Their Last Suppers: Legends of History and Their Final Meals (12 page)

Cleopatra and Caesar lived together in Rome for 2 years, even though Caesar was already married to Calpurnia. Caesar was ready to proclaim himself king of the republic and pass a law allowing
him to marry Cleopatra, with Caesarion as the heir to the throne of Rome.

Too many self-serving senators stood to lose their power if this happened, and so on March 15, 44
B.C.
, Julius Gaius Caesar was brutally murdered at a Senate meeting. Knowing that she too was in imminent danger, Cleopatra returned at once to Alexandria and made her son Caesarion her co-regent.

Caesar’s sudden death led to civil war in Rome. Eventually three men assumed control: one of Caesar’s best friends and his nephew, Mark Antony; Caesar’s great-nephew Octavian, who later became the great Emperor Augustus; and Marcus Lepidus.

Looking into Caesar’s death, Antony and Cleopatra met in Tarsus in 42
B.C.
What was originally a fact-finding mission for the Roman turned into a love affair, as the charms of Cleopatra captivated the rugged Antony. When he finally shook himself free to return to his duties as co-ruler of the Roman Empire, he left Cleopatra with their twins, Cleopatra Selene and Alexander Helios. They were apart for 4 years until, in 37
B.C.
on his way to war with Parthia, Antony met up with Cleopatra again and declared his undying love for her. Making the city of Alexandria his home, he then had another son by her, called Ptolemy Philadelphus. Actually, in his time away from Cleopatra, Antony had also married Octavian’s half-sister Octavia and had two more daughters with her, both named Antonia.

The wily Octavian now started to turn the people of Rome against Antony in his absence, seeing a chance to rule Rome alone.

Antony, completely under Cleopatra’s spell, pronounced his children with her the new kings of Armenia and Syria and his daughter the new queen of Crete and Cyrenaica. Cleopatra herself became the “Queen of Kings.”

This was all Octavian needed, a challenge to the authority of Imperial Rome, and the people rose behind him as he sought a quick defeat of Antony and his Egyptian harlot.

In 31
B.C.
Octavian’s navy defeated the ships of Antony at the Battle of Actium, and a depressed Antony returned to Alexandria to party away his final days in a drunken stupor.

Determined to press his advantage, Octavian followed, and in 30
B.C.
he and his army reached Alexandria, causing Antony’s
remaining troops to just melt away, unwilling to fight against fellow Romans in order to defend an Egyptian queen.

Believing Cleopatra to be already dead, a distraught Antony stabbed himself in the stomach but didn’t kill himself; he actually died in front of Cleopatra. With Octavian determined to march her as his prisoner through the streets of Rome in his triumph, and seeing her last lover die in front of her, Cleopatra sought to convince Octavian that she would play along with him, so he would relax his guard over her.

Organizing a sumptuous banquet to feign normalcy, she had a cobra smuggled in with the food in a basket of figs. Then, with the aid of her maids Chamion and Iras, she committed suicide. A furious Octavian, robbed of his prize, found her stretched out in her quarters on a golden tomb. The time of the pharaoh was over.

Although she put on an elaborate banquet to fool the Romans into believing she was cooperating with them, Cleopatra herself always ate very healthfully, with the accent on seafood.

Grilled Eel with Basil

Whole Baked Fish in Salt Crust

Tiger Nut Sweets

Sweet Wine Cakes

Hummus

Considered a sacred fish of the Nile.

• Rub the eel skins with a pumice stone or rigid cloth. Wash and gut the eels, and then remove the heads and split the bodies open. Marinate for about 1 hour with the olive oil and basil.
  
• Cut the eels; crossways, with slices about 3 inches long. Place the pieces on the grill, skin side down. No other condiment is necessary, as the fat of the fish will give it an additional taste.
  
• Cook for 4 to 5 minutes each side, then brush with balsamic vinegar and serve.
  

• Heat oven to 450°F.
  
• Whisk egg whites and set aside. Place 4 tbsp egg white on a large platter suitable for oven-to-table use. Insert the salt and thyme inside the raw fish. Place the fish on top of the mixture and spoon the remaining mixture over the top of the fish. Place the coated fish in the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.
  
• Remove the salted crust from the fish and fillet. Serve with a splattering of good olive oil and lemon wedges.
  

• Chop 7 oz fresh dates fine and blend with a little water. Add a little cinnamon and chopped walnuts. Shape into balls, coat in honey and ground almonds, and serve.
  

• Add wine to the flour along with the cumin and aniseed.
  
• Rub in the fat and the cheese and blend with the egg.
  
• Shape into 12 small cakes and place each on a bay leaf.
  
• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes at 400°F.
  

• Cook and mash the chickpeas.
  
• Add vinegar, salt, chopped garlic, and sesame seed oil to make a unique paste for bread or savories.
  
