Cleopatra
Cleopatra was one of the greatest queens of Egypt. Cleopatra had many accomplishments in life. She is mostly known for her intelligence. She was also very beautiful. She was smart and well-liked, however she was a ruthless leader of Egypt. Cleopatra is well known for being one of the most powerful rulers because of her many great choices, even despite her few bad ones. Cleopatra had an interesting life and accomplished many things. She had control of the people of Egypt and used her power in different ways. The life of Cleopatra is characterized by her years spent growing up and ruling over the land of Egypt.
Cleopatra was born in 69 B.C. in Alexandria, Egypt. Her parents were Auletes and Cleopatra V (Streissguth 19). Her mother,
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Cleopatra V, died shortly after Cleopatra was born (Streissguth 19). Cleopatra had three sisters and two brothers. Her sisters names were Arsinoe IV and Cleopatra VI. Her brothers names were Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator and Ptolemy XIV (Streissguth 19). Cleopatra’s father believed education was very important and made sure his children had their own tutors. Cleopatra studied Philosophy, literature, art, music, medicine, and was able to speak six different languages (Streissguth 22). Because of her great education and knowledge, Cleopatra longed to be in power and to control Egypt. Cleopatra grew older and married several times and had many children.
Her spouses were Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator, Ptolemy XIV, and Mark Antony. She married two of her brothers. The first brother she married is Ptolemy Theos Philopator when he was ten. Her second marriage was to her eleven-year-old brother, Ptolemy XIV. Her marriage with Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator ended after he was killed. She quickly moved on and got married to the next brother in line, Ptolemy XIV. After she got married to her brother Ptolemy XIV she went away with Caesar. There is nowhere to be found that Cleopatra and Caesar ever did get married, however there is evidence that there was a relationship between the two of them. Cleopatra had four children. Their names were Caesarian, Cleopatra Selene, Alexander Helios, and Ptolemy Philadelphus. Cleopatra and Caesar’s child was Caesarian. The Octavian ordered the murder of Caesarian at the age of …show more content…
fourteen. Cleopatra began ruling Egypt when her father died in 51 B.C. Cleopatra became co-regent with her 10-year-old brother, Ptolemy XIII (worldbookonline.com). Most of Cleopatra’s family only spoke Greek but Cleopatra made an effort to learn Egyptian. Cleopatra had religious practice of Polytheism. Most Egyptians saw her as a Pharaoh. Cleopatra’s generals figured if they could not control Cleopatra they would drive her out, so they did. Cleopatra’s brother became the monarch of Egypt. Cleopatra was the last ruler of Egypt. Looking for another Roman General, a Roman army, led by Julius Caesar, arrived in Egypt. Caesar had a very large army, therefore Cleopatra believed that he could put Cleopatra back into control . Cleopatra had a plan to send Caesar a larger carpet with the former queen inside (http://elibrary.bigchalk.com). As soon after Ceasar found the former queen inside himself and Cleopatra started a life together and the Roman general led his army to locate and kill whoever ran Cleopatra out of ruling Egypt. While trying to escape Caesar’s army Ptolemy XIII drowned in the Nile River. Cleopatra came from an Egyptian background. Like the Egyptians, she worshiped the pharaohs. Cleopatra liked to portray herself as Isis. Isis was a queen goddess. Egyptians worshiped many gods, which made them Polytheistic. There is no specific religion that Cleopatra was however she was known as having a religion of Polytheism. The Egyptians are known to worship many gods. Cleopatra was raised in a way to follow what the people around her worshiped. Cleopatra followed others around her and worshiped may gods, also known as Polytheism. Cleopatra had many accomplishments in her life.
