Egyptian queen Cleopatra The Egyptian queen frequently surrounded herself with splendor, but luxury was less an indulgence than a political tool. (Wikipedia)

"Anthony and Cleopatra" by Lawrence Alma-Tadema, 1885

Who Was Cleopatra?

Mythology, propaganda, Liz Taylor and the real Queen of the Nile

  • By Amy Crawford
  • Smithsonian.com, April 01, 2007

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    The struggle with her teenage brother over the throne of Egypt was not going as well as Cleopatra VII had hoped. In 49 B.C., Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII—also her husband and, by the terms of their father's will, her co-ruler—had driven his sister from the palace at Alexandria after Cleopatra attempted to make herself the sole sovereign. The queen, then in her early twenties, fled to Syria and returned with a mercenary army, setting up camp just outside the capital.

    Meanwhile, pursuing a military rival who had fled to Egypt, the Roman general Julius Caesar arrived at Alexandria in the summer of 48 B.C., and found himself drawn into the Egyptian family feud. For decades Egypt had been a subservient ally to Rome, and preserving the stability of the Nile Valley, with its great agricultural wealth, was in Rome's economic interest. Caesar took up residence at Alexandria's royal palace and summoned the warring siblings for a peace conference, which he planned to arbitrate. But Ptolemy XIII's forces barred the return of the king's sister to Alexandria. Aware that Caesar's diplomatic intervention could help her regain the throne, Cleopatra hatched a scheme to sneak herself into the palace for an audience with Caesar. She persuaded her servant Apollodoros to wrap her in a carpet (or, according to some sources, a sack used for storing bedclothes), which he then presented to the 52-year old Roman.

    The image of young Cleopatra tumbling out of an unfurled carpet has been dramatized in nearly every film about her, from the silent era to a 1999 TV miniseries, but it was also a key scene in the real Cleopatra's staging of her own life. "She was clearly using all her talents from the moment she arrived on the world stage before Caesar," says Egyptologist Joann Fletcher, author of a forthcoming biography, Cleopatra the Great.

    Like most monarchs of her time, Cleopatra saw herself as divine; from birth she and other members of her family were declared to be gods and goddesses. Highly image-conscious, Cleopatra maintained her mystique through shows of splendor, identifying herself with the deities Isis and Aphrodite, and in effect creating much of the mythology that surrounds her to this day. Though Hollywood versions of her story are jam-packed with anachronisms, embellishments, exaggerations and inaccuracies, the Cleopatras of Elizabeth Taylor, Vivien Leigh and Claudette Colbert do share with the real queen a love of pageantry. "Cleopatra was a mistress of disguise and costume," says Fletcher. "She could reinvent herself to suit the occasion, and I think that's a mark of the consummate politician."

    When Cleopatra emerged from the carpet—probably somewhat disheveled, but dressed in her best finery—and begged Caesar for aid, the gesture won over Rome's future dictator-for-life. With his help Cleopatra regained Egypt's throne. Ptolemy XIII rebelled against the armistice that Caesar had imposed, but in the ensuing civil war he drowned in the Nile, leaving Cleopatra safely in power.

    Though Cleopatra bore him a son, Caesar was already married, and Egyptian custom decreed that Cleopatra marry her remaining brother, Ptolemy XIV. Caesar was assassinated in 44 B.C., and with her ally gone Cleopatra had Ptolemy XIV killed to prevent any challenges to her son's succession. To solidify her grip on the throne, she dispatched her rebellious sister Arsinoe as well. Such ruthlessness was not only a common feature of Egyptian dynastic politics in Cleopatra's day, it was necessary to ensure her own survival and that of her son. With all domestic threats removed, Cleopatra set about the business of ruling Egypt, the richest nation in the Mediterranean world, and the last to remain independent of Rome.

