Marc Antony intends to use Julius Caesar's funeral as a venue for demonizing the conspirators in a very public way. Things don't go according to plan, and a riot ensues. Antipater and family must flee Rome. They sail from Rome to Judea; onboard, Nicolaus records Herod's account of his fateful meeting with Cleopatra. Arsinoë and the Greek sailors get into trouble at Rhodes, killing some homeless urchins. In Gaza, her sister Cleopatra confronts Herod's mother Cypros; her Egyptian ship departs for Rome just before Antipater arrives with their sons and daughter.

SYNOPSIS:

Arsinoë is a long way from her prison in the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus. Her improbable escape has worked well for her. Until now. Once in Rhodes, she departs from the brothers, but ends up falling asleep from fatigue in the shadow of the fallen Colossus statue – one of the Seven Ancient Wonders. The brothers soon find her, but are confronted by some juvenile petty criminals brandishing knives. The brothers make swift work of the urchins, much to Arsinoë's shock.

Execution of an arrested criminal was supposed to have been the capitulation of Julius Caesar’s funeral in Rome. That’s how Marc Antonyhad planned it. Senator Treboniushad been part of the assassination conspiracy, but his connections ran deeper than Antony knew. Thousands had gathered for the open-air ceremony at the Forum. At the appointed time Trebonius should have been brought out to meet death, a messenger instead reported that he'd bribed his freedom.

In desperation, Antony whips the crowd into a frenzy with a rousing speech. He admonishes Antipater and his children to run for their lives, as the scene descends into violent chaos. The family and their guards are just able to board their ship on the Tiber

In Alexandria, Cleopatrahas devised her own plan. She has not yet met Marc Antony in private, but has decided that in order to protect her interests as ruler of Egypt, she will set sail aboard her largest boat and go directly to Rome. She brings along enough gold to ensure the tribute will get the desired effect. They run into rough seas, and make a necessary re-supply stop in the port at Gaza. There, Cleopatra has a chance meeting with Herod’s mother (wife of Antipater) — Cypros. Though brief, the exchange is terse and there is clear animosity between the two women. The origin of this mutual disdain is from ~4 years previous, when Cypros and her family not only sheltered Cleopatra and her sister as they fled north from Egypt seeking asylum and military backers, but Antipater even sacrificed some of his Judean army by sending thousands of troops to Alexandria’s younger brother Ptolemy. The person trapped within the royal district of Alexandria was none other than Julius Caesar.

Clearly, Cypros was not pleased with the fact Cleopatra had taken advantage of that situation to then slip back into the palace (hiding in a rolled-up carpet, carried by a servant), and seduce Caesarwith her charms. The very same seductive tactic Cleopatra had used on Herodjust weeks earlier (in Jericho), although unsuccessfully.