History's Great Love Story: Cleopatra and Mark Antony

Cleopatra

Alexander the Great (356 BC-323 BC) king of Macedonia conquered the Persian Empire. His victorious military campaigns created the biggest empire known to the ancient world. His untimely death in 323 BC made his generals fight among themselves for the piece of the empire that he had left behind. Ptolemy (367 BC-283 BC) one of his generals whom he made governor of Egypt, secured for himself Egypt and made himself its king or Pharaoh.

Ptolemy made Alexandria, a city founded by Alexander, as his capital. He and his descendants created a dynasty of Macedonian/Greek kings and queens that ruled Egypt for about three centuries. Under the Ptolemaic dynasty Alexandria was a cosmopolitan city that had Greek, Jewish and indigenous Egyptian population with Greek as the lingua franca. In its heyday the city rivaled Athens as the intellectual and cultural capital of the ancient world.

Like Alexander the Great, the Macedonian Ptolemaic kings adopted the native Egyptian costume, traditions and observation of religious holidays to gain the native Egyptians’ loyalty. They also followed Egyptian royal practices such as marriage between siblings to confine power within the ruling family. Although the Ptolemies attained a measure of success in dealing with their native Egyptian subjects, rebellion was not uncommon. During the Hellenistic Ptolemaic era a growing power, the Roman, loomed in the horizon and was set to replace the Hellenistic kingdoms as the leading power of the ancient world.

Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra in a movie

Cleopatra VII (69 BC-30 BC), a queen from the Ptolemaic dynasty, was the daughter of Ptolemy XI I (112 BC-51 BC). When he died in 51 BC she became a queen or pharaoh of Egypt. But following Egyptian royal tradition she would co-rule with her younger brother Ptolemy XIII. Also in line with royal tradition Cleopatra should marry him.

The shaky arrangement of sharing power with another member of a family created problem in unity of leadership since Ptolemy XIII wanted to exercise power all by himself and drove his sister into exile in Syria. She gathered an army of men to reclaim her share of the Egyptian throne, but her effort and her strength were not enough to overcome Ptolemy XIII.

Roman consul Julius Caesar, who was in a military campaign, and Cleopatra came across each other in Syria. Eventually, they became lovers. Caesar sympathized with her cause and pledged to help her. In 47 BC Caesar launched a campaign in Egypt against Ptolemy XIII and killed him in battle. Caesar then reinstated Cleopatra as the queen or pharaoh of Egypt.

Again, following tradition, Cleopatra had to marry another younger brother Ptolemy XIV (59 BC-44 BC) as her co-ruler. After stabilizing the situation in Egypt she went to Rome to live as mistress of Caesar. She then bore him a child named Caesarion who would later become Ptolemy XV.

Mark Antony

In 44 BC Julius Caesar was assassinated. The vacancy in leadership and power had to be filled up with the three of the most powerful personalities in the Roman world namely Mark Antony (83 BC-30 BC), Gaius Octavius or Octavian (67 BC-14 AD) and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (89 BC-12 BC); thus, the second triumvirate emerged. Mark Antony used the assassination of Caesar to turn the Romans against the conspirators which gave him a time for power in Rome. His greatest rival was Octavian, the grand nephew of Caesar and his designated heir. In 42 BC the triumvirate crushed the forces led by two assassins of Caesar, the Roman statesman Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus, who sought the restoration of the Roman republic. 

Octavian        

After defeating the assassins of Caesar, the triumvirate met in Italy in 40 BC to arrange for the division of the Roman territories that they would control and govern and to avoid conflict with each other. Antony was given the Eastern portion which extended from the Adriatic Sea to the Euphrates River.

In the midst of the turmoil in Rome Cleopatra returned to Egypt with her child Caesarion. She did not involve herself in the war to help the triumvirate. To have a sole power in Egypt she caused the poisoning of Ptolemy XIV. 

                                                                                         

Mark Antony who now controlled the Eastern part of the Roman territories summoned Cleopatra to Tarsus in Cilicia to explain her conduct during the civil war. However, in their meeting Mark Antony was captivated with her charm and beauty so that he felt in love with her. And they become lovers. His love absolved her of the shortcomings that she had made. He later accompanied her in her return to Egypt.

To secure his position in the east, Mark Antony must have goodwill with his strongest rival in the triumvirate, Octavian, the heir designate of Julius Caesar. Lepidus, the other triumvir was the weakest and the most submissive. To cement his political relation with Octavian, Mark Antony married the latter’s sister Octavia. After his marriage Mark Antony returned to Egypt to continue his life with Cleopatra. She gave birth to two children by him.

