A Look into Cleopatra’s Early Life Influences

Cleopatra was years ahead of her time in terms of political agenda and intellectual warfare. Cleopatra should be known as an important individual in history because of her influence in the direction of Egyptian history. She was extremely intelligent, calculating, and a master of manipulation. She used her power of sexual appeal to benefit herself and her status with society. Cleopatra had strong relations with powerful men of the era, but she still managed to surpass them with her superior intellect, and abuse their lustful obedience. Her beauty was a subject and also an inspiration for art in popular Western culture. Cleopatra’s importance in Europe should be known because she greatly impacted social development.

patra took the throne at 18 with Ptolemy XIII who was ten. While ruling ptolemy XIII ministers found him easier to control. Cleopatra loved Julius Caesar, who later killed her brother Ptolemy

After Ptolemy XIII’s death, Caesar restored Cleopatra and Ptolemy XIV, her youngest brother, as rulers of Egypt. In 47 B.C., Cleopatra gave birth to a child that was believed to be Caesar’s. The child was Ptolemy XV Philopator Philometor Caesar, but was known to the Egyptian people as Caesarion, which means “Little Caesar.” In 46 to 45 B.C. Cleopatra, Ptolemy XIV, and Caesarion traveled to Rome to be with Caesar. He was murdered soon after in March of 44 B.C. They returned to Egypt where Ptolemy XIV died soon after their return. (“Cleopatra VII’s Childhood…”) Cleopatra feared for their lives because of the Caesarion posed to Octavian. (“Cleopatra: The Woman…”)

The first time that Cleopatra shows exceptional amounts of intelligence and control is when her father, Ptolemy Auletes, died when Cleopatra was eighteen, leaving herself and her younger brother, Ptolemy XIII as co-rulers of Egypt. From the start, Cleopatra was forced to act efficiently, as a harsh famine was plaguing Egypt, the Roman Empire was already rising beyond control, and her desperation to become the dominant leader of Egypt was staunched due to laws of a mandatory inter-familial consort, leaving her to compete her brother for the power over their country. With all of these problems, Cleopatra resorted to tactics that would set her apart from her lazy and generally unimpressive father and her brother; she learnt how to speak Egyptian, unlike many of her other family members, giving her the opportunity to

In 69 BC Cleopatra was born into an Egyptian dynasty. A dynasty in decline and under the protection of Rome. At the young age of 18 she assumed the throne along with one

Cleopatra was a noteworthy Egyptian Pharaoh whose legacy and role was shaped by her experiences and achievements in ancient Egypt. It can be argued Cleopatra was a significant figure and her role and legacy was formed by her experiences, achievements because she stood for a symbol of power and strength in a time where society was male dominated. Cleopatra’s personality and early life impacted the beginning of her rise to power and in 51 BC she became sole leader of the Egypt. The key events in Cleopatra’s reign and the role she played during the alliance between herself and Caesar impacted on her reign. External factors informed her motives, which pushed her to make decisions during her rule, as it significantly impacted her relationship with Mark Antony. Cleopatra’s legacy had short and long-term effects; the consequences of her decisions pushed her to commit suicide, the events and choices she made during her life portrayed her significance.

Cleopatra was a woman. “Cleopatra stood at one of the most dangerous intersections in history: that of women and power. Clever women, Euripides had warned hundreds of years earlier, were dangerous” (112). The number of successful female leaders up until this day is drastically smaller than the male ones, and even now in 21st century the stereotype of a leader is a male. How did Cleopatra manage to go around this stereotype and become such a successful ruler? She got the men of her time obsessed with her. When thinking about power, we should remember Aristotle’s saying, “Yet what difference does it make weather the women rule or the rulers are ruled by women? The result is the same”. Cleopatra managed to be a ruler herself, while ruling the most influential men of her time. No one before, or after Cleopatra was ever able to do this again, but to this day she is a role model. She proved that not only men can be in charge and that women can do as much as a man

Queen Cleopatra VII was a powerful, intelligent, and passionate woman born from royal blood of the Ptolemaic Dynasty. As a successor of Hellenistic people and Alexander the Great she was not of an Egyptian blood but born in Alexandria and speaking Egyptian language. When her father Ptolemy Auletes died, Cleopatra was in the age of eighteen. She had three sisters Cleopatra VI, Berenice IV, Arsinoe IV two of them were older than her and one younger, and two younger brothers named Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV too. Cleopatra VII and her brother Ptolemy XIII inherited the kingdom of their father as it was written his will. Because of the law in Egypt of that time Cleopatra was unable to rule by her own without the presence of a male coruler, a brother or son. As a result she ruled together with her brother who she get married to although he was only twelve years old.

