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Compare Cleopatra and Octavia
How cleopatra became famous
Influences on Cleopatras life
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Recommended: Compare Cleopatra and Octavia
Cleopatra is known for her beauty and charming wits to seduce her enemies into getting what she wants. However, Cleopatra was much more than a pretty face. She was one of the most brilliant rulers of Egypt. Cleopatra used her brains and showed how even though she had to rule with a male, she had a more dominant position and was the real ruler of Egypt. Her rule lasted for over 22 years. There was some highs and lows, but to rule for that long truly shows how well she adapted over time and used more than her looks to get her through it all. Cleopatra is known throughout world and her legacy lives on till this day. Cleopatra is a prime example of female power and how the last dynasty pharaoh of Ancient Egypt went out with a bang. There …show more content…
They would be co-rulers since the custom during that era was women could not rule by themselves. Advisors of Ptolemy didn’t want Cleopatra to rule with him. They forced her to flee to the territory which is now Syria in 49 B.C. Cleopatra decided to take back what was hers and took some time in Syria to raise an army to bring down vengeance. In Pelusium, the two armies faced off and it became brother vs. sister. Ptolemy XIII let his own general, Roman General Pompey, be murdered. He thought this would welcome the new Roman General Julius Caesar. This did the exact opposite. Julius Caesar was horrified by this act and allowed Cleopatra time to swoop in and gain Julius Caesar’s support. Julius wanted Egypt to pay back debts caused by Auletes. At the end of the 4 months war, Julius was victorious and Ptolemy was sent to Alexandria where he supposedly drowned in the Nile River. This was a big win for Rome and Cleopatra because she had received her throne. Cleopatra was to rule again with her 13-year-old brother Ptolemy XIV. After the war, Julius Caesar stayed in Egypt where it has been documented to have had an affair with Cleopatra. In 47 B.C, Cleopatra gave birth to her son, Ptolemy Caesar. The people called him Caesarian after his alleged father Julius Caesar. In 46 or 45 B.C, Cleopatra went with Ptolemy XIV and her son to Rome …show more content…
They formed a drinking club called “The Inimitable Livers” where they claimed to be dedicated to the deity, Dionysus. Some scholars deduced it was a chance for them to live out their fantasies and bad behavior. When Mark Antony went home in 40 B.C., Cleopatra gave birth to twins Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene. Fulvia (Mark Antony’s 3rd wife) became very sick and ended up dying. This forced Mark Antony to try to get on Octavian’s good side and show his loyalty which caused him to marry Octavian’s sister, Octavia. With Cleopatra losing her love, it one would think this would cause Cleopatra to become very sad and distracted. In fact, Cleopatra buckled down and focus on her rule over Egypt. Egypt started to become very prosperous and stable as a unit. In 37 B.C., Cleopatra and Mark Antony met again to make arrangement where Mark Antony would get money for his campaign against Parthia in exchange for Cyprus, Crete, Cyrenaica (present day Libya), Jericho and big chunks of territory which is now Syria and Lebanon. Soon after they met to deal with this arrangement, their affair started back up again and in 36 B.C., Cleopatra gave birth to Ptolemy Philadelphus. Mark Antony made the daring decision to leave Octavia for Cleopatra. This infuriated Octavian and to enrage him even more on 34 B.C., Mark Antony celebrated the “Donations of Alexandria” and made it loud and clear that Caesarion was Julius
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)
When researching the three earlier versions of Cleopatra (1917, 1934, and 1963) I found a similar theme in costume for all three time periods. The role of Cleopatra in regards to costume design and character portrayal were all heavily influenced by the current state of America and its fashion. All three designs created for the movies were inaccurate historically for the real Cleopatra, but was accurate in depicting that specific times fashion.
Antony confirmed this with the taken of his own life after falsely discovering his love, Cleopatra, has taken her own life. Cleopatra was then captured by Octavian right before she tried to take her own life. His plan was to take her back with him to Rome as a trophy of victory triumph over Egypt. However, for the last time, she used her charisma to lead Octavian into believing that she was not going
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.
