Of 'Antony And Cleopatra'

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Busts of Cleopatra VII, the last of the Ptolemaic monarchs, on exhibit at The British Museum in London. Adrian Dennis/AFP hide caption

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Adrian Dennis/AFP

They are arguably the most famous lovers in history. Marcus Antonius of Rome stood at the pinnacle of power, fighting to be the most powerful man in the known world; and Cleopatra VII Philopator was the queen of one ancient civilization, Egypt, and heir to the unmatched cultural achievements of another, Greece.

Their love affair, their war together, their defeat and, finally, their suicides have been told and retold for centuries. But most of those retellings have been far from accurate, according to author and historian Adrian Goldsworthy.

Goldsworthy, author of Antony and Cleopatra, describes the couple's true story and why so much of what we know about them is wrong.

Antony and Cleopatra
By Adrian Keith Goldsworthy

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