    What kind of pharaoh was Cleopatra? The few remaining contemporary Egyptian sources suggest that she was very popular among her own people. Egypt's Alexandria-based rulers, including Cleopatra, were ethnically Greek, descended from Alexander the Great's general Ptolemy I Soter. They would have spoken Greek and observed Greek customs, separating themselves from the ethnically Egyptian majority. But unlike her forebears, Cleopatra actually bothered to learn the Egyptian language. For Egyptian audiences, she commissioned portraits of herself in the traditional Egyptian style. In one papyrus dated to 35 B.C. Cleopatra is called Philopatris, "she who loves her country." By identifying herself as a truly Egyptian pharaoh, Cleopatra used patriotism to cement her position.

    Cleopatra's foreign policy goal, in addition to preserving her personal power, was to maintain Egypt's independence from the rapidly expanding Roman Empire. By trading with Eastern nations—Arabia and possibly as far away as India—she built up Egypt's economy, bolstering her country's status as a world power. By allying herself with Roman general Mark Antony, Cleopatra hoped to keep Octavian, Julius Caesar's heir and Antony's rival, from making Egypt a vassal to Rome. Ancient sources make it clear that Cleopatra and Antony did love each other and that Cleopatra bore Antony three children; still, the relationship was also very useful to an Egyptian queen who wished to expand and protect her empire.

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    The struggle with her teenage brother over the throne of Egypt was not going as well as Cleopatra VII had hoped. In 49 B.C., Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII—also her husband and, by the terms of their father's will, her co-ruler—had driven his sister from the palace at Alexandria after Cleopatra attempted to make herself the sole sovereign. The queen, then in her early twenties, fled to Syria and returned with a mercenary army, setting up camp just outside the capital.

    Meanwhile, pursuing a military rival who had fled to Egypt, the Roman general Julius Caesar arrived at Alexandria in the summer of 48 B.C., and found himself drawn into the Egyptian family feud. For decades Egypt had been a subservient ally to Rome, and preserving the stability of the Nile Valley, with its great agricultural wealth, was in Rome's economic interest. Caesar took up residence at Alexandria's royal palace and summoned the warring siblings for a peace conference, which he planned to arbitrate. But Ptolemy XIII's forces barred the return of the king's sister to Alexandria. Aware that Caesar's diplomatic intervention could help her regain the throne, Cleopatra hatched a scheme to sneak herself into the palace for an audience with Caesar. She persuaded her servant Apollodoros to wrap her in a carpet (or, according to some sources, a sack used for storing bedclothes), which he then presented to the 52-year old Roman.

    The image of young Cleopatra tumbling out of an unfurled carpet has been dramatized in nearly every film about her, from the silent era to a 1999 TV miniseries, but it was also a key scene in the real Cleopatra's staging of her own life. "She was clearly using all her talents from the moment she arrived on the world stage before Caesar," says Egyptologist Joann Fletcher, author of a forthcoming biography, Cleopatra the Great.

    Like most monarchs of her time, Cleopatra saw herself as divine; from birth she and other members of her family were declared to be gods and goddesses. Highly image-conscious, Cleopatra maintained her mystique through shows of splendor, identifying herself with the deities Isis and Aphrodite, and in effect creating much of the mythology that surrounds her to this day. Though Hollywood versions of her story are jam-packed with anachronisms, embellishments, exaggerations and inaccuracies, the Cleopatras of Elizabeth Taylor, Vivien Leigh and Claudette Colbert do share with the real queen a love of pageantry. "Cleopatra was a mistress of disguise and costume," says Fletcher. "She could reinvent herself to suit the occasion, and I think that's a mark of the consummate politician."

    When Cleopatra emerged from the carpet—probably somewhat disheveled, but dressed in her best finery—and begged Caesar for aid, the gesture won over Rome's future dictator-for-life. With his help Cleopatra regained Egypt's throne. Ptolemy XIII rebelled against the armistice that Caesar had imposed, but in the ensuing civil war he drowned in the Nile, leaving Cleopatra safely in power.

    Though Cleopatra bore him a son, Caesar was already married, and Egyptian custom decreed that Cleopatra marry her remaining brother, Ptolemy XIV. Caesar was assassinated in 44 B.C., and with her ally gone Cleopatra had Ptolemy XIV killed to prevent any challenges to her son's succession. To solidify her grip on the throne, she dispatched her rebellious sister Arsinoe as well. Such ruthlessness was not only a common feature of Egyptian dynastic politics in Cleopatra's day, it was necessary to ensure her own survival and that of her son. With all domestic threats removed, Cleopatra set about the business of ruling Egypt, the richest nation in the Mediterranean world, and the last to remain independent of Rome.

