ortified himself at Actium, on the west
coast of Greece, while the strong fleet he had gathered lay in its
spacious bay. Here took place one of the decisive battles of the world's
history.

Antony had made the fatal mistake of bringing Cleopatra with him. Under
her advice he played the part of a poltroon instead of a soldier. His
chief officers, disgusted by his fascination, deserted him in numbers,
and, yielding to her urgent fears, he resolved to fly with the fleet and
abandon the army.

In this act of folly he failed. A strong gale from the south kept the
fleet for four days in the harbor. Then the ships of Octavius came up,
and the two fleets joined battle off the headland of Actium.

The ships of Antony were much larger and more powerful than those of
Octavius. Little impression was made on them by the light Italian
vessels, and had Antony been a soldier still, or Cleopatra possessed as
much courage as guile, the victory might well have been theirs. But
battle was no place for the pleasure-loving queen. Filled with terror,
she took advantage of the first wind that came, and sailed hastily away,
followed by sixty Egyptian ships.

The moment Antony discovered her flight he gave up the world for love.
Springing from his ship-of-war into a light galley, he hastened in wild
pursuit after his flying mistress. Overtaking her vessel, he went on
board, but seated himself in morose misery at a distance, and would have
nothing to do with her. Ruin and despair were now his mistresses.

Their commander fled, the ships fought on, and yielded not till the
greater part of them were in flames. Before night they were all
destroyed, and with them perished most of those on board, while all the
treasure was lost. When the army heard of Antony's desertion the legions
went over to the conqueror. That brief sea-fight had ended the war.

For a year Octavius did not trouble his rival. He spent the time in
cementing his power in Greece and Asia Minor. Cleopatra tried her
fascinations on him, as she had on Caesar and Antony, but in vain. She
sought to fly to some place beyond the reach of Rome, but Arabs
destroyed her ships. At length Octavius came. Antony made some show of
hostility, but Cleopatra betrayed the fleet to his rival and all
resistance ended. Octavius entered the open gates of Alexandria as a
conqueror.

The queen shut herself up in a building which she had erected as a
mausoleum. It had no door, being built to receive he