Cleopatra's Relationship Of Julius Caesar And Cleopatra

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.

In ‘An Ancient Roman Perspective’, Gemma Wilson’s account for Rome’s feelings towards the Queen is one of great hostility. According to Wilson, “at best, the Romans viewed Cleopatra with suspicion. At worst, they hated her.” Cleopatra was of coarse despised for utilizing the two public figures of Rome’s world, Caesar initially and then Mark Antony. Peter Roberts describes how it was Octavian that initiated Rome’s hatred towards Rome, relying on ‘sexual slander’ to tarnish her reputation. Many Roman poets continued this tradition of condemnation such as Lucan in ‘Pharsalia’, referring to Cleopatra as “Egypt’s shame.” Horace continues to embellish this image; “the queen, with a contaminated gang of creatures’ in his Ode XXXVII, referring to

How did Cleopatra rise to and maintain her power? Not much is known about her life since she lived so long ago, but what is known is enough to piece together some of her life story. Cleopatra was a strong and intelligent woman who made it through all the struggle and strife of the ancient world until it became too much for her. Cleopatra’s reign began and ended with tragedy, but was maintained by exploited love connections.

After Ptolemy XIII has his guardians revolt against Cleopatra, she was forced to flee to Syria, leaving the throne open to her brother and meaning she had to work to gain her power back. Cleopatra found an opportunity when Julius Caesar, one of the most powerful men in Rome at that time, arrived at Alexandria during his war with Pompey the Great. It was soon clear that Caesar and Ptolemy XIII were not amicable after Ptolemy presented the head of Pompey to Caesar, who, instead of being pleased with the defeat of his enemy, believed this move to be an insult to the greatness of his opponent. This gave Cleopatra the chance to create a connection between herself and Caesar, who prolonged his stay in Alexandria. Cleopatra smuggled herself in a rug into the palace where the Roman leader was staying, and impressed him with her intelligence, scheming and desirability that ran further, making her stand out from the rest of the women who tempted Caesar. It was not long before Caesar and Cleopatra began an affair, and he reinstated her power over Egypt, causing an end to the ruling of Ptolemy XIII and with it came the birth of Caesarion, their child and intended heir to the throne. Throughout this whole ordeal, it becomes apparent how calculating and knowledgeable Cleopatra was on how to influence the leader of Rome and to become appealing in a way that would

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

At the time Cleopatra gained power the future of the Dynasty was in danger. Places like Cyprus, Coele-Syria, and Cyrenaica were not under her kingdom anymore, and in the remaining places there was poverty and famine. But Cleopatra was an ambitious woman and wanted her kingdom to be a strong and great empire. Between Pompey and Julius Caesar there was a conflict which leads to in a struggle. Cleopatra supported him however he was defeated and after his defeat Caesar came in Egypt, in Alexandria.

Cleopatra innovatively utilised Roman politicians to benefit both herself and Egypt. Cleopatra's skillful manipulation of Roman generals consequences in her triumphs but also ultimately the downfall of Egypt. Many agree that Cleopatra never truly loved Caesar or Antony but it does seem evident that at least Casar did in fact love Cleopatra. While Cleopatra skillfully used Caesar and Antony to rid her of enemies and threats to the throne it was also a Roman politicians that effected the end of her reign and the prosperity of Egypt. Cleopatra’s manipulation of Roman politians which at first benefited her but ultimately was the source of her destruction.

Political turmoil also shaped this period. Soon after they assumed power, complications arose between Cleopatra and Ptolemy XIII. Eventually Cleopatra fled to Syria, where she assembled an army to defeat her rival in order to declare the throne for herself. In 48, she returned to Egypt with her military might and faced her brother at Pelusium, located on the empire’s eastern edge. Most of what we know about Cleopatra was written after her death when it was politically expedient to portray her as a threat to Rome and its stability. Thus, some of what we know about Cleopatra may have been exaggerated or misrepresented by those sources. Cassius Dio, one of the ancient sources that tells her story, summarizes her story as “She captivated the two greatest Romans of her day, and

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.

"For Rome, who had never condescended to fear any nation or people, did in her time fear two human beings; one was Hannibal, and the other was a woman" (Lefkowitz and Fant 126). During a time dominated by male rulers, Cleopatra VII Philopator (69 BCE – 31 BCE), the Last Pharaoh of Egypt, stood out among them all. With Egypt’s wealth at her disposal, she was “incomparably richer than anyone else” (Schiff 2). The amount of power a ruler had at the time of Cleopatra’s existence depended highly on the level of financial stability. However, wealth was not all Cleopatra was known for. She exhibited high militant leadership skills equal to that of her male counterparts to keep Egypt a prosperous country.

This allowed them to not be dependent solely on Rome and Cleopatra's work gave Egypt its economic stability.another example, Her relationship with Caesar and Antony brought Egypt a powerful allies. This shows that by pursuing Caesar, She gained the military power needed to rule Egypt.(Discovering

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

“She was the one who captured two of the greatest Romans of her day, and completely destroyed herself because of the third.” Cleopatra was born in Alexandria, Egypt in the year of 69 B.C. into the Ptolemaic dynasty. When she stepped up to become ruler alongside her brothers. Together, they controlled the whole eastern Mediterranean Coast. She ruled for twenty two years, and in that time she made enemies and also got many Roman men with her imperial ambitions and motives. At the same time though, the dynasty was quickly diminishing. Although she was the last Ptolemaic ruler, she was one of the Egyptians most influential and remembered rulers. As a ruler, she was mostly described as ruthless, yet intelligent, educated and wise. During her time, she also was lovers with Mark Antony, Julius Caesar and many other men. Her full story

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