• Chill and serve.
  

ADMIRAL HORATIO NELSON

Born as a sickly child in the sleepy English town of Burnham Thorpe in Norfolk in 1758, Horatio Nelson was one of only three children who survived of the eleven his mother bore. Exhausted, she died at the age of 42, leaving a distraught Nelson unsure of his future life.

By the age of 11 he had found the answer, the sea, enrolling first on a relative’s ship and then as a junior office at the age of 14 in the British Navy, an institution he came to consider his only real family.

By the age of 16 he had already been to the Arctic, India, and the West Indies, and in his 2 years’ service he had witnessed some 200 floggings, as the Royal Navy enforced a harsh, rigorous discipline on crews that had been mainly press-ganged into service or dredged from local jails.

These earlier experiences, coupled with the death of his mother, made him determined to improve the lot of his men when he had his own command, something he believed he was destined to do.

By the age of 21 he had become one of the youngest ever captains in the Royal Navy’s history, combining a clear tactical eye and love of the sea with a kindness to his men that commanded unwavering respect and loyalty. Even in the hours of England’s most famous victory at Trafalgar, the diaries of his fellow captains reflected only sadness at his death, not glory in their victory.

Already frail to begin with, his constitution was further undermined by the loss of sight in his right eye in a battle off Corsica, then the loss of his right arm in further action at Santa Cruz in the Canary Islands.

Neither injury was referred to in anything but jest. Indeed, when one landlady in Great Yarmouth asked him whether she could name her pub after him, wanting to call it The Nelson Arms, he laughed it off, saying “Shouldn’t it be the Nelson
Arm
?”

Briefly returning to Burnham Thorpe in 1787 he got married, but after only a short time he was again itching to return to the sea. However, despite writing numerous letters to the Admiralty he was ignored for nearly 5 years because there was no need of him in peacetime, until the eruption of the French Revolution, when the declaration of war with France brought him back to the Sea Lords’ attention.

Nelson was recalled, and his career accelerated. Bravery, fool-hardiness, and a desire to always prove himself to others, particularly his king and country, led to rapid promotion and the love of an adoring public. His career was often helped by the steady stream of self-praising letters he fired off to newspapers, and friends in high places constantly extolled his victories.

Emperor Napoleon had assumed command in France, and his armies terrorized Europe. In time England knew his attention would be turned to them, and only the English Channel and the British fleet could stand in his way. Nelson was vigilant, and as rear admiral he watched for the French fleet to emerge from their port. They slipped past him, however, and landed Napoleon and his army in Egypt, but Nelson had his revenge when he cornered the
French ships in Aboukor Bay on the Nile and destroyed them in a one-sided engagement.

During the battle he sustained a serious head wound, and his fleet put in to the port of Naples to get him some urgent treatment. While recovering there he fell in love with the teenage wife of an elderly English lord, Lady Emma Hamilton. This relationship endured until his death, and the doting 70-year-old lord actually accompanied them throughout the affair, seemingly oblivious, even when she gave birth to a daughter for Nelson, whom he called Horatia.

The English establishment deemed this flagrant debauchery while his wife waited dutifully at home, but it only hardened Nelson’s contempt for his superiors and those he considered lesser seamen. A classic example occurred at the battle of Copenhagen when Nelson, as Number Two, was ordered to retreat by the flagship. Putting his telescope to his blind eye, he remarked that he was unable to see any such orders being flown, so he continued the attack and won a great victory. The overwhelming praise of the public prevented the Lords of the Admiralty from taking any action against him, although they were furious.

On his brief return to London, Nelson found himself still snubbed by the King and the establishment for his open sex life, but his public still adored him. With rumors of Napoleon’s transport fleet being ready to sail from France, the whole country believed only one man could stop the upcoming invasion: Admiral Nelson.

Napoleon Bonaparte, knowing that to cross the treacherous 20-odd miles of the English Channel would be suicide unless his troops could be protected from the constantly roving British fleet, had rebuilt his navy. And with new Spanish allies, he looked to establish control of the oceans and conquer England. Ironically, however, the revolution that had brought him to power had also killed off most of his country’s best naval officers.

In August 1805, saying goodbye to his beloved Emma and their daughter, Nelson boarded his flagship, the famous HMS
Victory
, and left England for the last time, knowing that the battle he was about to undertake would determine the fate of his country. Having his 47th birthday party with his fellow captains at sea, Nelson
expounded on his plans to attack the French, under Admiral Villeneuve, using new and daring tactics. He planned to use two columns of ships in line to smash through the French fleet, isolate individual ships, and ultimately destroy them. He finished the meal by saying, “I’ve had the happiness to command a band of brothers,” for that was how he had grown to view his fellow officers and the sailors under him.