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The culture of Cleopatra
Critical analysis of cleopatra's life
Critical analysis of cleopatra's life
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The most influential women in history was Cleopatra. Born in 69 B.C.E, Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator, was the last queen and pharaoh of Egypt. She was also the last Macedonian-Greek ruler of the Ptolemy family. Her reign over Egypt lasted for over twenty of the three hundred years her family had been in power. Cleopatra is known for her two great love affairs with Julius Caesar and his trusted friend Marc Antony. Many people consider her life to have been scandalous, tragic, and compelling to those who were around her. Her lust for power and determination to rule effectively made her enemies dread her. The love she had for her country was timeless. Cleopatra’s legacy and the impact she made in the world, is still a topic of discussion and …show more content…
Even though she never went to school or a university, she had a private tutor and studied with him every day. In fact, she was the first ruler in nearly 250 years to learn and speak the native Egyptian language. Everyone in her family had only spoken Greek. She loved to spend her time reading books in the library of Alexandria. Cleopatra was devastated after it was burned down in a civil battle between Egypt and Roman soldiers. Cleopatra’s brilliance was underestimated that no one imagined she would be able to sneak into Alexandria after being exiled. She was exiled because her siblings feared that her lust for power had become too great. So when she was brought into town rolled up in a carpet and unraveled at Caesar’s feet everyone was amazed. Caesar named Cleopatra the rightful queen of Egypt. She wasted no time on having her little brother and Arsinoe murdered. Immediately after meeting, Julius Caesar and Cleopatra fell in love. They planned to conquer nations together. Although Caesar was looked up to in Rome and had a wife of his own, Cleopatra trapped him under her spell. The two later had a son and named him Ptolemy Caesar. People often called him his nickname, …show more content…
The memorial was named the Caesareum. She saved her people from starvation and restored peace and sustenance back to the land of Egypt. The people of Egypt, especially Alexandrians absolutely adored her. She had a total of four children, one with Caesar and three with Marc Antony. Cleopatra died at the young age of about thirty nine years old concluding the Macedonian-Greek rule over the country.
In conclusion, Cleopatra’s legacy shall live on forever. She is known as one of the most greatest queens to ever be in power. She was beautiful, smart, powerful, manipulative and had a tremendous love for her people. Cleopatra dealt with bloodshed, incest, betrayal, threats, and shunning all from her own family. But this only made her stronger and more capable of running a country as great as Egypt was in it’s prime. That is why, once more, Cleopatra was the most influential women in
Changing social habits of a contemporary society have seen Cleopatra depicted in many different ways. Whilst few artefacts remain of the true image of Cleopatra, we see from her portrait on the coins (Fear, 2008, p, 21 Fig 1.4) that despite being no legendary beauty, she had the power to captivate two of the greatest Romans of her time. Cleopatra consummated her union with Julius Caesar, which strengthened her grip on the throne, following his assassination; she formed alliance with Mark Antony, in opposition to Octavian, a coalition that would lead to her downfall as both Antony and Cleopatra’s combined forces would be defeated against Octavian in the battle of Actium in 31 BCE. (Fear, 2008, p.7)
Cleopatra II. Summary: After the completion of the book, it had let me to believe the book was written for the general audience. Although the author provided many resources, the information was taken from literature that was written during the time.
Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator, also known as Cleopatra VII was the last ruler of the Macedonian dynasty. She was born around 69 B.C. and died in 30 B.C. Her race is very speculated, many people believe that she is Greek descent but the theory of her being black African has arose now.
According to biography.com, “complications arose between Cleopatra and Ptolemy XIII.’ So Cleopatra fled to Syria. In Syria, she formed her own army of soldiers to attack her brother and take back the throne for herself only. In 48 BC, Cleopatra came back to Egypt and faced her brother at Pelusium. While Cleopatra was facing her problems, the famous, Julius Caesar was battling Pompey to see who takes over Rome. So Pompey went to Egypt to recover and Caesar followed him there. In Egypt Julius Caesar met Cleopatra and according to text, “ he eventually fell in love with Cleopatra.” So Caesar helped Cleopatra to beat her brother and she did. According to the article, “ Ptolemy XIII fled and drowned in the Nile River.” Around 47 BC, Cleopatra and Caesar had a son, named “ Caesarion”. When Julius Caesar died, Cleopatra and her son went back to Egypt to
Much of Cleopatra’s life and her intentions remain a mystery. The aforementioned, thus raises questions about the early life influences that caused her to ascend to the throne. Cleopatra’s education, heritage, and personality all factor into her ascension as queen of Egypt.
They had a son together named Ptolemy XV Caesar, whom they called Caesarian. After the death of Roman dictator, Julius Caesar, Cleopatra had her brother killed so that her young son, Caesarian, could be her co-ruler. Three men were currently in power in Rome, Octavian, Marcus Lepidus, and Marc Antony. Cleopatra always feared Rome taking over Egypt, so she aligned herself with Marc Antony. They supposedly fell in love and had three kids together, which caused Rome to fear that Antony was becoming too loyal towards Egypt. Marc Antony was married to Octavia, the sister of Octavian, so the love and possible illegal marriage of Cleopatra and Antony angered Octavian. This is when Romans started to spread rumors about Cleopatra to make her seem horrible, and that was what soon led to her
Cleopatra, born in 69 B.C., was an Egyptian Queen and the last pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. She was from Greek descent and a member of the Ptolemies, who ruled Egypt for nearly 300 years. In just her early twenties, Cleopatra became Queen of Egypt following the death of her father and the defeat of her siblings. Popularly, she is remembered because of her physical beauty, love affairs, and the tragedy of her life. But more importantly she should be celebrated as a commanding female leader who used her intellect to exercise considerable power and influence in a male-dominated world.