Mark Antony’s affairs with Cleopatra came to Octavian’s notice. This together with the former’s defeat in his campaign against the Parthians in 36 BC was used by him to excite the Romans against Mark Antony. Octavian’s rhetoric against his arch rival deepened Romans’ dissatisfaction to Mark Anthony. And it’s only a matter of time that the forces of the two triumvirs would clash for supremacy and another civil war would ensue. A victory against Mark Antony would give Octavian the opportunity to eliminate his closest and strongest rival. Octavian declared a war against Mark Antony in 32 BC. Upon knowing it, Mark Antony divorced Octavia.

The battle line was drawn. Octavian’s forces were pitted against those of Mark Antony and the Egyptian queen Cleopatra. They finally met in 31 BC in Actium. Mark Antony fared badly against the forces of Octavian in the naval battle. Cleopatra, realizing the futility of further engagement withdrew her Egyptian fleet. Mark Antony followed her, and they fled to Alexandria.

The death of Cleopatra

The following year, as the troops of Octavian was marching toward Alexandria, Antony was deceived with a false report that Cleopatra had died. The information devastated Mark Antony. He reacted by killing himself with his sword. The unfortunate turn of events was a big blow to the Egyptian queen. This was aggravated by rumors that Octavian would display her body in Rome. Realizing that her end was now inevitable Cleopatra decided to end her life by poisoning herself. Traditions had it that she had her hand bitten by an asp.  

Caesarion or Ptolemy XV the son of Cleopatra by Julius Caesar and the last king of the Ptolemaic dynasty was put to death by Octavian. That act effectively put an end to Egypt’s Ptolemaic dynasty.  Octavian later became first Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar. He annexed Egypt as a Roman Province.

Related posts:

The Glory and the Death of Alexander the Great https://lapasan-myblognoel145.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-glory-and-death-of-alexander-great.html

Amazing Fulfillment of Biblical Prophecies on Alexander the Great https://lapasan-myblognoel145.blogspot.com/2014/03/amazing-fulfillment-of-biblical.html

Alexandria, Egypt, the Eternal City of Alexander the Great https://lapasan-myblognoel145.blogspot.com/2015/03/alexandria-egypt-eternal-city-of.html

A Tribute to Carlos Loyzaga, the Greatest Filipino Basketball Player Ever

Carlos Loyzaga was born on August 26, 1930 in Manila. He first played basketball at his neighborhood in Santa Mesa, Manila in Teresa Valenzuela Athletic Club (TERVALAC).Gabby Fajardo, another Filipino basketball great took notice of Loyzaga’s playing skill and height. He later helped him hone his skill in the game.

In college Loyzaga tried to play at Collegio de San Juan Letran, but the coach gave him the cold shoulder. He eventually suited up with San Beda College where he was instrumental in giving the school three titles for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in 1951, 1952 and 1955. It was in San Beda where Loyzaga earned the sobriquet “the Big Difference” because his presence on the court was a factor in the winning of the game.

After college, he joined the famed YCO team in 1954 which was owned by businessman Manolo Elizalde. With him as one of the team’s key players, YCO was able to win 8 consecutive National Open Championships from 1954 to 1960 and five MICAA Championships.

Loyzaga’s stint with YCO was the time of a fierce rivalry with another equally fabled team named Ysmael Steel for basketball supremacy starting in 1958.Both were the dominant teams in the MICAA tournaments, and the championship trophy went to either team. Other teams could hardly snatch a title with YCO and Ysmael Steel around. Basketball fans and generally Filipinos loved to see both teams play against each other. The team’s rivalry in the late 1950’s and the 1960’s furthered Filipinos love for basketball and star players were celebrities. With good players playing either for YCO or Ysmael Steel it followed then that most players who played for the country in international competition mostly came from both teams.

Loyzaga had an imposing presence on the court. The Spanish Basque mestizo was unusually tall at 6’3” for the average Filipino during his time. His size, good look and playing skill made him stand out from other players, and he was one of the fans’ favorites. Loyzaga was also the most valuable player of the painters, the name which the basketball players of YCO were called.

The decades of the early 50’s and the 60’s were the golden era of Philippine basketball when the country dominated almost all of the tournaments in Asia. With Loyzaga as one of the country’s key player, the Philippines won four consecutive gold medals in 1951, 1954, 1958 and 1962 in the Asian Games. With Loyzaga in the team, the Philippines won the1960 and the 1963 Asian Basketball Conference which is now called FIBA Asia.

