Cleopatra inspired numerous books, plays, and movies. When the two met, sparks flew, and they quickly became lovers. To be sure, the death of Antony devastated Cleopatra. And true, legend has it that she managed to seduce the two most powerful men of her day: Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. So not only did he sort-of ditch Cleopatra, he also had two children with Octavia. This was seen amongst many Romans as sacrilege, which didnt improve Cleopatras position. Want to advertise with us? According to the historian Plutarch, she spoke at least nine languagesfor a very practical reason. Why would an Egyptian queen bear a Greek name, you ask? Cleopatra and Julius Caesar were lovers for two years, during which Cleopatra gave birth to his son, Ptolemy Caesar, who was nicknamed Caesarion, or Little Caesar. In the days between Cleopatra's death and the Roman triumvir Octavian's formal annexation of Egypt, Caesarion was officially the sole ruler of Egypt at just 16 years old. She may have been dubbed Queen of the Nile, but Cleopatra wasnt Egyptian by birth. Frankly, we shall never know. Your suggestions can be as general or specific as you like, from Life to Compact Cars and Trucks to A Subspecies of Capybara Called Hydrochoerus Isthmius. Well get our writers on it because we want to create articles on the topics youre interested in. In it, he complains about his long sea journey and the fact that he has been torn from the embrace of my father and grandma and mother and brothers and sisters and children and intimate friends (a rather cozier view of imperial family life than Tacitus offersand especially striking when you recall that his grandma was the notoriously scheming empress Livia). Cleopatras family, the Ptolemies, migrated to Egypt from Greece. But these modern versions draw on an ancient mythology that goes back ultimately to the propaganda campaigns of the emperor Augustus, whose own reign was founded on the defeat of the Egyptian Cleopatra (in truth she was, almost certainly, ethnically Greek) and Mark Antony. Wiki User. Madame de Pompadour didn't just share King Louis XV's bed, she also shared his power. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons [Public Domain]). Cleopatra not only adopted the Egyptian religion and worshiped traditional Egyptian gods, she actually believed she was one of them. After the Roman armies of Octavian (the future emperor Augustus) defeated their combined forces, Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide, and Egypt fell under Roman domination. Cleo is named after two very famous Egyptian rulers, one being Tutankhamun and the other being Cleopatra. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Cleopatra-queen-of-Egypt, Jewish Virtual Library - Biography of Cleopatra, LiveScience - Cleopatra: Facts and Biography, Ancient History Encyclopedia - Biography of Cleopatra VII, Cleopatra - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11), Cleopatra - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). So not only did he sort-of ditch Cleopatra, he also had two children with Octavia. Making distraction rewarding since 2017. Though they were forced to flee from Egypt together after Cleopatra was dethroned by her brother Ptolemy XII, Cleopatra and her sister Arsinoe IV had a fraught relationship. However, she wasnt just a seductress. Author of. The Death of Cleopatra by Juan Luna, 1881. Or sheer fantasy? Cleopatra is often portrayed as an elegant temptress in art and film, but theres evidence that she wasnt as physically striking as you might think. In 50 BC, only a year after she ascended to the throne, Cleopatra became embroiled in a dispute between Roman troops and a Syrian governor. The intellectual achievements of Ptolemaic Alexandria are well known to us, and indeed a good deal of its literature and scientific writing still survivesrather more, in fact, than has come down from the glory days of fifth-century classical Athens, and much more varied in character. VisitMy Modern Met Media. She was even something of a feminist, giving Egyptian women rights, unlike other women of the day. Now, as Mark Antony's mistress, Cleopatra was a very important political target in Rome for Octavian's faction when they had their contest for control of Rome's territories. Cleopatra was one of the most successful and powerful queens in history. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. She died in August, 30 BC, at the age of 39, alongside two of her servants. golden nickname steam. Notably, Egyptian hieroglyphics dating as far back as 3000 BCE depict humans sleeping with animals. As the story goes, she arrived on a golden barge with purple sails and rowed by oars made of silver. But the real reason, Tacitus insists, was sight-seeingfor the monuments of the Egyptian pharaohs, already thousands of years old in 19 AD, were almost as much an attraction to Roman visitors as they are to modern tourists. In 41 BCE, the beguiling empress employed similar theatrics when she was summoned to meet Mark Antony, the Roman triumvir in Tarsus. Cleopatra was born in 39 BC to father Pharaoh Ptolemy XII. Celebrating creativity and promoting a positive culture by spotlighting