Most sibling arguments are over small things such as, who gets the remote, who calls shotgun first, or who gets the last cookie. Cleopatra and her brother, however, fought over an entire kingdom. Despite the constant sibling rivalry, Cleopatra managed to rule a successful country, and left behind a lasting legacy. The unique way Cleopatra VII gained power and the legacy she left behind, shows that although there have been many influential women leaders in history, she was the most powerful. Born the daughter of a Pharaoh, Cleopatra VII was already destined a life of wealth and riches. She was a daughter of Ptolemy XII and Cleopatra V Tryphaena, and her birthday is said to be in between the years “69 BC-68 BC” (BBC). Cleopatra VII, has the …show more content…
Cleopatra was able to keep the dynasty afloat for quite awhile considering the circumstances. The ‘Legend of Cleopatra’ revolves heavily around how her beauty and seductive tendencies were the best qualities she had to offer. In a book written by Plutarch, however, he states that “[H]er beauty, as we are told, was in itself not altogether incomparable, nor such as to strike those who saw her... [H]er presence, combined with the persuasiveness of her discourse and the character which was somehow diffused about her behaviour towards others, had something stimulating about it.” (Plutarch, pg. 197). Most sources can agree that Cleopatra was an intellectual, especially in the areas of “mathematics, philosophy, oratory, and astronomy” and could speak around a dozen different languages (Evan Andrews). Plutarch, describes her voice of having a “sweetness” to it, and compares it to an “instrument of many strings” (Plutarch, pg. 197). This was part of Cleopatra VII’s appeal. She was able to communicate to those in living under her reign and around Egypt without a need for an interpreter, and she did all of this when it was common for kings of Egypt to not even bother learning the native languages. Throughout the 22 years of Cleopatra’s reign, she kept the country stable, provided a sense of unity after a divisive civil war, and even instituted a tax amnesty during a drought in effort to alleviate some of the problems that were being caused. Her wisdom and willingness to do whatever it takes to provide for her kingdom shows that not only was she connected to some of the most influential Roman leaders of all time, but she was able to be an effective leader, even when surrounded by a
Stacy Schiff author of Cleopatra strives through her book to denounce all historical myths surrounding Cleopatra. With the rigor of a true historian she is able to distinguish historical veracity from historical myth surrounding the queen from antiquity. The author highlights Cleopatra’s role as a powerful woman and in particular how she attempts to manage the various political or economic predicaments she faced. Stacy Schiff gives us a story that is masterfully reconstructed, allowing the reader insight into the historical context of the time- shedding new light on a woman whose greatest fault was not being a man.
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)
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
The Romans were immensely furious with Cleopatra and had primary influence over what sources were left behind about her. So certainly this is going to lead to biases and inaccuracies in the depictions we have. Furthermore, we are all well aware of how Hollywood likes to dramatize and embellish stories in order to generate ticket sales and is not worried about the accuracy of the historical anecdote. Because of this and her popularity, our knowledge of Cleopatra has been flooded with twisted truths. When examining Cleopatra’s full reign beyond her love affairs, reveals Cleopatra put all of her effort forth in order to solve the conflict between Egypt and Rome and should be recognized for her masterminded and commanding leadership
"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.
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.
Born in in 69 B.C., Cleopatra VII was esteemed the last ruler of the Macedonian era. Cunning and brave, Cleopatra would later be known for her notorious affairs with notably formidable men in possession of considerable wealth and prestige. She was born into power, but her test would be her capability to maintain it. Her own brothers became her opponents, so she had to fight to remain leader of Egypt. Cleopatra rose to power by forging alliances with leaders of foreign nations in order to back her claim of the Egyptian throne.
Cleopatra was born Cleopatra VII Philopator. Her family could be traced back to the Macedonian house of the Lagid Ptolemies, who took the throne after the death of Alexander the Great in 356–323 B.C.E. ( Sally-Ann Ashton, 2008) Cleopatra's father was King Ptolemy XII. Ptolemy XII was heavily dependent upon the Romans and as their ‘friendship’ put an increased strain upon the Egyptian economy. (Lesko, 2017) His rule
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.
The Romans painted a picture of what they wanted people to believe about Cleopatra. They wanted her to be seen as an evil queen who seduced men to her advantage. However this image couldn't be farther from the truth, Cleopatra was an intelligent queen who cared for her people.According to History.com Cleopatra was, “Well-educated and clever, could speak various languages and served as the dominant ruler in all three of her co-regencies.” So what is the truth about the way that the last Egyptian pharaoh dealt with her civilization’s politics?
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.
All in all Cleopatra was a powerful queen who left a meaningful impact on society.
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 became 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. 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.