Elizabeth Seif

February 27, 2002

Kat’s essay explores the destructive powers of Love and how these powers incited the creation of monsters, death, and the problematic unions of different Gods. One of the many destructive powers of Love is his ability to indirectly challenge the "established order" in the Pantheon in Ancient Greek Society. She argues that the established order is challenged by the threat of another man, possibly a family member, overpowering the current leader who is affected by Love or by forcing a power struggle. In the Life of Marc Antony, Love exhibits similar destructive powers in Roman society.

In the Theogony, Love indirectly challenges the established order by creating rivals to challenge the current ruler. For example, Ouranos and Gaia become lovers and have sons who "hated their own father from the day they were born"(155) As to avoid rebellion from his sons, Ouranos stuffs them back into Gaia’s womb. Eventually Ouranos’ sons do overpower him and he loses his kingly duties. In this an example, when Love is involved, the establish order is threatened. Gaia had children before but "without mating in sweet love"(132) Only once she has sex with Ouranos and Love was involved in their union, was the establish order threatned and changed.

Love indirectly challenging the existing order is also seen in Roman society, in the Life of Marc Antony. The more Antony falls in love with Cleopatra the more he loses his power and the politics of Rome change. Before Antony meets Cleopatra he is a "simple"(p.290) ruler who was "the gentlest and most chivalrous of generals"(p.292). He along with Octavius have a large empire and many allies. However as his relationship with Cleopatra progresses, his enemies take advantage of his weakness and he loses control. Octavius urges Octavia to visit Antony so that he could prove Antony was neglecting his duties to his spouse by spending so much time with a mistress. Octavius is trying to "give himself a plausible pretext for declaring war"(p.319 #53) and his pretext for waging war was Antony’s love for Cleopatra. When Octavius eventually does go to war with Antony, Antony has already become a "tool in Cleopatra’s hands"(p.327). Friends begin to desert him and he in turn, becoming less like a leader, "abandoned and betrayed the men who were fighting and dying for his cause"(p.332). Instead of fighting with his men, Antony "hurried after [Cleopatra] who would soon complete his destruction"(p.332). Eventually Antony loses all his respected leadership qualities and all his power, hence his destruction, forcing him to kill himself. His Love for Cleopatra allowed room for his enemies to challenge his rule during his weakness and create a power struggle changing the existing political order.

Interestingly, in both texts, Love also indirectly challenges the established order by making men more feminine while they are simultaneously losing their powers. The more feminine the leader becomes, the more easily in both Roman and Greek society he loses his power. Using the same example of Ouranos in the Theogony, once he is castrated and has lost the power to make love, he also loses his "kingly" powers. The Life of Marc Antony also demonstrates that same phenomena of Love indirectly making a man more feminine while the man simultaneously losing power. For example, falling in love with Cleopatra has made Antony feminine most blatantly in his death. The most honorable death for Roman men was to die in battle but he commits suicide. Even Antony is embarrassed by his weakness and femininity. Antony says, "But I am ashamed that an Imperator such as I have been should prove in the end to have less courage than a woman" (341). Both texts have powerful rulers, who by direct or indirect forces of Love, become more feminine while simultaneously losing their power; consequently the political order changes. Maybe they lose their power because other people see their feminine traits and feel that these old rulers would now be weak effeminate rulers.