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The power of Cleopatra
Women throughout history
Women throughout history
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Significant Woman: Cleopatra
	I chose to write my "Significant Woman" paper on Egypt’s last pharaoh, Cleopatra. When I began my report, I knew very little about Cleopatra, except that she was the mistress of both Julius Caesar and Mark Antony of Rome. I wondered what impacts on history Cleopatra made on her own.
	I feel that Cleopatra was a very significant woman in history because she was very aggressive and assertive, characteristics that have always been considered unfeminine. At the same time, however, Cleopatra has been remembered by some as somewhat of a sex object, which is and always has been a common judgement of attractive females. Cleopatra did use her sex appeal to her advantage. It was one of the few manipulations that nobody could take away from her, and it was a very convincing form of persuasion.
	Cleopatra’s family had been ruling Egypt since 305 BC, when Ptolemy I declared himself King of Egypt sometime after Alexander the Great’s death. The Ptolemy family was of Macedonian decent, not Egyptian.
	Cleopatra, more precisely, Cleopatra VII, was the third daughter of Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysos "Auletes", who began his rule of Egypt in 80 BC. Cleopatra VII’s mother could possibly have been Cleopatra V Tryphaena, who either died or disappeared in 68 BC, right after Cleopatra VII’s birth in 69 BC. Cleopatra VII had two older sisters, Cleopatra VI and Berenice IV, and one younger sister, Arsinoe IV...
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 VII or mainly known as Cleopatra was the last active pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. She was a member ...
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.
"For Rome, who had never condescended to fear any nation or people, did in her time fear two human beings; one was Hannibal, and the other was a woman" (Lefkowitz and Fant 126). During a time dominated by male rulers, Cleopatra VII Philopator (69 BCE – 31 BCE), the Last Pharaoh of Egypt, stood out among them all. With Egypt’s wealth at her disposal, she was “incomparably richer than anyone else” (Schiff 2). The amount of power a ruler had at the time of Cleopatra’s existence depended highly on the level of financial stability. However, wealth was not all Cleopatra was known for. She exhibited high militant leadership skills equal to that of her male counterparts to keep Egypt a prosperous country.
According to Egyptian tradition, women could not rule without a male co-regent. Cleopatra likely ruled as co-regent with her father for a short time before his death. After the death of Ptolemy XII, Cleopatra's father, eighteen year old Cleopatra and her ten year old brother became the rulers of Egypt. It didn't take long for Ptolemy XIII and his advisers to act against Cleopatra, causing her to flee Egypt. Cleopatra sought the help of Julius Caesar, one of the most powerful men in the world at the time. With the help of Caesar,
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.
Cleopatra family was a part of the Ptolemaic dynasty, a Greek family of Macedonian origin who ruled Egypt after the death of Alexander the Great. Cleopatra originally ruled with her father Ptolemy XII. She later had to rule with her brothers, Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV to whom she had to marry as part of her Egyptian family custom. Her marriage with her brother, Ptolemy XIV, ended quickly after he died from unknown sources. She had, even more, problems with her second marriage to brother, Ptolemy XIII. He had worked
Stacy Schiff author of Cleopatra strives through her book to denounce all historical myths surrounding Cleopatra. With the rigor of a true historian she is able to distinguish historical veracity from historical myth surrounding the queen from antiquity. The author highlights Cleopatra’s role as a powerful woman and in particular how she attempts to manage the various political or economic predicaments she faced. Stacy Schiff gives us a story that is masterfully reconstructed, allowing the reader insight into the historical context of the time- shedding new light on a woman whose greatest fault was not being a man.
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.
Cleopatra comes from the Ptolemaic Dynasty. The dynasty was started by Ptolemy I. It lasted from 323 B.C.E to 30 B.C.E ending with Cleopatra. The Ptolemaic Dynasty was an ancient dynasty of Macedonian Pharaohs who ruled Egypt.
Cleopatra VII had four known siblings, two brothers and two sisters. Her brothers were Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator, and Ptolemy XIV of Egypt. Her sisters were Arsinoe IV of Egypt, and Berenice IV of Egypt. Berenice IV took power away from her father and became ruler of Egypt in 58-55 B.C.E. When her father came back to Egypt he became ruler again and executed her. Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator was Cleopatra’s younger brother, when he was 12 and she was 18 they married each
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...
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.
Cleopatra marrying her eldest brother who was as of ten years old to be co-ruler to her dynasty and to keep it alive, but it would be the help of Julius Caesar that made it happen. The will save Cleopatra to retain her power and to start the love affair to all we know about. She had a son with him name Caesarian, although Caesar did not mention it was his child. Ptolemy XIII, thereafter died in a failed rebellion and was replaced as co-ruler with his and Cleopatra's younger brother Ptolemy XIV. Cleopatra, who would eventually have planned to kill the two brothers after she regain her emotions of power and lastly murder her younger sister Arsinoe IV with the help of Marc Antony soldiers, friend of Julius