Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Cleopatra power and leadership
Critical analysis of cleopatra's life
Modern perspectives evident in the movie cleopatra
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Cleopatra power and leadership
Born in Alexandria, Egypt in 69 BCE, Cleopatra VII Philopator was one of the seventh Cleopatra in the family. She was the third daughter of King Ptolemy XII Auletus, and her family was known as the Ptolemies, they ruled Egypt for over 300 years. The Ptolemies were Greek rulers, which descended from General Ptolemy who took control over Egypt after the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE. At the age of 17 Cleopatra assume the throne when her father King Ptolemy XII died, he left in his will that she ought to marry her 10 year old brother Ptolemy XII (whom she detested) in order to keep the power within the family (Remler, 1996).
Queen Cleopatra VII wasn’t known for her beauty, but many men found her intelligence and personality be one of
…show more content…
She wanted to removed her brother from throne and the only way that she was going to make that happen, was if she assembled an army in order to go to war with him. Meanwhile Julius Caesar was at war with Pompey, who was murder in Egypt by orders of Ptolemy XII, when he fled seeking refugee. Caesar following the steps of his enemy, met Cleopatra along the way whom he fell in love with, this was a victory for Cleopatra. She used Caesar to gain enough military muscle to dethrone her brother and solidify her grip on Egypt and be a sole ruler. Cleopatra was a woman of full control and power. Which wasn’t likely to happen in Egypt, but because she came from a powerful family it was embedded in her blood. She was able to gain and hold this sense of control with Caesar because he didn’t questioned or intercept with any of her decision-making, he was head over heels in love with her. Julius helped her defeat her brother Ptolemy in the Battle of the Nile and now he had made her much more powerful than ever, once again Queen Cleopatra VII was the only sole ruler of Egypt. Cleopatra VII reached her ultimate goal by defeating her youngest brother, which was said, had fled Egypt and drowned in the Nile (“Cleopatra VII” 3). What I like the most about Cleopatra was that she was determined to get things done, when she wanted to get her point across, she would fight with tooth and nails to accomplish that, no matter who or what stand in her way. She used her personality and her intelligence to achieve those goals at the same time still having Caesar wrapped around her fingers In 4.7 B.C. Cleopatra gave Caesar a son, whom she name Caesarion; though Julius never claimed him to be his. She followed Julius Caesar to Rome, but later returned to Egypt after his
She attributes her exceptional education, captivating oratory skills and intellectual abilities to have merited both the hearts of the Roman leaders. Through the latter she elevated her Empire from the path of ruin and into world supremacy, using the influence and might of the Roman Empire to do so. After all as Cleopatra displayed to have understood- Why be the conquered when you are able to be the conqueror. Read page 129
Changing social habits of a contemporary society have seen Cleopatra depicted in many different ways. Whilst few artefacts remain of the true image of Cleopatra, we see from her portrait on the coins (Fear, 2008, p, 21 Fig 1.4) that despite being no legendary beauty, she had the power to captivate two of the greatest Romans of her time. Cleopatra consummated her union with Julius Caesar, which strengthened her grip on the throne, following his assassination; she formed alliance with Mark Antony, in opposition to Octavian, a coalition that would lead to her downfall as both Antony and Cleopatra’s combined forces would be defeated against Octavian in the battle of Actium in 31 BCE. (Fear, 2008, p.7)
They later began to have an affair and had 3 children in 40 B.C. Antony married Cleopatra in 36 B.C., and made her the ruler of Egypt, Cyprus, Crete, and Cyria. The Roman Senate did not like all the power they had and called Antony a traitor. In 31 B.C. after they lost a battle at sea Cleopatra and Mark Antony had to leave Egypt. Because she was so ashamed she spread a rumor that she had died from committing suicide. When Mark Antony heard about what happened to his wife and he didn’t know that it was a rumor. The results of it were that he stabbed himself to death. When Cleopatra heard what Antony had done she then killed herself by letting a poisonous snake bite her. (“Mark Antony and
Amy Crawford the author of the article, “Who is Cleopatra?” supports this opinion with several examples from primary and secondary sources to shed light on the type of political leader she was and the motivations behind her actions. She explains that Cleopatra was a well-educated, clever, diplomat, who had deep devotion to her patriotism. Cleopatra made the effort to learn Egyptian, unlike her predecessors, among several other languages. She succeeded in ruthless power struggles with her siblings and created military alliances to maintain Egypt’s independence. Cleopatra sustained a vast,
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.
Cleopatra II. Summary: After the completion of the book, it had let me to believe the book was written for the general audience. Although the author provided many resources, the information was taken from literature that was written during the time.
Was Cleopatra the reason the Egyptian Empire fell? Cleopatra's family ruled Egypt for more than one-hundred years. So maybe, her greed started way before she had a chance to choose her fate. Maybe she saw the power her father held and wanted to see what it was like to have all of the power. To be respected. To be feared. Are maybe she wasn’t the main reason the Egyptian empire fell.
Cleopatra. Dir. Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Perf. Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and Rex Harrison. Twentieth Century Fox Productions, 1963.
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.
Once in Syria and situated, Cleopatra began constructing an army. She knew that an army alone wouldn’t get her power back. Cleopatra would need some outside help to get the job done. She needed a powerful ally, and Julius Caesar was just that person. She reached out many times to seek Julius Caesar’s support.
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...
Like her father, she tried to have peace with Rome and maybe even have power over them. She would gain her power by having Caesar one and only son, Caesarion, the loyalty of Marc Antony, a well-known general who was popular among the troops in Rome, and of course by using her intelligence and Egypt’s resources. Cleopatra was a successful ruler because she had a thirst for power. She gained power because she had been prepared all her life to be a successful ruler by being very educated in studies, languages, charm, and even in relationships. She studied natural sciences and mathematics all her life.
I, Cleopatra VII, am writing this in the midst of my rule as queen of Egypt. Currently I control virtually the entire Eastern Mediterranean coast. My journey to become the sole ruler of Egypt was a difficult one. It all begins with my family. I was born in the beginning of the year 69 BC to my father Ptolemy XII.
"When she first met Mark Antony she purs'd up his heart upon the river. of Cycnus", in other words she dominated him from that point on. Antony went to Egypt with his only political purpose, Rome. Over the course of time however, Cleopatra's engineering, Antony lost his. purpose.
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