The division of the royal family provided Cleopatra with an opportunity to use Caesar to kill her siblings in battle. As Cleopatra wanted, Caesar reinforced his troops and easily defeated the rebels resulting in Ptolemy drowning while retreating. Following this Caesar captured Arsinoe, who had survived and sent her back to his country of Rome as a prisoner. Caesar also executed numerous enemies of Cleopatra and imprisoned others who opposed her. Caesar also supplied Cleopatra with a child, whom after Ptolemy XIV’s death she made co-regent as a three year couldn't interfere with her plans (Schiff, 2010).

Despite the fact that Ptolemy was Greek, in order to acknowledged by society, he added numerous Egyptian customs in his administration. Historians defines Cleopatra as lovely and the prevailing ruler in each of the three of her co-rulers consist of two brothers and her son. She was higly educated woman because she studied science, astronomy and also she could speak different languages. “Cleopatra was a skilled orator. Plutarch wrote that the queen was gripping in her conversation and persuasive in her discussion, able to speak Ethiopian, Trogodyte, and the languages of the Hebraioi, Arabes, Syrians, Medes, and Parthians, and many others as well. Egyptian is not specified but can be presumed because Plutarch referred to the ignorance of that language on the part of her royal predecessors. In addition to her native Greek, she also knew Latin, although the Romans with whom she came into contact would insist on speaking Greek.” After her father death, she came to power in 51 B.C. at the age of eigthteen. “Thus when Cleopatra VII came to the throne in late 51 B.C., she was a remarkably educated

In 51 B.C., Ptolemy XII died, leaving the throne to 18-year-old Cleopatra and her brother, the 10-year-old Ptolemy XIII. It is likely that the two siblings married, as was customary at the time. Over the next few years Egypt struggled to face down a number of issues, from an unhealthy economy to floods to famine.

Almost every pharaoh-queen was named Cleopatra, yet only one is ever thought of, Cleopatra Thea Philopator VII, “The Goddess and Beloved of her Father”. Every moment of her life from 69 BCE until August 12, 30 BCE was a story larger than life, epic in scale, and over the top in its grandeur. As the last reigning pharaoh of the Ptolemaic Dynasty in Ancient Egypt, she is remembered for her ability to rule as a political genius and a strong female leader living in a male-dominated world despite all odds being against her. Firstly, Cleopatra grew up in the Ptolemaic palace living a life of luxury, yet her subjects worshipped and even felt connected to her as more than just their queen. Secondly, after Cleopatra was exiled by her incompetent brother, Ptolemy XII, she came back with an army of mercenaries and took back Egypt to be its sole and more qualified ruler. Lastly, Cleopatra went to any means to secure her power and to ensure her nation’s financial and political strength; therefore what started off as a strategic alliance with Rome slowly became her dominance over most of the ancient world.

The purpose of this paper is to look at the history of Cleopatra VII, as well as how and why she wanted to be portrayed in a certain manner with respect to visual art. As the last noble of the Ptolemaic Dynasty, her images communicate her political abilities, her religious feeling, her caring duties and determination in preserving royal lineage, and her direct connection to ancient Egyptian gods. In addition, having relationships with two of the most powerful men in ancient Roman history, Julius Caesar, and Mark Antony. Cleopatra was also able to improve her skills as a powerful pharaoh and set her status as pharaoh.

King Ptolemy XII’s reign was disastrous because the centralization of his power led to the costly losses of the island country Cyprus and the city of Cyrenaica. Cleopatra had limited power at this time due to the shared throne between her and her father. Cleopatra’s father King Ptolemy XII died in 51 B.C. leaving his throne to Cleopatra and her younger 10-year-old brother. Cleopatra also had two older sisters, Cleopatra VI and Berenice IV, one younger sister, Arsinoe IV, and one other younger brother, Ptolemy XIV. Floods, famine, and economic and political difficulties made their first three years as rulers problematic. Although she was married to her younger brother, she did not want to share the throne with him. In August of 51 B.C., Cleopatra made strides in taking the throne away from her brother in order to reign completely by herself. She did so by removing his name from various documents and putting only

Cleopatra married another brother, Ptolemy XIV. Law in Egypt prevented women from ruling, alone which is why she married him. Even though she married Ptolemy XIV she was in love with Caesar. Cleopatra spent the next several months with Caesar travelling along the Nile. In 46 BC Cleopatra gave birth to Caesar’s son who was named Caesarian or little Caesar. She emphasized that it was Caesar’s child and Caesar never formally accepted paternity over the child. Even