Plutarch And The Manipulation Of Cleopatra

Cleopatra; thought to be one of the world’s first celebrities, was born in 69 B.C and was the last pharaoh to rule Egypt of the Ptolemaic Dynasty. Like all sovereigns at the time she saw herself as a divine. From birth the Ptolemies were proclaimed to be gods and goddesses in their own right. This made them highly image conscious. Through the shows of her splendour she maintained her mystique and charmed the Egyptians. Cleopatra identified herself as the goddess Isis; sister wife of Osiris and mother to Horus. Living up to the idea of an all powerful god-king. She was able to exercise an incredible amount of power for a woman in ancient society, both in her own right and through the control of powerful men, particularly through her involvements

Cleopatra knew she needed Caesar’s protection. In her own right, Cleopatra wielded her witting charms and beauty to her utmost advantage through the contentious manipulation of powerful men, this was to benefit herself and gain power to rule over Egypt. Plutarch provides the famous description of Cleopatra being smuggled into the palace that night in a bedroll which argues at least she was petite. “It was by this device of Cleopatra’s, it is said that Caesar was first captivated, for she showed herself to a bold coquette” (Life of Julius Caesar, XLIX). After Caesar paved Cleopatra’s walk upon the throne, he returned to Rome after gaining sufficient funds to return to power. With Cleopatra ruling Egypt, Caesar was assassinated in 44 B.C, at this point Cleopatra could not have had a stronger hold on the throne with her infant son Caesarion as co-regent. After the battle in Rome, the power was divided between Marc Antony and Octavian. It was not long before Marc Antony called for Cleopatra to explain to her the role she played in the aftermath of Caesar’s assassination. According to historic sources, she sailed to the city of Tarsus in an elaborate ship, dressed entirely in the robes of