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| Partially restored marble portrait head of the Greek-style Cleopatra VII, provenance unknown but likely to be from Italy. The head was probably made to be inserted into a composite, full-length statue. Berlin Museum. |
Full name: Cleopatra VII Thea
Philopator
Husbands: Ptolemy XIII, Ptolemy XIV Lovers: Julius Caesar, Mark Antony
Father: Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysos (Auletes)
Mother: Cleopatra V Tryphaena
Sons: Ptolemy Caesar, Alexander Helios, Ptolemy Phlladelphus
Daughter: Cleopatra Selene,
Titles: Great Sceptre, Executive at the Head of the Two Lands, Mistress of
Upper and Lower Egypt.
Ptolemy XIII and Cleopatra VII came to the throne in 51 BC with the blessing of their people and the qualified support of the Romans who, still debating the advantages of annexing ancient Egypt, had troops stationed within the country. The two rulers inherited a land deep in debt, and their father's extensive borrowings had yet to be repaid. Ptolemy XIII, as king, should have been the dominant partner, but the seven-year difference in their ages meant that Cleopatra naturally became the effective ruler. Her decision to give military support to the Roman general Pompey angered the ancient Egyptians and may in part explain why Ptolemy XIII plotted to have his sister-wife killed. Warned in time, Cleopatra fled eastwards. Here she set to work raising an army to reclaim her throne from her brother. By the summer of 48 BC, armies loyal to Ptolemy and Cleopatra stood poised to fight in the Delta.
Caesar and Cleopatra
That same year Ptolemy XIII, now 15 years old, had agreed to the murder of Pompey, rival of Julius Caesar. In so doing, he hoped to win the support of the Romans for his sole claim to the throne of ancient Egypt. When Caesar himself came to Alexandria he was presented with the pickled head of his rival. Ptolemy had, however, miscalculated. Caesar summoned both Ptolemy and Cleopatra to Alexandria, and declared his support for the queen. Meanwhile the people of Alexandria had another queen in mind. In November 48 BC, with Caesar and Cleopatra trapped in the royal palace, they proclaimed the youngest royal sister, Arsinoe IV, queen of Egypt.
Cleopatra and Julius Caesar spent a long winter besieged in the palace of Alexandria. Roman reinforcements did not arrive until March 47 BC, by which time the couple were both political allies and lovers. As Caesar was liberated, Ptolemy XIII fled and drowned in the Nile while Arsinoe IV, short-lived queen of Alexandria, was captured and taken to ancient Rome. The newly widowed Cleopatra was restored to her throne with full Roman support, taking as her husband her ll-year-old brother Ptolemy XlV. The bride was already pregnant. In June 47 BC Cleopatra gave birth to a son whom she named Ptolemy Caesar (known as Caesarion) after his father. Caesar, already married to a Roman wife, was unable to recognize his Egyptian son formally. But just before his assassination he would attempt to pass legislation in Rome that would allow him the right to a second wife and a legitimate child in a foreign land.There was certainly far more to the relationship between Caesar and Cleopatra than careless, unthinking passion. Both were experienced politicians and neither could, by any stretch of the imagination, be considered naive. Their physical union cemented their political alliance and made perfect political sense. Ancient Egypt would remain independent, yet fall under the protection of Rome. Ancient Rome would benefit from Egypt's generosity as the most fertile country in the world. Their shared interests ambition and, of course, their child - linked them together; both could see the benefits of keeping ancient Egypt independent for Caesarion to inherit. Confident of her loyalty to her son if not her loyalty to himself, Caesar continued to promote Cleopatra as the true ruler of ancient Egypt, even when he himself had left the country.
In 46 BC Caesar held a triumph in Rome, a triumph that saw the deposed Arsinoe exhibited to the Roman people in chains. Cleopatra and Ptolemy XIV followed Caesar to Rome, staying for over a year on Caesar's private estate. They were therefore present to witness Caesar's dedication of a golden statue of Cleopatra in the Temple of Venus Genetrix. Only when Caesar was assassinated on the Ides of March in 44 BC did they return to Egypt. The young Ptolemy XIV conveniently died soon after their return - whether by accident or design is not now clear. With no other male heir to the throne, the three-year-old Caesarion became Ptolemy XV Theos Philopator Philomator, 'the Father- and Mother- Loving god', and Cleopatra VII remained the effective sole ruler of ancient Egypt.
With Caesar dead, a triumvirate of Mark Antony, Octavian and Marcus Lepidus set out to capture his assassins, Brutus and Cassius. Rome was intent on public revenge, and Egypt was called upon to lend assistance. This was a matter of all-consuming importance to Cleopatra. Already the governor of Cyprus had defected to the side of the assassins and was determined to make her sister Arsinoe, now freed and living in Ephesus, queen of Egypt once again. While she lived, Arsinoe would be constant threat to Cleopatra; it therefore comes as little surprise that she was murdered, at her sister's command, in 40 BC.
