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The power of Cleopatra
The power of Cleopatra
Essay historical sourses cleopatra
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Cleopatra was a very strong, power and courageous women. She is very known around the world because of her background history. She is most known for her love life and journeys she took around Egypt and Greece. Cleopatra was born October 69 B.C in Alexandria, Egypt. Cleopatra’s parent were Ptolemy XII and Cleopatra V of Egypt. Cleopatra’s Family were really Macedonians who had gone to Egypt with Alexander the Great. When she was young, she was the favorite child of her father. Her siblings Ptolemy II, Arisinoe II, Ptolemy XIII, and Ptolemy XIV were not so happy about this. Her siblings and her were all teach by a tutor at there palace. She was “a very bright young girl’’ because she knew over seven different languages. When she was only eleven years old, her father was kicked out of the throne and her family was getting help from Pompey. The king wanted Cleopatra as the Queen, so her sister was sent to be killed. Cleopatra spent most of her teenage years sharing her father’s political struggles. In 51 B.C her father died. When Cleopatra became queen she was only eighteen years old. In order to become queen she needed to have a king beside her. She had to marry her half- brother who was only ten years old. Cleopatra’s education wasn’t a difference because she always needed to stay in the palace so she was home school. Although Cleopatra had a good education. In the 3rd and 2nd centuries major poets and scholars serve as tutor to her. Because Cleopatra was so young when she started, not a lot of good things happen for example many floods, hunger, and low on crops. Cleopatra needed help, so she decided to go to Rome to visit someone. In order for her to not get caught she wrap herself in a carpet and Caesar thought it was a sma... ... middle of paper ... ... Mark return, they had lost the war. Cleopatra and Mark were both devastated. Mark was telling the people to say “tell the queen i’m dead”. Cleopatra did fall for that and was very upset. Once Mark put a knife threw his stomach he commanded to see the Cleopatra. Once he died, there was not another choice but to be taken to Rome to be killed, she never wanted that. On August 12, 30 B.Cleopatra committed suicide by taking a poisonous snake and bitting her. She was the last pharaoh in the Macedonian Dynasty. Her kingdom went down because Rome took over and Cleopatra did not want that. Cleopatra has lead an interesting life that many historians still discuss today. Even though Cleopatra didn’t win the war, she did accomplish many things in her life. She was very clever women. Cleopatra is a great influence to women because she was the last successful Queen in Egypt.
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)
In this research paper I will be writing about Cleopatra VII. Her early life, family and her relationships’. Cleopatra VII was born around 69 BC and was the daughter of Ptolemy XII Auletes and Cleopatra V of Egypt. Her parents got married in the year 79 BC. Her father Ptolemy XII Auletes was the king of Egypt during 80-58 B.C. and 55-51 B.C. He was born in 117 BC and was also known as the “Piper” because he played the flute. He died in 51 BC, Alexandria, Egypt from being exiled. Her mother Cleopatra V was the queen of Egypt, born in 95 BC. She vanished around the time of Cleopatra’s birth in 69 BC then died in 57 BC. Some people believe she was either murdered or that she may have died while giving birth. (“Cleopatras Family”)
During the Macedonian dynasty, Cleopatra took her reign in Egypt and became a powerful and successful leader. During her reign, she faced many problems, but worked it through and soon it was resolved. When Cleopatra first became ruler of Egypt many believed she wouldn’t be able to do it because she was a woman, was weak, and that she “wasn’t smart.” Her full name was Cleopatar VII Thea Philopator. According to Biography.com, “Cleopatra was born in about 69 BC and died around 30 BC.” Also according to HISTORY.com, “ Cleopatra’s parents were Ptolemy VII and Cleopatra V Tryphaena.” She had many siblings, but some unknown. Some of Cleopatra’s siblings are supposedly Ptomely XIII and Ptomely XIV.
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,
...in a time where women were subjugated to a lesser status, yet still became one of the most powerful women to ever live. She harnessed this power through a cunning use of her sexuality, and this brought a whole new idea to the American society. Women could view this power, and take it as their own. This is what made the whole concept of Cleopatra as a film successful. It allowed people to connect with the queen, and be inspired by her life and love. Cleopatra of 1934 and 1963 appealed to the general Caucasian audience, while Cleopatra Jones was derived for the African American culture. The interest in the legend of Cleopatra VI renewed due to this trio of films, and is now stronger than ever. Today, Liz Taylor, Claudette Colbert and Tamara Dobson still inspire women and produce a fantasy for men; that is why these films are so important. They lasted through the ages.
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.
It was not long before Caesar was assassinated and his close friend and a powerful general Mark Antony denounced the conspirators. Not long after Caesar’s death, Antony and Cleopatra fell in love and ruled Rome and Egypt together. Together, they had formed an alliance strong enough to take down the most powerful force in the world at the time, Rome. The fall of Antony and Cleopatra began when they were defeated at Actium in Greece against Octavian’s Roman army. Towards the end of the book, the author went into details on the true love that existed between Antony and Cleopatra.
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 from a family of powerful rulers, but Cleopatra's ambition was to be the most recognized Pharaoh of her Macedonian lineage. She wanted to return Egypt to its previous glory. She was the first one in her family to embrace all the aspects of Egyptian culture and language with open arms. When her father Ptolemy XII died it is likely that Cleopatra married her brother, Ptolemy XIII, who was 12 years old. As a result of her being 8 years older than him, she planned to become the dominant ruler of the two. However, in 50 B.C.E her brother wanted to become the sole ruler of Egypt and he
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 too 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. After many failed attempts at getting his support he finally came through and agreed to help Cleopatra restore her po...
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.
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.