    What kind of pharaoh was Cleopatra? The few remaining contemporary Egyptian sources suggest that she was very popular among her own people. Egypt's Alexandria-based rulers, including Cleopatra, were ethnically Greek, descended from Alexander the Great's general Ptolemy I Soter. They would have spoken Greek and observed Greek customs, separating themselves from the ethnically Egyptian majority. But unlike her forebears, Cleopatra actually bothered to learn the Egyptian language. For Egyptian audiences, she commissioned portraits of herself in the traditional Egyptian style. In one papyrus dated to 35 B.C. Cleopatra is called Philopatris, "she who loves her country." By identifying herself as a truly Egyptian pharaoh, Cleopatra used patriotism to cement her position.

    Cleopatra's foreign policy goal, in addition to preserving her personal power, was to maintain Egypt's independence from the rapidly expanding Roman Empire. By trading with Eastern nations—Arabia and possibly as far away as India—she built up Egypt's economy, bolstering her country's status as a world power. By allying herself with Roman general Mark Antony, Cleopatra hoped to keep Octavian, Julius Caesar's heir and Antony's rival, from making Egypt a vassal to Rome. Ancient sources make it clear that Cleopatra and Antony did love each other and that Cleopatra bore Antony three children; still, the relationship was also very useful to an Egyptian queen who wished to expand and protect her empire.

    Though some modern historians have portrayed Cleopatra as a capable, popular Egyptian leader, we tend to imagine her through Roman eyes. During her lifetime and in the century after her death, Roman propaganda, most of it originating with her enemy Octavian, painted Cleopatra as a dangerous harlot who employed sex, witchcraft and cunning as she grasped for power beyond what was proper for a woman. The poet Horace, writing in the late first century B.C., called her "A crazy queen...plotting...to demolish the Capitol and topple the [Roman] Empire." Nearly a century later, the Roman poet Lucan labeled her "the shame of Egypt, the lascivious fury who was to become the bane of Rome."

    After Roman tempers cooled, the Greek historian Plutarch published a more sympathetic biography. Cleopatra became a tragic heroine, with love of Antony her sole motivation. Over the next two millennia, countless paintings and dramatizations—including Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra and John Dryden's All for Love—focused on the fantastic details of her suicide after Octavian defeated Antony. We know almost certainly that Cleopatra, along with her two most trusted servants, killed herself on August 12, 30 B.C., to escape capture by Octavian. However, since the facts of her death were unclear even to the men who found the bodies, we will never know if it was the famous asp that killed the queen, or a smuggled vial of poison. The asp legend has prevailed, however, and the image of her death, more than anything else, gave Cleopatra immortality.

    In February 2007, a recently discovered coin bearing a portrait of Cleopatra went on display at Newcastle University in England, sparking renewed interest in the queen and a debate about whether she was really as beautiful as we imagine. The coin, dated to 32 B.C., shows a rather homely Cleopatra with a large nose, narrow lips and a sharp chin. She looks nothing like Elizabeth Taylor. But ancient historians never characterized Cleopatra as a great beauty, and in her time she was not considered a romantic heroine. In his A.D. 75 Life of Antony, Plutarch tells us, "Her actual beauty...was not so remarkable that none could be compared with her, or that no one could see her without being struck by it, but the contact of her presence...was irresistible.... The character that attended all she said or did was something bewitching."

    Cleopatra's beauty (or lack thereof) was irrelevant to the Romans who knew her and the Egyptian people she ruled. The real Cleopatra had charisma, and her sexiness stemmed from her intelligence—what Plutarch described as "the charm of her conversation"—rather than her kohl-rimmed eyes. Pharaoh Cleopatra VII was a brilliant leader, says Joann Fletcher. "She was one of the most dynamic figures the world has ever seen. And I don't think that's an exaggeration."


