Rome

[Kiwi the 1st]

Why was it in the last episode of Rome, that Mark Anthony & Octavia are seen sleeping together, I thought Mark was getting married to Atia, & Octavia was going off with Agrippa, can anyone answer this question?

[lynbrown]

Her brother Augustus decided it would be more plausible if she rather than her mother married MA. More politically acceptable.

[suffragette]

I agree with lynbrown. The series suggests Octavian believed the alliance between himself and Mark Antony would be more acceptible politically if his sister, Octavia, was married to his rival. The greater likelihood of her producing children was also seen as a way of cementing the alliance.

Historically, Mark Antony and Octavia had two daughters called Antonia Major and Antonia Minor. I doubt the series will be bothered by such realities however and will rapidly move onto Mark Antony bonking Cleopatra.