Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator: The Queen of Wit

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Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator grew up as a princess. She received riches beyond her wildest dreams and an education of the finest quality. She was born in to the Ptolemaic dynasty at a time when the monarchy was slowly losing its hold on Egypt as empire grew round it, threatening to absorb it at any moment. Her family,the Ptolemies were the last from the set of Greco-Macedonian dynasties that had appeared in eastern Mediterranean after the death of the macedonian conqueror, Alexander the Great in 323 b.c. Her brother, Ptolemy XII married Cleopatra in 80 b.c.and came to the throne. Cleopatra soon realized that if she was to get anything done in her country which she cared so much for she was going to have to put a little elbow grease into it, and take over. She manipulated and charmed and left her mark on the world. Cleopatra was historically significant in not only her own country but her surrounding countries impacting the world through her influence on the roman empire, her methods of ruling, and her instrumental part in keeping Egypt under Macedonian rule.
Through Cleopatra’s relationship with Ceasar, Mark Antony, and the roman people, she created a lasting influence on the roman republic. Cleopatra was a scheming seductress who at a young age of 18, “realized that both of her brothers had neither the influence nor intelligence to compete with the politics of the time, and that she was going to have to network with men of power on her own to make any difference”. And at the the time, the men of power, were in Rome. After being ejected from Alexandria by the guardians of her brother, Ptolemy XIII, she heard that Ceasar was in Egypt and she arranged to see him. As referred to in The Art Jornal, she was brought into his room roll...

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...istory.com/this-day-in-history/the-battle-of- actium. Pausanias. “Description of Greece, Book I: Attica, with an English Translation by
W.H.S. Jones.” Ancient History SourceBook. Accessed November 4, 2013.

Plutarch. “The Life of Mark Anthony” 25.5-28.1, 29 2nd cent. A.D. G. Women’s Life in
Greece and Rome. Accessed November 4, 2013. http://www.stoa.org/diotima/anthology/wlgr/wlgr-publiclife175.shtml “The Art Journal (1875-1887).” New Series 3, (1877): 26. Accessed November 3, 2013. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20569010 Schiff, Stacy. “Cleopatra’s Guide to good governance.” The New York Times.
December 4, 2010. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/05/opinion/05schiff.html?pagewanted=all &_r=0

Watkins, Thayer. “Timeline of the Life of Cleopatra.” St. Jose University. Accessed
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