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Antony and cleopatra essays
Gender equality in ancient egypt
Antony and Cleopatra as a tragic love story
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Cleopatra VII born into her family's dynasty Ptolemy in 69 BC. Her full name was Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator. She was best know for being the last pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. Cleopatra’s family ruled Egypt for about 300 years. At the age of 18 Cleopatra’s father Pharaoh Ptolemy VII died. He left his role as ruler of Egypt to Cleopatra and her younger brother. This time period Egypt went through a struggle the people dealt with famines and a horrible an economy.Cleopatra married her 10 year old brother and they were to rule Egypt as co-rulers.It was likely siblings of the opposite gender married at this time.Since Cleopatra was so much older than her brother she naturally gained more control as main ruler of Egypt. Once her brother got older …show more content…
he wanted more control as a ruler, this soon lead to him forcing Cleopatra out of the palace. Later on Cleopatra snuck back into the palace in 48 BC, this was her first encountering with Julius Caesar. She persuaded him to help her take back the role of pharaoh of Egypt. Caesar defeated the Ptolemy’s army at the Battle of Nile. Cleopatra gain back control of Egypt. Soon enough Julius and Cleopatra fell in love. They had a son named Caesarion. Cleopatra went to Rome to visit Caesar’s country houses.Although Cleopatra very much loved Caesar, she still cared about her country and didn't want Egypt to be taken over by Rome. Cleopatra built Egypt’s economy, and developed trade with multiple Arab nations. She was popular and well respected by the people of Egypt because she embraced their Egyptian culture and Cleopatra had was responsible for all the success that had come upon Egypt. Julius Caesar was killed in 44 BC so Cleopatra returned to Egypt.
Cleopatra soon fell in love with someone else by the name of Marc Anthony. They formed an alliance against a Rome leader. Octavian was the legal heir of Julius Caesar , but Cleopatra wanted her son Caesarion to be the heir of his father and be leader of Rome some day. She had Marc help her achieve this, they combined forces and fought Octavian. But they had to go back to Egypt after being defeated.
They describe Cleopatra’s death as a mystery of romance. Marc Anthony was told falsely that Cleopatra had died,this caused Anthony to killed himself. Soon Cleopatra heard this news she became sad and depressed. So on August 30, 30 BC, Cleopatra killed by allowing a poisonous cobra bite her. Now that both Anthony and Cleopatra were dead Octavian had nothing stoping him from taking control over Egypt so he did. Egypt became part of the Roman Empire. Cleopatra’s death brought an ending to the Ptolemy dynasty's do as far as we know the end of Egypt being an independent country.
Many years after her death, storyteller,historians, and the many more are still fascinated with the life Cleopatra lived. Her love life with Marc inspired William Shakespeare’s play Anthony and Cleopatra in 1607. There are many other versions. In 1917 Thea Bara played Cleopatra and so did Claudette Colbert in 1934 and Elizabeth Taylor in
1963. Because of the male dominated society, Cleopatra's story of how she holds her country together and helps it prosper is amazing! It shows she was as powerful leader as any of the males could have been or even more powerful.
After the assassination of Caesar, Cleopatra set her sights on Marc Anthony, who controlled the eastern Mediterranean. Her enemies labeled her a seductress, but seduction is part of diplomacy. Cleopatra knew how to entice, flatter and intimidate. When she goes to meet Mark Antony, she arrives in Tarsus on a barge dressed like Venus and surrounded by cupids. Newsweek describing the last queen of Egypt as an" independent, charismatic, ambitious woman. "She married her brothers when she needed them, she killed them when she was not," says Marie Arana in the Washington
Cleopatra VII had four known siblings, two brothers and two sisters. Her brothers were Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator, and Ptolemy XIV of Egypt. Her sisters were Arsinoe IV of Egypt, and Berenice IV of Egypt. Berenice IV took power away from her father and became ruler of Egypt in 58-55 B.C.E. When her father came back to Egypt he became ruler again and executed her. Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator was Cleopatra’s younger brother, when he was 12 and she was 18 they married each
Cleopatra, born in 69 B.C., was an Egyptian Queen and the last pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. She was from Greek descent and a member of the Ptolemies, who ruled Egypt for nearly 300 years. In just her early twenties, Cleopatra became Queen of Egypt following the death of her father and the defeat of her siblings. Popularly, she is remembered because of her physical beauty, love affairs, and the tragedy of her life. But more importantly she should be celebrated as a commanding female leader who used her intellect to exercise considerable power and influence in a male-dominated world.