     
    Comments

    This is the first time that I've actually sat down and read the whole article, without skipping over a lot of it. I found your article very interesting and factual. I learn a lot about a woman that was so different then I had pictured before. Thanks.

    Posted by Marian Smith on January 5,2008 | 01:37PM

    I have always had a fascination with Egypt, mummies & the grand pyramids. Going through all your info.on it & thouroghly enjoyed the article on Cleopatra. Great article,very interesting.Encore!

    Posted by Shelley W. Creppel on January 15,2008 | 08:08PM

    i am reading about cleopatra in these days.I found the incident of ptolomy xiv in this site for the first time.this article is very helpfull and simple for any reader .

    Posted by gamini attanayake on February 11,2008 | 08:21PM

    did cleopatra have a cat

    Posted by on February 19,2008 | 02:08PM

    I believe she did have a cat, a lepord as I recall from a book I read about her life.

    Posted by Cynthia Resener on February 22,2008 | 03:40AM

    Did Cleopatra ever have any liking to snakes

    Posted by Sam Pen on February 24,2008 | 11:20AM

    hey im 12 years of age and on this page it gave me so much informating thx for everything

    Posted by brianna whipple on February 25,2008 | 12:25PM

    were that cleopatra real name.

    Posted by idellasbrown on March 4,2008 | 07:47PM

    hi i that articl wan very nice last halloween my mimi made me be cleopatra! i wanted to be a cat but looks like it turned out i was cleopatra. but this halloween i am sure that i will be a cute black cat.

    Posted by chloe on March 15,2008 | 05:42AM

    i think........ how agian did she die?????

    Posted by haley on March 15,2008 | 05:43AM

    Oh! to have been that woman today.

    Posted by G. Brantley on March 16,2008 | 06:34PM

    I was wondering if you could include something about little known facts about cleopatra thx

    Posted by Imani (e-mon-e) on March 18,2008 | 01:53PM

    I am from the Philippines and today is Good Friday, time to rekindle the past. I knew about Christ's passion; so I opted to watch ancient history prior to Christ's coming. A few minutes ago, I concluded watching the old movie version of Antony and Cleopatra ( Taylor and Burton starrer). The movie version has a certain degree of fidelity with history; in terms of the data , characters and costumes , characters' behavior and attitude. Since times past,man has been greedy for power and wealth, it has not changed at all!Look at what is happening to my country!Graft and corruption reigns in practically all places! Soon a hundred years from now, the next generation will read about us.. and thy will say the same thing..When will man ever change?

    Posted by CJ VILLARANTE on March 20,2008 | 05:46PM

    very wonderful woman

    Posted by tugba on March 24,2008 | 06:00PM

    Cleopatras sister who was also her servant was the more beautiful one. Octavian had Cleopatras son killed.

    Posted by katiesmith on April 14,2008 | 12:44PM

    I've enjoyed re-reading the above comments on Cleopatria. I'd like very much to be on your "updates list" of the latest discoveries of the ongoing research in the "sands" of Egypt. I worked for an oil company - stationed on Cairo - during 1970s and continuing with my interest. Will much appreciate. Thanks, Mary Eliz. Stump liztuc@sbcglobal.net

    Posted by Mary Elizabeth Stump on April 22,2008 | 09:30AM

    An extremely good article and as the Egyptologist Joan Fletcher is about to bring out a book - Cleopatra the great - I am sure that it will re-open a very exciting page in Egyptian History. It is to her undying credit that she continues to live in our minds today. Perhaps when the finish excavating the old harbour and Cleopatra's Palace at Alexandria they may find her tomb.

    Posted by Bernie Hephrun on April 22,2008 | 04:00PM

    I had to wright a paper about Cleopatra and this was a really good source and it was interesting.

    Posted by Camille C. on May 5,2008 | 08:35AM

    how did she die

    Posted by rhiadan on May 11,2008 | 02:32AM

    The author of the article did not explore the possibility that she was assassinated by the Romans -- with all possible eye-witnesses (her servants) dispatched as well. Death-by-snake was clumsy and marginally effective. There are problems with that theory. In any case, to the earlier questioner, yes, her name was Cleopatra -- Cleopatra VII, because she was the seventh of that name.

