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Cleopatra research paper essay
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"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. Despite Egypt’s provincial annexation to Rome after her death, Cleopatra managed to keep the Romans at bay for nearly twenty-two years. Unfortunately, much of her achievements have been disparaged and attributed to the utilization of her sexuality. To add, her image as a competent female ruler has been further distorted by the media and literature alike. Much of this misrepresentation can be accredited to the scarcity of reliable and unbiased accounts about her life. The Romans were afraid of Cleopatra’s power and the alliances she created with their generals. Therefore, accounts of her life in Roman scripture are not particularly in her favor. 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’s upbringing, specifically her education, falls under one of the influences which provided her with the necessary ... ... middle of paper ... ...these generals. Despite her achievements being discredited by most critics, the fact that she was able to rule during a turbulent time portrays her as more than capable. Cleopatra’s death through an alleged asp bite after witnessing Marc Antony’s death was tragic. However, the queen taking her own life rather than allowing her enemies end it reveals her strong character. Cleopatra’s fame after her death is a testament to powerful leadership of the Last Pharaoh of Egypt. Works Cited Kirby, John T. Cleopatra. Vol. 3. Detroit: Gale Group, 2001. N. pag. World Eras. Gale Biography In Context. Web. 15 Apr. 2014. Lefkowitz, Mary R. and Fant, Maureen B. Women in Greece and Rome. Baltimore: John’s Hopkins University Press. 2005. Print Roberts, Peter. HSC Ancient History. Pascal Press. 2006. Print Schiff, Stacy. Cleopatra: A Life. New York: Bay Back Books. 2010. Print
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.
Cleopatra’s embodiment, though, does aim for her to become “one of [them.]” Her new body fits in a very specific niche – she does not f...
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)
On August 12, 30 B.C., in the wake of covering Antony and meeting with the successful Octavian, Cleopatra shut herself in her chamber with two of her female workers. The method for her passing is indeterminate, however Plutarch and different journalists propelled the hypothesis that she utilized a harmful snake known as the asp, an image of perfect sovereignty. As indicated by her wishes, Cleopatra's body was covered with Antony's, leaving Octavian (later Emperor Augustus I) to commend his victory of Egypt and his union of force in
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,
Feminine sexuality and power has been a controversial topic since the dawn of time. In many ancient societies, females exist as the lesser beings. They were meant only to bear children, and to stay loyal to their husband. Cleopatra VI became one of the first prominent females to exert her power. She reigned as queen of the entire Egyptian kingdom and bowed to no one. Cleopatra used her beauty to get what she wanted and needed for her country, and by doing this, she conquered some of the most politically important men of the Roman republic. Yet for many years, the life of this formidable queen was left unrecognized. The story of Cleopatra VI came back into intrigue with the production of three films: Cleopatra by Cecil B. de Mille in 1934, Cleopatra by Joesph L. Mankiewicz in 1963, and Cleopatra Jones by Jack Starrett in 1973. Each of these productions represents the historical Cleopatra in modern glory and power. They meant to appeal to both men and women; to the woman’s want and need for power in a still male-dominant world, and to the man's lust for an intellectual, and beautiful woman. All three of these films served their purpose accurately; they maintained a close connection to the historical context of Cleopatra, yet successfully attracted their target audience.
Toward the end of Cleopatra’s reign and the end of Egypt, the Egyptians had an insurmountable amount of wealth. Cleopatra herself wasted a fortune on the famous
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.
This also furthers Cleopatra’s seductive nature, as it is as if she is hypnotising those around her with her ‘strange’, enchanting and mysterious ways.
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; 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
Ever since her brother’s disappearance Rome has continued to try and take over Egypt. They have started getting their armies ready and making weapons to take preparation for taking over Egypt. Then, the most unexpected thing happened. Cleopatra re-married. This time the man she married happened to be a Roman Commander. His name was Caesar. He happened to be really important to the Roman Empire, so the Romans could not take Egypt that day. That was the main reason she ma...
The woman, by definition is the nurturer of life. She labors through birth, tends to the needs of her family, and assumes unending responsibilities. And while women have given birth to the ancient and modern day male heroes we've come to glorify to this day, we must remember that some of those same women have also been tremendously influential and invaluable all throughout the depths of history. One such woman is Cleopatra, the temptress whose ambition and seduction both augmented her empire's prestige and brought about her theatrical downfall.
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.