Much of Cleopatra’s life and her intentions remain a mystery. The aforementioned, thus raises questions about the early life influences that caused her to ascend to the throne. Cleopatra’s education, heritage, and personality all factor into her ascension as queen of Egypt.
Antony confirmed this with the taken of his own life after falsely discovering his love, Cleopatra, has taken her own life. Cleopatra was then captured by Octavian right before she tried to take her own life. His plan was to take her back with him to Rome as a trophy of victory triumph over Egypt. However, for the last time, she used her charisma to lead Octavian into believing that she was not going
In 44 BCE, Gaius Caesar was assassinated, leaving a power vacuüm for the leadership of the Roman Republic. A ruling body known as the second triumvirate was established between the potential rulers of Rome: Gaius Octavian, Mark Antony and Marcus Lepidus. In 36 BC, Octavian convinced the Senate to exile Lepidus. Shortly thereafter, tensions between Mark Antony and Octavian built. These tensions centered on Antony abandoning Octavian’s sister for Cleopatra, the Queen of Egypt and Antony’s lover.
Cleopatra family was a part of the Ptolemaic dynasty, a Greek family of Macedonian origin who ruled Egypt after the death of Alexander the Great. Cleopatra originally ruled with her father Ptolemy XII. She later had to rule with her brothers, Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV to whom she had to marry as part of her Egyptian family custom. Her marriage with her brother, Ptolemy XIV, ended quickly after he died from unknown sources. She had, even more, problems with her second marriage to brother, Ptolemy XIII. He had worked
According to Egyptian tradition, women could not rule without a male co-regent. Cleopatra likely ruled as co-regent with her father for a short time before his death. After the death of Ptolemy XII, Cleopatra's father, eighteen year old Cleopatra and her ten year old brother became the rulers of Egypt. It didn't take long for Ptolemy XIII and his advisers to act against Cleopatra, causing her to flee Egypt. Cleopatra sought the help of Julius Caesar, one of the most powerful men in the world at the time. With the help of Caesar,
Cleopatra is most often remembered as the lover of two Roman consuls, Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, thereby forever connecting the Egyptian queen to the history of Rome. The stories of her relationships with the two men do not always paint a flattering picture of Cleopatra, as her reported promiscuity and presumption give her a colorful reputation. Cleopatra is also sometimes seen as a misunderstood woman, someone who was never given a fair opportunity to be accepted as the wife of Marc Antony nor the mother of Caesar's child. Some historians and authors use the issue of Cleopatra's race as a reason that she was ostracized from Roman society, saying that the Romans were prejudiced against Egyptians, and despite Cleopatra's Greek background, would never accept her as a suitable mate for a Roman consul. This theory, however, is far outweighed by the numerous justifications the Roman people had for their distaste of Cleoaptra. It is not surprising that Cleopatra never found acceptance in Rome, as she offered nothing to the relationship between Egypt and Rome, she stood for everything they were against, and little by little, she succeeded in destroying parts of the society that the Roman people had worked to build.