Philippine’s great moment in basketball came in 1954 during the Second World Basketball Games (now called FIBA World) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Powered by Carlos Loyzaga and Lauro Mumar, the country garnered the bronze medal or third place. That ranking is the highest ever for an Asian country in that competition. Adding flavor to the Philippine team accomplishment was the inclusion of Loyzaga in the game’s Mythical Five players. Loyzaga averaged 16.4 points per game in the tournament. The Philippines was not as fortunate in the 1959 Fiba World in Santiago de Chile, Chile where it placed only 8^th..

RP team to the 1959 FIBA World. Loyzaga is the no. 3

Loyzaga on the floor

Philippine’s basketball contingent always included Carlos Loyzaga in its team. Loyzaga played for the country’s basketball team for the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki where the Philippines placed 9th. He played again for the country in the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne where the team placed 7th. He could have made it again to the 1960 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. However, he broke his wrist while playing softball and for his injury he had to beg off from the Olympics.

Age caught up with him, and Loyzaga retired from active competition in 1964. But he continued to be in basketball as head coach of YCO. He also coached for the UST varsity team as well as the national team in international competitions. The mid 60’s saw the rise of other countries in Asia which bested the Philippines in basketball. Loyzaga now as a coach brought the Philippines back to glory when he steered his team to the championship by defeating arch rival South Korea in the 1967 ABC or FIBA Asia. The victory so much delighted the basketball loving Filipinos so that coach Loyzaga and the players were treated with a parade in the streets of Manila, and an audience with President Ferdinand Marcos at Malacanang Palace. In the 1968 Loyzaga coached the Philippine Basketball Team in Summer Olympic Games in Mexico. The team placed only 13^th in a field of 16 participating countries.

The professional Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) opened in 1975, and most of YCO’s key players were moved to its sister team Tanduay in the new league. In the PBA Loyzaga coached U/TEX and Tanduay teams.

Carlos Loyzaga, died at Cardinal Santos Medical Center on January 27, 2016 at age 85.  His children are former basketball players Chito and Joaquin and movie actresses Bing and Teresa. Loyzaga is one of the greatest players who played basketball in the Philippines. He has given the Philippines a great service by representing the country in various international competitions on which the Philippines garnered several medals or got a respectable finish.  The honor that he gave his country as an athlete had made the Filipinos proud of their country. Loyzaga was inducted to the Philippine National Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999 and was conferred the Philippine Sportswriters Association Athlete of the Century Award in 2000.

St. Joseph's Golden Home Foundation, Inc. of Cagayan de Oro

The Catholic Church of Cagayan de Oro City in the Philippines has been of help in the enhancement of the residents’ spiritual, moral, educational and cultural developments. It also involves itself in charitable activities to help poor and underprivileged people. The Saint Joseph Golden Home Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit charitable institution that is established by the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro to help poor elderly men and women who are no longer capable of supporting themselves of their basic daily needs. Its premises are located at Clemente Fernandez Ext., 18^th Street, Nazareth, Cagayan de Oro.

Services to the elderly in the foundation are provided by nuns and volunteers. These include recreational, spiritual and health services as well as value formation and adult education.  

To be admitted to the home of the elderly, a male or female person should be 65 years old or over. He or she should be a resident of Cagayan de Oro or Malaybalay Cities. He or she should be indigent and totally abandoned by his or her family or relatives. And that he or she is not suffering from psychological or mental disorder or afflicted with a communicable disease.

Saint Joseph’s Golden Home Foundation relies mainly on donations to support its activities. Despite this situation, it has somehow, with the grace of God, able to manage its operations because of the generosity of its kind-hearted donors.

New Year Celebration in the Philippines

Although New Year is a distinct occasion, most Filipinos consider its celebration as a part of observing the long Christmas season. The New Year’s Eve is a moment when people welcome the arrival of another year as the clock strikes at midnight. New Year is supposed to be merrier than Christmas because it is more of a secular occasion. Christmas has a religious significance because the day is identified with the birth of Christ while New Year is a day to start another Gregorian calendar year. Despite the fact that Filipinos put more meaning on Christmas than the New Year, both occasions are given grandiose celebrations.