Cleopatra wisely allied herself with the triumvirate. She raised a flee to sail to Octavian and Mark Antony, but her ships were destroyed by a storm. While she waited for her second fleet to be made ready, news came that the assassins had been defeated. Two men now held power - Octavian (Caesar's legal heir) controlled the western empire, while Antony controlled the east. Cleopatra, extremely vulnerable in Egypt, needed a protector. For the first time her instincts failed her and she made the wrong choice: Cleopatra allied herself with Mark Antony.
(You might be interested in these books: Caesar and Cleopatra by William-Alan Landes, Caesar and Cleopatra [Region 2] by Claude Rains)
Antony and Cleopatra
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| Coins of Cleopatra (top) and Mark Antony (above). Cleopatra's coinage reveals an uncompromisingly harsh profile, with prominent nose and chin. |
Ancient Rome could only have one ruler. The relationship between Octavian
and Antony, and by default the relationship between Octavia and her new husband, quickly deteriorated. In 37 BC Antony left Rome for Antioch in Syria, where he sent for Cleopatra. Together they hatched a grand plan for an eastern alliance that would see Egypt restored to some of her former glory. Thanks to Antony, Egypt now re-acquired some of her lost eastern territories.
Unfortunately Antony's 36 BC Parthian campaign - the first step towards consolidating the eastern alliance - was a total disaster. Instead of capturing new lands, Antony was forced, via his estranged wife, to beg for more troops from Octavian. A derisory 2,000 soldiers were offered, and declined, and relations between the two Romans plummeted. Antony's subsequent triumph in Armenia went some way towards salvaging his wounded pride. There were extensive celebrations in Alexandria, where Antony sat on a throne and paraded his sons by Cleopatra - he now had two - as kings of Rome/Egypt's conquered lands. Nothing could have been calculated to displease Octavian, and Octavia more.
In 32 BC Octavia was repudiated. Antony and Cleopatra were now officially a couple. But as the lovers enjoyed an extended tour of the eastern Mediterranean, Octavian prepared for war. The battle of Actium was a triumph for Octavian. Antony was forced to flee while Cleopatra returned to Alexandria and started to gather her troops. When Antony joined her a few weeks later, the two were effectively trapped.
Cleopatra's offer to abdicate in favor of her children was ignored. As Antony set off to fight his last battle, the queen barricaded herself in the mausoleum that also served as her treasury. When he received news of Cleopatra's suicide, Antony fell on his sword. The news of Cleopatra death was, however, incorrect. The dying Antony was taken back to Alexandria and hauled up the walls of the mausoleum so that he might die in Cleopatra's arms.
Cleopatra VII, last queen of ancient Egypt, committed suicide on 12 August 30 BC. The Greek historian Cassius Dio records her passing:No one knew for certain how she had died. They only found small prick on her arm. Some said she brought an asp to her....
Her body has never been found.
Children of Cleopatra VII
Cleopatra's four children all survived their mother. Her eldest son, Caesarion, was now theoretically sole king of ancient Egypt. But Caesar's son posed too great a danger to the Romans. He was caught fleeing from Egypt and executed by Octavian. The remaining children were taken to Rome where they were first displayed in a humiliating public triumph, and then given to Octavia, fourth wife of Mark Antony, to raise. In 20 BC. Cleopatra Selene was married to the Numidian prince Juba II; she was to bear him a son named, of course, Ptolemy, before dying a natural death in relative obscurity. Her full brothers, Alexander and Ptolemy Philadelphus (born 36 BC), had been sent to live out of harm's way with their married sister. In Mauretania they achieved what no other member of their family had managed: dull lives far removed from the political spotlight. The young prince Ptolemy, was not so lucky. After inheriting his father's throne, he was executed by the Roman emperor Caligula in AD 40.
Cleopatra Custome
Cleopatra VII Bookshelf
Cleopatra VII Statues on Amazon:
More about Cleopatra VII
Cleopatra Custome
Cleopatra VII Bookshelf
Cleopatra VII Statues on Amazon:
More about Cleopatra VII
Cleopatra as Isis
Cleopatra wrote her own mythology, following the lead set by Cleopatra III in exploiting the cult of the mother goddess Isis as a means of reinforcing her own role as living goddess. This theological blurring was acceptable in Egypt, where royalty had always.... Continue reading>>
How did Cleopatra VII look like?
Cleopatra is rumored to have written a beauty book, passing her beauty secrets to other women, but what did she look like? The classical authors are divided. Plutarch rates her as little more than averagely good looking. Cassius Dio, in contarast, ranks her amongst the world's most beautiful women... Continue reading>>
Elizabeth Taylor Cleopatra Movie
Elizabeth Taylor has made the most amazing and memorable movie about Cleopatra ever. You can watch the movie for free or even download it from here.
Cleopatra throughout the Ages
"Her beauty, so we are told, was not so incomparable that no one could behold her without being struck by it. But the charm ofher presence was irresistible..." - Plutarch, Life of Antony, chap.27.... Continue reading>>
