Cleopatra: The Ancient Egypt's Formidable Pharaoh

Cleopatra is perhaps, one of the most significant pharaoh’s of Ancient Egypt. She was an extremely significant figure in Ancient Egypt and used her wits and beauty to keep Egypt free from Roman forces. She ruled Egypt for almost 3 decades and led the crumbling Egyptian civilization through many difficult times. She has been remembered and idolized long after her dead and the death of Ancient Egyptian civilization.

Cleopatra VII was born around 70-69 BCE and was a daughter of Ptolemy XII (Auletes) and Cleopatra V Tryphaena (who may have been Ptolemy’s half-sister. After Ptolemy XII died, 18-year-old Cleopatra and her 10-year-old brother, Ptolemy XIII, became co-rulers of Egypt. Throughout her time as pharaoh, Cleopatra had relationships with Julius Caesar and then Mark Antony. It is often assumed that she had connections with important Roman leaders to keep Egypt out of Roman control. During her career as pharaoh, she co-ruled beside two of her younger brothers and her son, Caesarian. In each of these arrangements, Cleopatra was the dominant ruler, even though it was not considered appropriate for a woman to rule by herself.

She has been written about by a variety of Greek and Roman scholars from the time, which are some of the most informative and reliable sources known. From these writings she is described as beautiful, as well as, intellectual and persuasive. Her life was written by Plutarch and was later dramatized by William Shakespeare, not to mention, a variety of other artworks, poetry, plays and movies. Some of these retellings of her life portray her as an immoral seductress who seduced moral Roman leaders and others portray her as a master politician who was undyingly loyal to her country and did what was required to secure her country’s safety. It is almost impossible to choose, which portrayal is true, but it remains a topic of many