Cleopatra was immediately established from the second she burst out of the womb as a member of the royal family of the Ptolemy's; the family which had controlled the Egyptian throne since the rule of Ptolemy I which began in 323 BC. She was born the daughter of Ptolemy XII, King of Egypt, in 69 BC, her full name being Cleopatra VII, or "Thea Philopator" in Greek: a name, which literally translates to "a goddess loving her father." She did most definitely loved her father, so dearly, in fact, that he granted the throne to Cleopatra upon his death in 51 BC. From the moment she set foot on the throne, co-ruling Egypt with her brother and obligatory husband Ptolemy XIII, she was intent upon coercing her, and only her, influence upon all of Egypt. More specifically, she wished to possess a less influential bridegroom so that she could impose more of her ideas and policies upon Egypt. It is for this reason that Cleopatra initiated one of the most notorious and controversial relationships of all time with one of the most prominent figures in history; Julius Caesar. Caesar fell in love with Cleopatra from the moment he saw her. Even though she was not known to be exceptionally beautiful, it is derived from many accounts that she was the definition of a wicked temptress, the defining characteristic that obviously won Caesar's heart. Naturally, Caesar aided Cleopatra after Ptolemy XIII's advisors had driven her from the throne, and declared war upon Ptolemy XIII. Caesar and Cleopatra were victorious and Cleopatra returned safely to the throne. Shortly after the coup, Cleopatra was noticeably pregnant. The product of this pregnancy was a son, named Caesarion, who is widely believed to belong to Caesar.
In 51 B.C.E after the death of her father, Ptolemy XII, 18 year old Cleopatra and her 12 year old brother Ptolemy XIII were in succession for the throne. Cleopatra and her brother married to keep the power within the family. They were to rule Egypt in unison sharing power of the throne. That changed in 48 B.C.E when Cleopatra was forced to escape to Syria after being dethroned by her brother who was told to do so by his advisers, Achillas and Theodotus.
From the early years of her life, Cleopatra learned that to gain the thrown in the dynasty of the Ptolemies it took a lot more then sheer knowledge. She did however have a very good education in which she knew how to speak seven different languages and was the only Ptolemy to have know how to speak Egyptian and Greek ("The Unsolved Death of Cleopatra"). It is clear that even from such a young age Cleopatra was driven to succeed. It appears that it wasn't enough for her to just be educated, but to surpass her siblings and quite possibly her own parents. This was soon proven to be so once she inherited the throne and problems began to ensue. With the title of pharaoh came the marriage to her younger brother, though neither one was willing to share that power together. Soon after taking the throne her brother was found murdere...
Around 69 B.C, one of the most famous female rulers ever known was born, she was Cleopatra. She was the descendent of the Egyptian ruler, Ptolemy XII, and she would eventually become the queen of ancient Egypt herself. She was known for being extremely intelligent and very charming, and because of this many romans feared her and viewed her as a threat. When her father died the throne of Egypt was left to her and her brother, Ptolemy XIII, and rivalry formed between the two, making her even more determined to become the sole ruler of Egypt. Cleopatra had trained all her life to be the successor of Egypt, and she hungered for power.
Antony. Shakespeare proves this play a tragedy by selecting characteristics of ill-fated lovers in Antony and Cleopatra. Poor Antony turns victim to Cleopatra's enslavement, and forgets his duties in Rome. Antony is a disgrace to his Roman self, and "loses" himself to dotage" of Cleopatra. He also forgets of his marriage to Caesars sister Octavia flees back to Egypt, to Cleopatra.
Cleopatra marrying her eldest brother who was as of ten years old to be co-ruler to her dynasty and to keep it alive, but it would be the help of Julius Caesar that made it happen. The will save Cleopatra to retain her power and to start the love affair to all we know about. She had a son with him name Caesarian, although Caesar did not mention it was his child. Ptolemy XIII, thereafter died in a failed rebellion and was replaced as co-ruler with his and Cleopatra's younger brother Ptolemy XIV. Cleopatra, who would eventually have planned to kill the two brothers after she regain her emotions of power and lastly murder her younger sister Arsinoe IV with the help of Marc Antony soldiers, friend of Julius