Queen Cleopatra, the last Pharaoh of Egypt, described as divine and beautiful by her disciples. She inherited pearls, the largest of the time, each worth a fortune. In a bet between Antony and Cleopatra, written by Pliny the Elder, he indirectly writes about the wealth of Egypt, the relationship of Cleopatra and Antony, and religious beliefs of the Romans. The wager between Cleopatra and Antony is historic and still conversed about today. The story has many underlying undertones along with the pearls of Venus, the wealth of Egypt, and the relationship between Antony and Cleopatra.
In 44 BCE, Gaius Caesar was assassinated, leaving a power vacuüm for the leadership of the Roman Republic. A ruling body known as the second triumvirate was established between the potential rulers of Rome: Gaius Octavian, Mark Antony and Marcus Lepidus. In 36 BC, Octavian convinced the Senate to exile Lepidus. Shortly thereafter, tensions between Mark Antony and Octavian built. These tensions centered on Antony abandoning Octavian’s sister for Cleopatra, the Queen of Egypt and Antony’s lover.
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.
According to the story recorded by Plutarch (and later dramatized famously by William Shakespeare), Cleopatra sailed to Tarsus in an elaborate ship, dressed in the robes of Isis. Antony, who associated himself with the Greek deity Dionysus, was seduced by her charms. He agreed to protect Egypt and Cleopatra’s crown, pledging support for the removal of her younger sister and rival Arsinoe, then in exile. Cleopatra returned to Egypt, followed shortly thereafter by Antony, who left behind his third wife, Fulvia, and their children in Rome. He spent the winter of 41-40 B.C. in Alexandria, during which he and Cleopatra famously formed a drinking society called “The Inimitable Livers.” In 40 B.C., after Antony’s return to Rome, Cleopatra gave birth to twins, Alexander Helios (sun) and Cleopatra Selene
After the assassination of Caesar, Cleopatra set her sights on Marc Anthony, who controlled the eastern Mediterranean. Her enemies labeled her a seductress, but seduction is part of diplomacy. Cleopatra knew how to entice, flatter and intimidate. When she goes to meet Mark Antony, she arrives in Tarsus on a barge dressed like Venus and surrounded by cupids. Newsweek describing the last queen of Egypt as an" independent, charismatic, ambitious woman. "She married her brothers when she needed them, she killed them when she was not," says Marie Arana in the Washington
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.
Though was Rome perhaps the most cosmopolitan place in the world of that day, it still didn 't take kindly to foreigners. And so Cleopatra and her son had to leave. If Caesar could not eve convince his people to accept his girlfriend, how could he be expected to convince his people to fully trust him to rule over them. He was not the traditional Republican politician that was expected during this time, even though he was an excellent politician, and a skilled writer, some of his lifestyle choices like his girlfriend and his child born out of wedlock, probably did not completely sit well with the Roman
They later began to have an affair and had 3 children in 40 B.C. Antony married Cleopatra in 36 B.C., and made her the ruler of Egypt, Cyprus, Crete, and Cyria. The Roman Senate did not like all the power they had and called Antony a traitor. In 31 B.C. after they lost a battle at sea Cleopatra and Mark Antony had to leave Egypt. Because she was so ashamed she spread a rumor that she had died from committing suicide. When Mark Antony heard about what happened to his wife and he didn’t know that it was a rumor. The results of it were that he stabbed himself to death. When Cleopatra heard what Antony had done she then killed herself by letting a poisonous snake bite her. (“Mark Antony and
Around 69 B.C, one of the most famous female rulers ever known was born, she was Cleopatra. She was the descendent of the Egyptian ruler, Ptolemy XII, and she would eventually become the queen of ancient Egypt herself. She was known for being extremely intelligent and very charming, and because of this many romans feared her and viewed her as a threat. When her father died the throne of Egypt was left to her and her brother, Ptolemy XIII, and rivalry formed between the two, making her even more determined to become the sole ruler of Egypt. Cleopatra had trained all her life to be the successor of Egypt, and she hungered for power.