New Year's Eve is also an occasion for gift giving

Above pictures are favorite foods on New Year's Eve

beer, a favorite New Year's Eve drink

Like Christmas, fiesta, wedding, birthday and other occasions, New Year Eve is the time when members of the family, relatives and friends gather to be with the company of each other. Parties and parlor games are held, music is played for a dance or a listening, videoke or guitar or in some cases a band accompanies a song, gifts are exchanged and foods are served to people. The extent and quality of foods available and activities done are determined by the financial status or capability of a family. People who are more religious attend a mass before waiting for the arrival of the New Year.                                                                                                                    

The many activities that people are doing keep them up all through the night. As a result, they sleep late in the following morning, the New Year’s Day which is an official public holiday. In contrast to the lively atmosphere that characterized the celebration of the previous evening, the following day is usually almost devoid of people’s activities. People are in their home resting or sleeping. Government offices and private shops and businesses are closed. And many vehicles are off the street resulting in a significantly lighter traffic.

round shaped fruits on the table

Some superstitious practices that are probably of Chinese origins and not rooted on Christian belief influence the observance and welcoming of the New Year. Said practices are believed to bring forth good luck and ward off bad luck and evil spirits. Although many people do not subscribe to the ideas, other people observe the practice anyway for the sake of social tradition. Making loud sounds, putting 12 kinds of round fruits on the table, wearing polka dot dress, and spreading coins around the house are said to bring in good luck. Jumping 12 times on New Year’s Eve is said to make children become taller. When the New Year’s noise has died down, the sound of an animal that is heard first is a sign of a good or a bad fortune. A crow of a roster or a bark of a dog is a bad sign while the moo of a cow or a water buffalo or a bleat of a goat is a good sign for the coming year. Those are some of the many Filipino superstitious beliefs that are related to the celebration of New Year.

fireworks display

It is the practice of the Filipinos to make loud sound when the clock strikes midnight to bring in good luck and drive away evil spirits. People make noise by blowing horns, blowing the horns of cars, playing music loud, and banging cans and kitchen utensils among other actions. But the most popular and effective way of making noise is the use of firecrackers and fireworks. In relation to it, some people, before the New Year’s Eve, set aside money to buy those stuffs. The varied explosions, shapes, light colors, sparks and smokes caused by the exploding fireworks in the ground or in the sky are for some people a brilliant spectacle in the night sky. But for other people including the animals the burst of explosives can scare them out of their wits. There is inherent risk in exploding fireworks because people might get injured or properties might be burned. For this reason, the sale and use of fireworks and firecracker are strictly regulated or in some instances discouraged by the government.

The western influenced making of resolutions for the New Year is a practice that is adapted by the Filipinos. People hope to change their character or behavior for a better life in the coming year. Some put their resolutions into writings while others just commit them to their memory. And still other people do not make New Year’s resolutions at all, because for them, if there is something to be changed or corrected, they should do it right there and then without waiting for the year end to come to do it.

Happy New Year!

The Renovated Fountain of Cagayan de Oro

Gaston Park is a historic and major Landmark of Cagayan de Oro, and one of its main fixtures is the fountain. Locals who visited the park and those who went to the mass at Saint Augustine Cathedral relished the view of the park with its decorative fountain and people had their picture taken with the fountain, the church and the old water reservoir now converted into museum as the background. However, the operation of the fountain was temporarily stopped so that it can be improved and renovated.

In December 2015, with the renovation done, the fountain was reactivated. Now, when the fountain’s electric pump is turned on people can see the water jets into the air which is accompanied with lights and music. The fountain retains its old original basin that is surrounded by railings. In the middle is a new smaller and higher elevated basin where the nozzles of the main spring are located. Outside and below this smaller basin in the pond are nozzles that create smaller springs around the main spring in the middle.  

The reactivation of the fountain with its colored lights and music is indeed a beautiful sight not only to the local residents but also to other people who will visit the city.

Doing Business with a Debit Card

Debit card is a plastic card that allows user to withdraw cash from financial institutions or purchase items from merchants with the cost charged directly to his bank account. It is a convenient instrument for a person to do business or personal activities. It is a paperless bank account on which a bank issues a card instead of a passbook to its client. Aside from making deposit to his debit card account, the user can make payment to another person or institution or receive payment or deposit on his saving account through his card.                                               

Like ATM card, a debit card can also be used by its holder to withdraw money from bank’s ATM. A debit card issued by one bank can withdraw money from another bank’s ATM if both of them are connected with interbank ATM networks such as Express, MegaLink and BancNet.  In the Philippines, the major electronic fund transfer facilitators are Visa and MasterCard. Banks that issue debit card carry the brand of those two international companies on their cards. The Visa or the MasterCard brands and the connectivity of debit card to bank networks allow the holder to use his debit card locally or even abroad.                                                                                                                                                                   

Cashless shopping or payment is the main convenient feature of debit card in financial transactions. A debit card can be used to pay utilities, groceries, restaurant or other bills to merchants that accept such form of payment. A cashier swipes the card in an electronic authorization device at the point of sale.  Sometimes a separate PINpad to enter the PIN is used. But in some establishments there is no need to do it.

