What was the most influential power couple in history?
Lisa Grunwald, co-author, The Marriage Book
Adam and Eve were responsible, literally or metaphorically, for—in no particular order—the subservience of women; the pain of childbirth; the concepts of sin, shame, and clothing; a lot of great artwork; and oh yes, procreation, without which there would have been no one else to influence.
Jeffrey Eugenides, author, The Marriage Plot
I nominate Adam and Eve. My second choice is Voltaire and Émilie du Châtelet, the woman often referred to as his mistress but who was more like a collaborator. They performed critical analyses of the Bible, from which Voltaire concluded that our first parents never existed and therefore weren’t powerful at all.
Stephanie Coontz, author, Marriage, a History
Marc Antony and Cleopatra had a claim to rule both Rome and Egypt, and were a couple in pursuit of power. They lost, but transformed, an empire.
Read more at The Atlantic.