the best sides of humanityfrom the lighthearted and fun to the thought-provoking and enlightening. The reputation Cleopatra acquired as a brazen beauty and irresistible temptress isnt just a modern-day misconceptionaccounts from ancient Roman history depict Cleopatra using her feminine charms to bewitch and influence powerful men of the ancient world. This story was told by the historian Pliny the Elder in his Natural History, written in 79 AD. A fragment of papyrus excavated from the rubbish dumps of the Egyptian town of Oxyrhynchus gives a precious glimpse of Germanicus visit. She personally led her fleet of over a dozen ships alongside Antonys own. In Alexandria we must rely on heroic archaeology under water. Cleopatra by John William Waterhouse, 1888. It is likely, but not proven, that the two married soon after their fathers death. Indeed, in 53 BC, Cleopatra had fled . Octavian seized Antonys will (or what he claimed to be Antonys will) from the temple of the Vestal Virgins, to whom it had been entrusted, and revealed to the Roman people that not only had Antony bestowed Roman possessions on a foreign woman but intended to be buried beside her in Egypt. But, that's not true. Of course, she wasnt one to share, and less than two months after the death of Caesar, Ptolemy XIV was dead as well. Theda Bara as Cleopatra, from the 1917 movie Cleopatra. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons [Public Domain]). The son of an army officer, he was primarily raised by his mother, as his father died when he was very young. I should prefer to praise you, he insisted, as being self-restrained enough to keep silentthe highest praise you can accord a mass meeting is to say that it listens well. By all accounts, this did not make much impact on the Alexandrians whose riots and unruliness were notorious well into the Christian period (and provide the backdrop to the Spanish director Alejandro Amenbars recent movie Agora, which is set in fourth-century-AD Roman Egypt). Call Us Today! He finally decided to stop playing nice and invade Egypt. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Cleopatra entered her tomb and put her plan in motion. Antonywho considered himself the embodiment of the Greek god Dionysuswas instantly charmed and the pair later married. In fact, the historian Plutarch wrote that her looks were neither incomparable or striking. Vast, rich, fertile, and unstable, it offered a potential power base for rival claimants to the throne. Maybe its the power, or the racy love life, or her striking looks (bangs, after all, are not easy to carry off). Schiffs approach to the story of Cleopatra is, in part, skeptical and businesslike. They also have a major asset: the presence of the admiral Agrippa, an expert in naval battle. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons [Public Domain]). But it is worth observing that the English historian Adrian Goldsworthy in his recent double biography Antony and Cleopatra reached precisely the opposite conclusionthat she was an unimportant sideshow in Roman power struggles that she could hardly influence, the last in the line of a once glorious but now very faded dynastyon exactly the same evidence. Eva Blanchefleur is a writer at Factinate. Cleopatra, who reigned as queen of Egypt during the 1st century B.C., is one of the most famous female rulers in history. Even without a turbulent queen, Egypt was always liable to be trouble. They stood together as partners against Egypts enemies, and were married in an Egyptian ceremonydespite the fact that Antony already had a wife in Rome. In 48 BC, the resourceful Cleopatra, forbidden by her brother Ptolemy XIII to meet with the Roman general, had herself wrapped in a carpet (or, according to some historians, a linen sack) and smuggled into Caesars quarters. New name created. The means of her death is uncertain, though Classical writers came to believe that she had killed herself by means of an asp, symbol of divine royalty. The name translates as "Glory of the Father", with the famous female taking on the mantle of Cleopatra VII in early 52 BC. She was 39 and had been a queen for 22 years and Antonys partner for 11. While Cleopatra is a striking and singular figure in history, she was the latest in a long line. Even today, no one knows exactly where the tomb that houses the bodies of Cleopatra and Mark Antony is. To judge from the papyrus, Germanicus was given a boisterous reception by the Alexandrians. Early Life. While for Pascal this thought illustrated how something small can change the course . Julius Caesar laid the foundations of the Roman Empire, a period during which Rome would experience its golden age. All Rights Reserved. Following the war, Cleopatra remarried her other younger brother, Ptolemy XIV. Cleopatra not only spoke Greek and Egyptian. Despite their 31-year age difference, Cleopatra and Julius Caesar were lovers for two years. The first three years of Cleopatras reign were tough. Each was determined to use the other. In his will, he made 18-year-old Cleopatra and her 10-year-old brother joint rulers. In fact, she wore elaborate wigs made by slaves. Her face is framed by ringlets of curly hair, and the