Both debit and credit cards can be used to shop online. There are some advantages in buying items online because in some cases they are cheaper than what can be bought physically at local stores. Manufacturers and merchants who have large inventories of unsold, overstocked and discontinued items find online stores as convenient place to sell them off. To attract buyers, these items are offered for sale at a very huge discount. Since the items are still very usable, online shoppers are attracted to them because of their low price. Furthermore, some old and hard to find items at the local stores might only be available online. And the debit card and credit card may come in handy to acquire those much desired items. However, the purchase of the debit card holder is limited to the amount of his bank savings account balance while a credit card holder purchases are limited to the range of his line of credit. The credit card holder therefore has more leverage in purchasing online items. He can even buy them in installment basis with interest.

Using a debit card is in essence a cash transaction while using a credit card is virtually an acquisition of goods or services on short term loan. And since credit card purchases may not be backed up with the user’s bank account, the items are usually charged with interest. Since the debit card holder spends only what he has in his bank account, there is only little risk that he may go into an unmanageable debt. On the other hand a credit card holder may be tempted to go on an uncontrollable shopping spree that may put him in future dire financial straits. 

                                                                                                                                

Almost always, one needs to have money in his possession since debit or credit card alone won’t be able to pay for anything. But with a debit card, he may not have to bring along with him huge amount of it. Money that is lost will be gone forever, while a lost debit card can be replaced with a new one. The user will just have to report the incident to his bank which will then deactivate the card to prevent transaction that will be made by unauthorized persons.

GOP Presidential Candidate Donald Trump- Love Him or Hate Him

Donald Trump (photo credit: Gage Skidmore)

With his bold and heavily controversial statements on public issues, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump draws attention not only from the American public but also from his rivals from the Republican and Democratic Parties. The outspoken billionaire always minces no words in his statements in answers to questions asked of him.

On December 8, 2015, in the aftermath of the San Bernardino shooting involving Islamic terrorists, Donald Trump made statements suggesting to “ban Muslims from entering the United States unless its representatives can figure out what is going on.” He then immediately got a lot of criticism over his words. Hilary Clinton, a Democratic Party presidential candidate commented that Trump’s remarks are “shameful” and “dangerous” and that he is playing into the hands of the ISIS by supplying it with new propaganda. Her view was echoed by the Pentagon which voiced concern on the security implication on Trump’s remarks. Fearing a backlash to the party over Trump’s comment, Republican Party presidential candidates also rebuked him. Jeb Bush, another republican presidential candidate said that Trump’s action is helping Clinton to win the presidency, and that Trump is not going to be the Republican Party nominee for president. In the academe, on December 9, 2015, the Robert Gordon University revoked Trump’s Honorary Doctorate of Business Administration for making statements that are incompatible with the ethos and values of the school.                                                

Donald Trump also received a lot of flak abroad over his anti-Muslim rhetoric. British Prime Minister David Cameroon, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls and Canadian Foreign Minister Stephanie Dion also expressed their criticism. In addition there is a petition in the UK which already gained half a million signatures to ban Trump in the country.

Despite the attacks leveled against him over his anti-Muslim and anti-immigration stance, Trump remains defiant and says that he will stand by with what he said. Latest opinion survey by Huffpost pollster conducted after his controversial remarks shows that his popularity in the Republican Party has not  diminished. He still leads the republican presidential hopefuls with 35.6%. His closest rivals Ted Cruz, and Marco Rubio got only 14.1% and 12.3% respectively.

Donald Trump joined the presidential race with official slogan: “We are going to make our country great again.”, and commitment “to become the greatest president that God created.” His proposed policies as president include the deportation of 11 million immigrants from the United States, the construction of a substantial wall on the US-Mexican borders, and the aggressive bombings of the ISIS. He would also support the surveillance of mosques in the US.

Most often, Trump’s statements don’t sit well with the illegal immigrants to include the Syrian refugees and even the liberals. Though there are some people who disagree with his view, there are others who appreciate Trump’s candidness to speak his mind on controversial issues. He says what he feels without being constrained with political correctness. His supporters believe that his views reflect the sentiments of the majority of the Americans.  

You like him or not, Donald Trump if ever he would be elected as the next president of the United States would likely bring significant changes in the country’s policies and direction especially on matters such as immigration and the war on terrorism which are some of the key issues that could sway voters’ preference in the coming US presidential election of 2016. And the world would see a shift from a liberal oriented administration into one with conservative leanings.