    Posted by Cynthia on May 20,2008 | 10:15AM

    I have always love evrithing about Egypt. It has always been so interesting how advance was the whole culture. I have always like studing and reading about ancient Egypt and this article about Cleopatra is very interesting and and very helpful to understand some of the story behind her she seems to be a very strong women that knew what she want it and that she knew how to get it. I think that she had some special beauty within and that she will always be remember as one of the most important people in egyptian life. thank you for the info and keep posting about her and all egypt.

    Posted by Nancy on May 24,2008 | 06:21PM

    It was a good article but it makes certain presumptions, for example, it says Cleopatra killed her youngest brother, Ptolemy XIV - but the lad was sickly and may have died of an illness as Cleopatra and her supporters claim. It is certain that she convinced Antony to have her younger sister Arsinoe killed, who was living in exile in Ephesus, because she was an enemy of Cleopatra's. As to her beauty, only Plutarch was quoted, but a Roman historian by the name of Cassius Dio claimed that she was quite beautiful, but remember standards of beauty were way differant 2000 years ago! By the way, the name "Cleopatra" is Greek - it means "the Glory of her father."

    Posted by Mark on May 27,2008 | 11:29PM

    gosh, I thought there is only one Cleopatra? so the famous Cleopatra was the seventh?that's quite interesting... I have a question, was Antony assasinated by Octavian? I have read so he was. And did alexander the great burned the library of ashurbanipal in alexandria? cleopatra must have been outraged.haha

    Posted by bem on July 17,2008 | 10:17AM

    I am interested in knowing what kind of cat breed Cleopatra had?

    Posted by Maureen Ward on July 23,2008 | 06:59AM

    I believe it was a leopard. I enjoyed reading this article. I want to be an Archaeologist so this arctile was very intresting!

    Posted by Alana Halper on August 14,2008 | 10:57AM

    Excellent reading on Cleo VII, how could a strong civilisation as Egypt could ever allow Greek being their official language despite having their rich language and also, how could a leopard survives in such a warm climate in Egypt? What is the significant of having a pet in Egypt kingdom and why cat? Thx.

    Posted by Devendran Muthusamy on September 1,2008 | 05:43PM

    Story of Cleopatra is a story of battle of a woman against the then feudal autocracy of male. She was brilliant and loved her people of Egypt. But the conflicts and hunger of power of her male contemporaries pushed her in power conflicts. Her death is also a tragedy in History. I think her an icon of female liberty.

    Posted by Dr. S.K.Das on September 1,2008 | 07:06PM

    I still don't know which cleopatra invented the basic form of the modern lotion we now have today, but I read all of it

    Posted by MNM on September 29,2008 | 04:20PM

    no offence to bem but yes there were a lot of cleopatras and seven were queens... Anthony committed suicide...even the movies got this right so i would like to know where u read that anthony was murdered... Cleopatra would not have been able to be mad at Alexander the great as he was long dead by the time she was born and it was actually Julius Caesar who burnt it down... oh and her real name was actually Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator

    Posted by bluecat on November 13,2008 | 07:22AM

    when was celopatra a queen in egypt

    Posted by rebecca bryant on December 10,2008 | 10:07AM

    My daughter is working on a prodject about Cleopatra VII. I hope someone can help me with a few questions. What was her family like? What was a day like in the life of Cleopatra? Hope you can help

    Posted by KIM on January 10,2009 | 12:23PM

    Can anyone suggest any good website for pictures of Cleopatra

    Posted by Rabia on January 12,2009 | 01:46AM

    i use to think that there was one famous and powerful cleopatra but your article has made me to know that she was the 7th cleopatra thanks

    Posted by victoria fubara on January 27,2009 | 03:40AM

    Wow! this is indeed an eye-opener article. I really enjoyed being taken back to history and all that I needed to know about this queen of Egypt. This actually raises the fact that it is only when we rely on the Almighty God, that we can get peacefully what rightfully belongs to us and end us well. Our own strength and knowledge may give us the power at the expense of other people's life and eventually make us loose the peace thereof. Thank you.