Ptolemy served as a puppet for power-hungry advisors and in 48 BC kicked Cleopatra out of the palace. Cleopatra retaliated by building her own army outside the city. Cleopatra knew that she had to get to Caesar and tell her side of the story. She had herself smuggled into the palace in a rug. The young Queen enchanted Caesar, and the two spent the night together. Ptolemy XIII was called to the audience and was dismayed to see that Cleopatra was at his side.
She attributes her exceptional education, captivating oratory skills and intellectual abilities to have merited both the hearts of the Roman leaders. Through the latter she elevated her Empire from the path of ruin and into world supremacy, using the influence and might of the Roman Empire to do so. After all as Cleopatra displayed to have understood- Why be the conquered when you are able to be the conqueror. Read page 129
Cleopatra is most often remembered as the lover of two Roman consuls, Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, thereby forever connecting the Egyptian queen to the history of Rome. The stories of her relationships with the two men do not always paint a flattering picture of Cleopatra, as her reported promiscuity and presumption give her a colorful reputation. Cleopatra is also sometimes seen as a misunderstood woman, someone who was never given a fair opportunity to be accepted as the wife of Marc Antony nor the mother of Caesar's child. Some historians and authors use the issue of Cleopatra's race as a reason that she was ostracized from Roman society, saying that the Romans were prejudiced against Egyptians, and despite Cleopatra's Greek background, would never accept her as a suitable mate for a Roman consul. This theory, however, is far outweighed by the numerous justifications the Roman people had for their distaste of Cleoaptra. It is not surprising that Cleopatra never found acceptance in Rome, as she offered nothing to the relationship between Egypt and Rome, she stood for everything they were against, and little by little, she succeeded in destroying parts of the society that the Roman people had worked to build.
Cleopatra was immediately established from the second she burst out of the womb as a member of the royal family of the Ptolemy's; the family which had controlled the Egyptian throne since the rule of Ptolemy I which began in 323 BC. She was born the daughter of Ptolemy XII, King of Egypt, in 69 BC, her full name being Cleopatra VII, or "Thea Philopator" in Greek: a name, which literally translates to "a goddess loving her father." She did most definitely loved her father, so dearly, in fact, that he granted the throne to Cleopatra upon his death in 51 BC. From the moment she set foot on the throne, co-ruling Egypt with her brother and obligatory husband Ptolemy XIII, she was intent upon coercing her, and only her, influence upon all of Egypt. More specifically, she wished to possess a less influential bridegroom so that she could impose more of her ideas and policies upon Egypt. It is for this reason that Cleopatra initiated one of the most notorious and controversial relationships of all time with one of the most prominent figures in history; Julius Caesar. Caesar fell in love with Cleopatra from the moment he saw her. Even though she was not known to be exceptionally beautiful, it is derived from many accounts that she was the definition of a wicked temptress, the defining characteristic that obviously won Caesar's heart. Naturally, Caesar aided Cleopatra after Ptolemy XIII's advisors had driven her from the throne, and declared war upon Ptolemy XIII. Caesar and Cleopatra were victorious and Cleopatra returned safely to the throne. Shortly after the coup, Cleopatra was noticeably pregnant. The product of this pregnancy was a son, named Caesarion, who is widely believed to belong to Caesar.
Why is Cleopatra Famous? Known for her love affairs with some of Rome’s most famous leaders, and wanting to be worshipped as a goddess, associating herself with the goddess Isis, Cleopatra was a famous powerful queen in Ancient Egypt. Cleopatra was born as Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator to Ptolemy XII and Cleopatra V Tryphaena. She was born in 69 B.C.E in Alexandria, and later died there in 30 B.C.E. Because of the time period in which Cleopatra lived, not very much is known of her.
In this research paper I will be writing about Cleopatra VII. Her early life, family and her relationships’. Cleopatra VII was born around 69 BC and was the daughter of Ptolemy XII Auletes and Cleopatra V of Egypt. Her parents got married in the year 79 BC. Her father Ptolemy XII Auletes was the king of Egypt during 80-58 B.C. and 55-51 B.C. He was born in 117 BC and was also known as the “Piper” because he played the flute. He died in 51 BC, Alexandria, Egypt from being exiled. Her mother Cleopatra V was the queen of Egypt, born in 95 BC. She vanished around the time of Cleopatra’s birth in 69 BC then died in 57 BC. Some people believe she was either murdered or that she may have died while giving birth. (“Cleopatras Family”)
From the early years of her life, Cleopatra learned that to gain the thrown in the dynasty of the Ptolemies it took a lot more then sheer knowledge. She did however have a very good education in which she knew how to speak seven different languages and was the only Ptolemy to have know how to speak Egyptian and Greek ("The Unsolved Death of Cleopatra"). It is clear that even from such a young age Cleopatra was driven to succeed. It appears that it wasn't enough for her to just be educated, but to surpass her siblings and quite possibly her own parents. This was soon proven to be so once she inherited the throne and problems began to ensue. With the title of pharaoh came the marriage to her younger brother, though neither one was willing to share that power together. Soon after taking the throne her brother was found murdere...
Like her father, she tried to have peace with Rome and maybe even have power over them. She would gain her power by having Caesar one and only son, Caesarion, the loyalty of Marc Antony, a well-known general who was popular among the troops in Rome, and of course by using her intelligence and Egypt’s resources. Cleopatra was a successful ruler because she had a thirst for power. She gained power because she had been prepared all her life to be a successful ruler by being very educated in studies, languages, charm, and even in relationships. She studied natural sciences and mathematics all her life.