Cleopatra’s Wager

The most expensive meal in history

A news article mentioned a hotel bar in New York whose drink menu includes a
US$10,000 drink called “Martini on the Rock.” That works out to about $5 for the
gin, vermouth, and olives—and $9,995 for the loose diamond sitting at the bottom
of the glass. Patrons must order the drink three days in advance, and meet with a
jeweler to pick out the perfect stone. The first person to order this drink paid a
bit extra—$13,000—and instead of a loose stone, selected a 1.85-carat diamond
engagement ring. (His girlfriend said yes.) Perhaps unknown to the hotel’s
proprietors, this extravagant beverage has a fascinating historical precedent.

Et Tu, Cleo?

The year was 41 B.C. Mark Antony, one of the rulers of Rome, summoned Egyptian
queen Cleopatra VII for an audience at Tarsus (in present-day Turkey). Antony
ostensibly wanted Cleopatra to answer charges that she had aided Cassius, who
had conspired with Brutus to assassinate Julius Caesar. But most people believe
the real reason for the meeting was that Antony wanted Egyptian aid for an
upcoming military campaign, and besides, he had the hots for Cleopatra.

Cleopatra arrived on her legendary barge, and proceeded to throw elaborate

banquets for Antony and his officials for several evenings straight—nothing like a
bit of wining and dining to smooth over political misunderstandings. So impressed
was Antony at the lavish feasts Cleopatra had arranged that he accepted a
friendly wager. Cleopatra bet Antony a large sum of money that she could host the
most expensive meal in history. The next day, as the meal in question was nearing
its end, Antony said that it had been terrific, but no more impressive than her
other banquets—and certainly not worth the sum of money she had specified. At
this, Cleopatra removed one of her pearl earrings and dropped it in a goblet of
wine vinegar. Each of the pearls was so large and rare that it was extraordinarily
valuable—estimates are usually expressed in extremely helpful terms such as
“10,000,000 sesterces” or “100,000 gold aurei,” or “the value of 15 countries.” In
any event, it was worth a fortune. The pearl dissolved in the vinegar, which
Cleopatra then drank. Antony conceded defeat—the value of that single drink, let
alone the banquet, had indeed been more than any meal in history.

I’ve Got a Crush on You

There are a number of different versions of this story, which originally appeared
in Pliny the Elder’s Natural History. According to some versions, Cleopatra ground
the pearl in a mortar before dropping it in the vinegar. That would have been a
wise choice. Pearls, which are made primarily of calcium carbonate (the same
material that forms stalactites, stalagmites, and tufa), will indeed dissolve in a
mild acid such as vinegar, neutralizing the acid in the process. (This is how
antacids work, by the way—check the label on a bottle of Tums and you’ll see that
its main ingredient is also calcium carbonate.) However, this might take days for a
whole pearl; a crushed pearl could dissolve in a matter of minutes.

Not only did Cleopatra win the wager, she won Mark Antony’s heart. Antony left
his wife and moved to Alexandria. But ten years later, Octavius led Rome in a war
against Egypt. He defeated Antony and Cleopatra, both of whom committed
suicide shortly thereafter. Meanwhile, according to legend, the pearl from
Cleopatra’s other earring was later cut in two, with each half being placed in one
of the ears of the statue of Venus in Rome. Rome fell, of course, soon thereafter.
Coincidence? Probably, but all the same, I recommend against sticking antacids in
your ears. —Joe Kissell

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More Information about Cleopatra’s Wager…

The Algonquin Hotel sells the $10,000 martinis. You can read about it at NPR.org,
or read the story of the first such drink sold in this story (PDF) from the Daily
News.

More on the story of Cleopatra and her pearls:

Cleopatra at James Grout’s Encyclopædia Romana

Cleopatra at Marcus Garvey

When in Rome…? at Anecdotage.com

Cleopatra of Egypt: from History to Myth at the British Museum

The Case of the Missing Pearl Earrings, Part II

Virtually anything you could possibly want to know about Cleopatra can be found on
Cleopatra on the Web.

For details on the chemistry of pearls dissolving in vinegar, see The Cleopatra
Cocktail by Prudence J. Jones. Pearls: A Natural History by Neil H. Landman, Paula
M. Mikkelsen, Rüdiger Bieler, and Bennet Bronson also discusses both the legend
of Cleopatra’s wager and the chemistry of pearls and vinegar. Other pearl
resources:

Pearls: A Natural History (review in the Smithsonian Zoogoer)

MIE - Pearl Jam at Japan Travel

Period pearls at Stefan’s Florilegium