The Real Cleopatra

Up to this point Cleopatra's beauty has been the only topic discussed, but her appearance was far from the only thing that kept her royal bottom in the highest seat in Egypt. Cleopatra was a woman who was always thinking and always one step ahead of the domineering men of her time. A woman of incredible charisma and intelligence;

Whilst all three depictions of Cleopatra show opulence, luxury and a sexually proactive and powerful stateswoman. It is how perception of these roles has changed over the years which cultivate the reputation of Cleopatra. From a sexually dominant woman as bad and threatening thing to a shrewd leader unafraid to use all weapons at her disposal to ensure the strength of her nation and the continuation of her bloodline.

Cleopatra VII, most commonly known as Cleopatra, was the last of a series of rulers called Ptolemies; this family ruled Egypt for nearly 300 years. Cleopatra ruled not only Egypt, but also cyprus, parts of modern-day Libya, and other territories in the middle East. Cleopatra was also the last pharaoh to rule Egypt (Jarus,1). Cleopatra was born into an insane family that had deranged beliefs, beginning with having to marry her brother, Ptolemy, which broke out in a tragic war. Cleopatra's life didn't get much better afterwards, she fell in love with Julius Caesar and then watched him get assassinated and when she fell in love again with Mark Antony, it resulted in her own death.

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

Cleopatra not only ruled Egypt but also influenced Roman politics during a crucial period. Her legend also consists

Cleopatra was an important figure in a pivotal age of Rome, when the empire’s entire political sphere was unstable; several men were vying for the ultimate control of Rome and ultimately the world at that time. Cleopatra VII became the queen of Egypt when she was only a teenager. She was different from past Egyptian rulers, because she was committed to seeing all sides of a situation and then calculating what to do. For example, Cleopatra’s family was actually of Greek descent, but Cleopatra tried to immerse herself in the Egyptian customs by

Cleopatra VII, the last reigning queen of Egypt, has intrigued us for centuries. Her story is one that has been told many times, and the many different and vastly varied representations of her and her story are solely based on the ways in which men and society have perceived women and their role in society throughout history. By looking at the perceptions of women starting from the Hellenes, the Greeks who greatly influenced Roman ideals, and following those perceptions through to the end of the 19th Century, it

They seized power, exercised it and influenced politics in a way that few women were capable of doing. Cleopatra will be remembered as a woman who took any opportunity that was placed in front of her. She was a passionate woman who ignored her brother’s claim to power and the submissive role women were supposed to play in politics. Cleopatra used any means necessary to accomplish her goals and to protect her beloved state of Egypt. Although her use of seduction in regards to her relationships with Caesar and Antony has become legendary to mainstream society, one must not forget the social and political limitations she hurdled to maintain her position as pharaoh of Egypt. Agrippina also ought to be remembered as a highly ambitious woman who sought to transcend the discrimination faced by women in politics. Her legacy may not be as illustrious and awe-inspiring as Cleopatra’s, but she is equally deserving of being remembered. Cleopatra and Agrippina have definitely left their mark on the both the ancient and modern

Cleopatra, in the end, left her mark on Egypt. She was one of the most influential rulers ancient Egypt has ever had. Her power hungry nature allowed her to conquer land, enemies, and even seduce some of the most powerful rulers of her time. Not only did she show the world power, but she wasn’t afraid to take what she wanted, regardless of her age or gender. Her death marked the end of Egyptian Pharaohs, but she achieved her dream to never be forgotten, and is remembered today as a strong, independent woman who was not afraid to do what she had to, for the benefit of her family, country, and

Cleopatra influenced the world. She did that by persuading Julius Caesar to help defeat her husband and brother. She then exacerbating the rift between Mark Anthony and Julius Caesar heir Octavian in their struggle for control of the Roman empire. She knew by getting with Caesar it’d make her a lot more powerful.

Cleopatra now is more commonly identified by her stunning beauty, but that is not all there was to her although her looks and sex appeal did help her rule there was more to the young girl who ruled Egypt at the early age of eighteen. A queen who played a role in several of her siblings’ deaths and married her younger brother aged twelve at time of marriage was also a queen who took charge and ruled Egypt her way to disregard tradition and put in a significant amount of effort to solve the conflict between Egypt and Rome. The question here is Cleopatra a caring or a ruthless ruler during her thee.

Some characters in history have been mischaracterized or mythologized, but none have been as misconstrued as Cleopatra VII, the last queen of Egypt. In Roller’s 2010 publication, Cleopatra: A Biography, he discusses many aspects of Cleopatra’s life, but most importantly her power. This novel is the first to be based solely on primary materials from the Greco-Roman period while Cleopatra was alive. These sources include literature, Egyptian documents, and representations in art and coinage. The author’s stated purpose for writing this book is “to create a portrait of Cleopatra based solely on information from the ancient world” (x). Roller achieves his purpose by organizing his work chronologically beginning with Cleopatra’s lineage and ending with the downfall to her kingdom around 34 B.C. In order to grasp some of the information in this novel, the reader must first draw upon Egyptian and Greco-Roman art as well as Greek and Latin literature (Roller x). In addition to the primary sources used to write this book, Duane also did research at Harvard College Library, Ohio State University, and the Institut für Archäologie, Karl- Franzens Universität (Roller xi). While Roller successfully provides information about Cleopatra with his well narrated novel, he distracts the reader with a regular use of names and a countless mention of geographical places.

Cleopatra is so well known even today because of the prominence she had with such a large empire. Before Cleopatra, her family ruled Egypt for over a hundred years, Cleopatra came to rule when her father, King Ptolemy XII, died leaving the throne to her at only 18 and her brother Ptolemy XIII at age 10. Eventually political unrest happened between her and Ptolemy, and she fled to Syria to return with an army. Around that time the civil war between Caesar and Pompey was occurring, Caesar came to Egypt following Pompey, and that is when he met and fell in love with Cleopatra. Caesar defeated Ptolemy’s armies and restored Cleopatra to the throne. They had one son, and Cleopatra returned to Rome with Caesar until going back to Egypt following his

Egyptian Queen Cleopatra in all her glory will never be able to outgrow the reputation she carries because of her past relationships. What many people do not know is that all of her relationships were concentric to the goal she was trying to achieve. Although it would seem that the reason men were so attracted to her was because of her beauty, however this is false. Cleopatra’s beauty was not the hook that caught all of the men; it was her knowledge of the world and her maturity.

No one can really know a hundred percent how Cleopatra was really like as a person or what she really looked like, however, the only thing we can do is use all the clues we have left from this ancient history and gather them all together for an approximate conclusion. Based on the search I have done I realized that just like any other story, Cleopatra’s story have two sides. On one side the Romans (her enemies) pictured her as this ugly, evil seductress, and men manipulator women. On the other hand, her supporters in Egypt pictured her as an intellectual, well-educated, beautiful women, scientist and philosopher.