    Posted by Charity Boateng-Minta on February 4,2009 | 11:45PM

    IT WAS INTERESTING TO SEE HOW POWER, STANDERS OF BEAUTY, LOVE AND GREED WAS SO PRESENT. TODAY THE BATTLE CONTINUES. SOMEONE ONCE SAID THAT ONLY A FOOL WILL CONTINUE DOING THINGS THE SAME WAY, EXPECTING DIFFERENT RESULTS. IF NOTHING ELSE PRAY FOR YOUR GOVERMENT TODAY, AND PRAY FOR CHANGE.

    Posted by b.m.w. on February 7,2009 | 08:15AM

    This is the first time that I've actually sat down and read the whole article, without skipping over a lot of it. I found your article very interesting and factual. I learn a lot about a woman that was so different then I had pictured before. Thanks.

    Posted by karthik on February 8,2009 | 10:57PM

    am a kenyan and i wanted to know is it true that cleopatra originated from ethiopia?

    Posted by ayerer kemboi vincent on February 13,2009 | 09:00AM

    I just ran across a fascinating theory about Cleopatra and her son, Caesarian. Caesarian or "Issa" may have been sent to India where he studied Buddhism. He returns to Jerusalem about 30 years later as Jesus Christ! He does not preach against Rome, as some of his followers had hoped, but said his "kingdom" was in heaven - and that heaven is in our hearts! I won't go into all the details but there is some evidence that Mary's family and Cleopatra were related.

    Posted by Peter Ramsey on February 15,2009 | 03:19PM

    She was one of the most amazing Queens of Egypt.

    Posted by Shonta on February 25,2009 | 10:00AM

    i have recently read a book about her for a scool project. her life was veryy interseting. i loved the book.

    Posted by Jolene on February 27,2009 | 09:38AM

    did cleopatra have any kids?

    Posted by on March 3,2009 | 07:13AM

    Of course she had kids! twins and 2 others!!! look online if you don't believe me!!

    Posted by Channel on March 7,2009 | 06:41PM

    Brilliant. :) Yes, she did have kids. Several with Marc Antony and one with Julius Caesar.

    Posted by Kristina on March 8,2009 | 06:10AM

    i am doin a project on her and i dont know for sure if she had kids or not but some say she had several but i dont know what to believe i will be checking back in so if u find a website thats names the kids when they were born and who there father is please comment it on here so i can look at the website well thanks.

    Posted by krystin on March 15,2009 | 07:29PM

    She had 4 Children: Ptolemy Caesar - who was the son of Julius Caeser - the people of Egypt nicnamed him Caesarion "little Caesar" because of the resemblence to his father. Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene - twins by Marc Anthony. She named for the twins Apollo and Artemis because Alexander and Cleopatra were born the year of an eclipse. Helios is the sun and Selene the moon. Ptolemy Philadelphos - with Marc Anthony She was married to both men, though neither marriage was accepted by rome because both men were already married and Rome did not recognise forgein marriages. if you would like to read a wonderful fictionalized history of Cleopatra's life pick up Margaret George's "memoirs of Cleopatra" it's about 950 pages but worth every second spent reading.

    Posted by janet on March 16,2009 | 06:06PM

    It matters not if Cleo was beautiful by common standards. We understand that power is the greatest aphrodisiac!

    Posted by marie campbell on April 17,2009 | 03:02PM

    What was her full date of birth and name?

    Posted by debbie on April 19,2009 | 08:11AM

    This has really good information!!!!!! Keep it up!!!!!:)

    Posted by Hannah Briggs on May 10,2009 | 04:12PM

    This is a great website for all students i got great information from this website for my History Task. Keep the great effort up!!!!

    Posted by Ruby on June 13,2009 | 11:55PM

    she has a jaguar named arrow and i think the cat that is associated to her was her siamese cat but i dont really know for a fact is she did have a siamese cat

    Posted by aldwin zapata on June 14,2009 | 08:42AM

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