rest of her hair is arranged in a "melon" style (divided into segments that run like the ribs of a melon from the forehead back) and gathered into a bun behind her head. document.getElementById( "ak_js_3" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); 1963-2023 NYREV, Inc. All rights reserved. Cleopatra ruled an empire that included Egypt . Most likely a posthumous portrait of Cleopatra VII of Ptolemaic Egypt with red hair and her distinct facial features, wearing a royal diadem and pearl-studded hairpins, from Roman Herculaneum, Italy, 1st century AD. AmazingSpiderMan1. Canadian tech death titans ARCHSPIRE's brand new track 'Golden Mouth of Ruin'! But there was more to Cleopatra than kohl eyeliner, milk and honey baths, and henna tats. She died in August, 30 BC, at the age of 39, alongside two of her servants. Going along with her shenanigans, Caesar commissioned a gold statue of Cleopatra which was erected in the temple of Venus in Rome. In 44 BC, Julius Caesar was assassinated by a group of conspirators on the steps of the Senate. And this is not to mention a wealth of writing on technology, geography, mathematics, and medicine, some of which now survives only in Arabic translation. When you think of Cleopatra, theres likely just one Egyptian queen that comes to mind. She wore the hairstyle of her Greek ancestors, with her hair braided into a bun. Her relationship with Antony had a political component as well: Cleopatra needed him to protect her crown (he did so by killing her sister, Arsinoe, a rival to the throne). While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. . Generally, she represents the History of ancient Egypt. He goes on to compliment the Alexandrians on the spectacular beauty of their city, tactfully including a passing tribute to Alexander the Great, who had founded it (the hero who is your founder, as Germanicus put it). . urban outfitters germany. Best of The New York Review, plus books, events, and other items of interest. Did Caesar really give Cleopatra the nickname "golden mouth . Share. But the queen wasnt much of a looker. Within months of taking the throne, Cleopatra made it clear she had no interest in sharing power with her younger brother. Cleopatra was actually the seventh woman in the Ptolemaic dynasty to bear the name. Never the shrinking violet, Cleopatra was presented with her own fleet of warships during the Battle of Actium in 31 BC. Mark Anthony returned to Egypt with Cleopatra and her father briefly and, even if . This 1883 painting by Lawrence Alma-Tadema shows Mark . She would go on to romance both men, but the relationships were as much about strategic maneuvering on both sides as they were about lust. cleopatra nickname golden mouth. So while Cleopatra was born in Egypt, she was, in fact, Macedonian Greek by origin. Originally pharaonic obelisks made about 1450 BC, they were later transferred, perhaps by Augustus, to form the entrance to the shrine of Julius Caesar in Alexandria, which had almost certainly been planned and inaugurated by Cleopatra before her death. Theres speculation to this day about the way that Cleopatra took her own life. In 33 BC, Rome declared war on Egypt. 40-30 BCE. True, Alexandrian cultural brilliance may have waned somewhat by the reign of Cleopatra; the leading intellectual of her palace was a secondhand compiler by the name of Didymus, who was credited with writing more than 3,500 treatises (and was nicknamed the book-forgetter since he could not remember what he had said in his earlier books, so was always contradicting himself). Suffice it to say, the 22-year-old Cleopatra was unequivocally declared as the 'main' ruler of Egypt. In the end, we should probably resist the allure of biography and stick with the Augustan myth and Horaces demented queen.. She became queen on the death of her father, Ptolemy XII, in 51 bce and ruled successively with her two brothers Ptolemy XIII (5147) and Ptolemy XIV (4744) and her son Ptolemy XV Caesar (4430). That is certainly true; in fact, we do not even know in which year the child was born (or if he was really Caesars son). As a result, Caesar seized the Egyptian capital and instilled himself as arbiter between the opposing claims of Cleopatra and Ptolemy XII to the Egyptian throne. When John converted to Christianity at age 23, he decided to live with the monks in the mountains on the outskirts of Antioch. Ptolemy XIIIs reign and life ended when he drowned in the Nile River during a battle with Cleopatras and Caesars army. which seemed like something of a habit for her. Advertisement. When Cleopatra sided with the Syrians, the Romans retaliated by helping her husband-brother Ptolemy XIII steal the throne from her. Admittedly, we have only a few scraps of the work of Didymus (probably not a great loss). Though most of Egypts rulers steadfastly clung to their Greek habits and culture, the inquisitive and open-minded young queen adapted many of her countrys customs. However, despite our best efforts, we sometimes miss the mark. As per custom, she was then forced to marry her younger brother. Antony, meanwhile, desired access to Egypts resources. This caused a massive scandal, not only because of its heinous