Cleopatra's Reputation For Infamy

Throughout antiquity, the great Egyptian Queen Cleopatra has become incarcerated within the sole definition of infamy. Roman depictions of this “salacious harlot” (Bianchi, get documentary date of creation), the “selfish tyrant” (Hughes-Hallett, 1990, p. 1) have created the memory of Cleopatra as an infamous woman, a reputation that lingers with supremacy in our minds, but simultaneously raises the question of whether this is an accurate portrayal or if we should remember her in a different manner – the child who was victimized by Roman enemies, or the strong-willed epitome of the ideal modern woman. The general definition of ‘infamy’ is ‘the state of being well-known for some bad quality or deed’. Beyond the thick film of infamy that the Romans

This is profoundly significant in substantiating to what extent the infamous reputation she has acquired over time is legitimate. Romans most certainly had a predictable vendetta against a strong female like Cleopatra, despising the idea of a powerful woman who might challenge male chauvinism. Medieval Arabic manuscripts written in 900 AD and located in the modern Library of Alexandria investigate differing perspectives on who Cleopatra was, drawing upon lost papyri and documents written by Cleopatra’s own scholars. In these manuscripts, the Arabs describe her as a well-rounded intellectual, respected and admired by her people. While Romans were unused to and threatened by the idea of a powerful woman, the Arabs already had Queens in the Hellenistic period, so therefore would have been accustomed towards the

However, this is not a reputation earned. Unjustified Roman depictions of the Egyptian queen have meant that she has been remembered for infamy to a significant extent, triggering further negative reconstructions of her throughout time. Various pieces of evidence, such as Shaw’s implication in Caesar and Cleopatra and the widely accepted facts of her youthful reign, suggest that Cleopatra was merely an innocent put in difficult positions due to her Ptolemaic blood. She simply did what she had to in order to survive in a male-dominated society that disputed powerful female leaders. Primary evidence from the Ptolemaic temples suggest that Cleopatra was not infamous in her reign to the extent that Romans imply – in fact, the majority of her people supported her due to her dedicated egyptianization. Reconstructions of Cleopatra throughout time have been significantly exaggerated by Roman hand. What we must remember is that Cleopatra has been incarcerated within the sole definition of infamy, reaching a point where detachment from myth is hard to