Plutarch wrote, “Her actual beauty was not in itself so remarkable; it was the impact of her spirit that was irresistible. (www.ebooks.com)” All of Egypt knew Cleopatra was beautiful and intelligent. Her intelligence and looks are what people admired her for. Cleopatra made a huge impact on the role of woman at the time. Her personal life inspired many to treat their marriage like a partnership and nothing more and having each partner taking on their own responsibility. Cleopatra is remembered for her many traits. She is also remembered for ruling the land of Egypt. Cleopatra today would not have made the best ruler for our society. She made many mistakes while ruling the land of Egypt that would have not kept her queen in today’s society. Cleopatra was greedy and her immortality was not her best quality. Cleopatra was very manipulative. Antony falls for Cleopatra while he is still married to his wife, Octavia. Antony’s secret did not end in his favor (Streissguth 103). Cleopatra was the perfect queen for her time and Egypt’s time. She was loved and looked after and she was very important to Egypt. Unfortunately, Cleopatra died in 30 B.C. People have assumed Cleopatra had taken her own life, however no one knows exactly how she died. Some have also assumed that Cleopatra ordered her servants to hide a poisonous snake in a basket and to bring it to her room. Once she had the snake she would hold it in front of her and let the
snake kill her (Streissguth 97). Cleopatra died in the same place where her birth took place, in Alexandria, Egypt. Cleopatra had a long, fulfilled life that many followed after. Cleopatra left a legacy of leadership after she died. She led a life that many followed and could look up to. They respected the way she dressed, her beauty, they way she led Egypt, and most of all, her intelligence. People respected Cleopatra and the choices she had made. Cleopatra lived a long and fulfilled life ruling Egypt. Cleopatra was the last queen of Egypt and made her people proud. Although Cleopatra was known as a loved queen, today we would think of her differently. The Romans view of dead Cleopatra is a dangerous enemy and a terrible woman. The Romans criticize Cleopatra because of her greed and immortality. They criticize Cleopatra without remembering her accomplishments as queen (Streissguth 101). Much of Cleopatra’s life was turned around from good to bad because of the Romans. They had destroyed her past history and made their own history of Cleopatra. Cleopatra will always be remembered by the days she ruled the land of Egypt and also for her intelligence and beauty.
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)
Though was Rome perhaps the most cosmopolitan place in the world of that day, it still didn 't take kindly to foreigners. And so Cleopatra and her son had to leave. If Caesar could not eve convince his people to accept his girlfriend, how could he be expected to convince his people to fully trust him to rule over them. He was not the traditional Republican politician that was expected during this time, even though he was an excellent politician, and a skilled writer, some of his lifestyle choices like his girlfriend and his child born out of wedlock, probably did not completely sit well with the Roman
Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator, also known as Cleopatra VII was the last ruler of the Macedonian dynasty. She was born around 69 B.C. and died in 30 B.C. Her race is very speculated, many people believe that she is Greek descent but the theory of her being black African has arose now.
When researching the three earlier versions of Cleopatra (1917, 1934, and 1963) I found a similar theme in costume for all three time periods. The role of Cleopatra in regards to costume design and character portrayal were all heavily influenced by the current state of America and its fashion. All three designs created for the movies were inaccurate historically for the real Cleopatra, but was accurate in depicting that specific times fashion.
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”)
The Queen’s accomplishments were she brought peace to Egypt. She was not a big fan of war. However, Queen Hatshepsut was best remembered for her interests in trading and building. During her rule, the Egyptians had traded with other people on ships that led to other lands in eastern Asia. Egypt became wealthy and prosperous due to these trades since in return for beads and metal tools, they received gold and live animals. There was a famous temple built for Hatshepsut, too.
Cleopatra, born in 69 B.C., was an Egyptian Queen and the last pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. She was from Greek descent and a member of the Ptolemies, who ruled Egypt for nearly 300 years. In just her early twenties, Cleopatra became Queen of Egypt following the death of her father and the defeat of her siblings. Popularly, she is remembered because of her physical beauty, love affairs, and the tragedy of her life. But more importantly she should be celebrated as a commanding female leader who used her intellect to exercise considerable power and influence in a male-dominated world.
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.
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.
According to the story recorded by Plutarch (and later dramatized famously by William Shakespeare), Cleopatra sailed to Tarsus in an elaborate ship, dressed in the robes of Isis. Antony, who associated himself with the Greek deity Dionysus, was seduced by her charms. He agreed to protect Egypt and Cleopatra’s crown, pledging support for the removal of her younger sister and rival Arsinoe, then in exile. Cleopatra returned to Egypt, followed shortly thereafter by Antony, who left behind his third wife, Fulvia, and their children in Rome. He spent the winter of 41-40 B.C. in Alexandria, during which he and Cleopatra famously formed a drinking society called “The Inimitable Livers.” In 40 B.C., after Antony’s return to Rome, Cleopatra gave birth to twins, Alexander Helios (sun) and Cleopatra Selene
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 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.
Cleopatra comes from the Ptolemaic Dynasty. The dynasty was started by Ptolemy I. It lasted from 323 B.C.E to 30 B.C.E ending with Cleopatra. The Ptolemaic Dynasty was an ancient dynasty of Macedonian Pharaohs who ruled Egypt.
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 become 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.