nature, but also because it was a gross violation of temple rules. Yes and no. Jani yt. Like any good Egyptian ruler, a luxurious tomb was already waiting for her. Who was nicknamed the Golden Mouth? the name and portrait of Queen Cleopatra . Cleopatra VII: a biography. Madame de Pompadour was the alluring chief mistress of King Louis XV, but few people know her dark historyor the chilling secret shared by her and Louis. Also, ancient Egyptians considered physical acts depicted between a human and an animal less visually offensive than the same between two . Coins from back in the day bearing her likeness show a woman with a sharp, jutting chin, a strong pointed nose, and a prominent forehead. This is what, 70 years later, we would call part of #MeToo, but back in the late . The life of Cleopatra VII, the last monarch of the Ptolemaic dynasty, is even more "mythical" than the story of Alexandria, and the real queen is even harder to excavate than the remains of her capital. by LiMaaR. Its generally agreed upon that Cleopatra was responsible for his death, and that she poisoned himwhich seemed like something of a habit for her. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Casa Buonarroti, Florence/Bridgeman Art Library, Cleopatra; drawing by Michelangelo, sixteenth century. Marble bust of Cleopatra VII of Egypt from ca. Coin portraits of Cleopatra show a countenance alive rather than beautiful, with a sensitive mouth, firm chin, liquid eyes, broad forehead, and prominent nose. A heartbroken Mark Antony immediately took his own life by stabbing himself in the stomach. another younger brother, this one named Ptolemy XIV. The rumour quickly spread that Antony also intended to transfer the capital from Rome to Alexandria. This was the name of queens of Egypt from the Ptolemaic royal family, including Cleopatra VII, the mistress of both Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. This information is drawn from any ancient source that can conveniently be brought into the picture, all jumbled together: the second-century-AD doctor Soranus, who provides most of the information we have about ancient obstetrics (including the detail of the obsidian), a papyrus letter from five centuries earlier (on what to look for in a midwife), and a considerable variety of writers on the principles and practice of contraception, from the Hippocratic corpus to the Roman satirist Juvenal. In fact, she was the first member of her family to learn the Egyptian language a smart move, which helped gain her peoples respect and trust. Was it just a clich of royal extravagance? So, she married himafter all, it had worked with the last brother. Upon her arrival, this hairstyle was adopted by Roman women along with Cleopatras makeup and signature pearl jewelry. Ordered to appear before the general in Tarsus (in modern day Turkey), Cleopatra took her sweet time to get there, then arrived on a golden barge. In 47 BC, Cleopatra gave birth to his son, Ptolemy Caesar, who was nicknamed Caesarion, or little Caesar. And now I want pizza. A propaganda war erupted. One of the most generally accepted stories is that she induced an asp (an Egyptian cobra) to bite her. On the most reliable calculation of 3,000 measures, this would mean a leopard-skin sack of a volume roughly equivalent to three modern tanker trucks. Octavian was furious that the symbol of his victory was gone, but nevertheless, he consented to let Cleopatra be buried side by side with her love Mark Antonybut mysteries still abound about her death and final resting place. Three years later Antony was convinced that he and Octavian could never come to terms. Cleopatra actively influenced Roman politics at a crucial period, and she came to represent, as did no other woman of antiquity, the prototype of the romantic femme fatale. As Schiff herself admits, childhood was not a big seller in the ancient world, by which she means that for almost every biographical subject there is a total void to be filled before the age of twenty or thirty. Whether Caesar was the father of Caesarion, as his name implies, cannot now be known. Were always looking for your input! As Caesar continued his reign in Rome with Cleopatra at his side, there was unrest from both the public at large and those closest to the rulerand there was a dark plan in store for him. But the early Ptolemies were great builders on a much wider scale. (July 2017). One such writer is famous playwright George Bernard Shaw, whose 1901 Caesar and Cleopatra chronicles the relationship of the two lovers. Julius Caesar, in particular, had an eye on Egypts wealth, needing it to support expensive Roman battles. The Egyptian Queen commanded her own army, enamored not one but two Roman rulers, and inspired countless works of art, literature, and film. Cleopatra VII Philopator (Koin Greek: , "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 70/69 BC - 10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler. Emma has contributed to various art and culture publications, with an aim to promote and share the work of inspiring modern creatives. Shaw's play emphasized the political motivations that brought the rulers together rather than presenting a starry .