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‘The Last Queen of Egypt’
Cleopatra
Cleopatra was born during a time dominated by men, but she overcame her stereotype by becoming one of Egypt’s most successful leaders. The most notable thing about Cleopatra was not that she was just a successful ruler, but rather that she was the most influential woman of her time.
Cleopatra’s Father, Ptolemy XII was the seventh Pharaoh in a line of unmemorable Ptolemaic rulers. Because of her father, she was exposed to royalty at an early age. This affected her decisions, as she always put Egypt before herself. Eventually, Ptolemy XII had to flee to Rome, because the people of Egypt hated him. The throne was left to Cleopatra’s sister Berenice. Berenice did her best to keep Ptolemy XII out of Egypt, and away from the throne. But Berenice was beheaded by Ptolemy XII’s army. Ptolemy had the throne for five more years, until he died and the throne was left for joint rule by Cleopatra VII and Ptolemy XIII. This was exactly what Cleopatra needed to achieve her dream of conquering the world.
Cleopatra was only 18 when she started her reign, her brother was only 12. They were soon married, as it was a Ptolemaic tradition. Cleopatra was in an ideal position - her brother was not old enough to make any decisions and she did not have enough power for the people to want to overthrow her. Cleopatra and Ptolemy grew to hate each other. They struggled over the throne for three years, this ended when Ptolemy and his guardians gathered supporters and kicked Cleopatra out of Egypt and into Syria. While she was in Syria, she gathered her supporters and formed an army to prepare for war. During this time, Caesar had started his long voyage to Egypt.
Caesar and Pompey fought for the power of Rome, which ...
... middle of paper ...
... died, Egypt was conquered by Rome, making her the last ruler of Egypt. She was buried with Antony in a tomb, which to this day, has never been found. But archaeologists have found buildings that she would have visited in her everyday life.
Cleopatra was the most fascinating woman of her time. Her high profile affairs, powerful leadership and everlasting plan to keep Egypt as its own Empire, were only some of the things that made her so remarkable. Even great historians are still amazed at how powerful Cleopatra was, such as Blaise Pascal, who said “If Cleopatra's nose had been shorter, the whole history of the world would have been different.” Cleopatra’s life was one of the Gods, and the bite of an asp was said to be the demise to bring her back to them. Cleopatra will always be remembered as one of the only women to fight, and almost break the might of Rome.
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)
The book was broken down into eight chapters. These chapters spanned the time from 332 B.C. to 30 B.C. In the beginning of the book, it began the story of Cleopatra with Alexander the Great liberating Egypt from Persian control. However, the bulk of the chapters concentrated at 69 B.C. and ended 30 B.C. with the birth and death of Cleopatra. The story of Cleopatra began with her rein over Egypt as queen. This was when she allied and companioned with Caesar in attempt to strengthen her power. It was not long before Caesar was assassinated and his close friend and a powerful general Mark Antony denounced the conspirators. Not long after Caesar’s death, Antony and Cleopatra fell in love and ruled Rome and Egypt together. Together, they had formed an alliance strong enough to take down the most powerful force in the world at the time, Rome. The fall of Antony and Cleopatra began when they were defeated at Actium in Greece against Octavian’s Roman army. Towards the end of the book, the author went into details on the true love that existed between Antony and Cleopatra.
During the Macedonian dynasty, Cleopatra took her reign in Egypt and became a powerful and successful leader. During her reign, she faced many problems, but worked it through and soon it was resolved. When Cleopatra first became ruler of Egypt many believed she wouldn’t be able to do it because she was a woman, was weak, and that she “wasn’t smart.” Her full name was Cleopatar VII Thea Philopator. According to Biography.com, “Cleopatra was born in about 69 BC and died around 30 BC.” Also according to HISTORY.com, “ Cleopatra’s parents were Ptolemy VII and Cleopatra V Tryphaena.” She had many siblings, but some unknown. Some of Cleopatra’s siblings are supposedly Ptomely XIII and Ptomely XIV.
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.
The Romans painted a picture of what they wanted people to believe about Cleopatra. They wanted her to be seen as an evil queen who seduced men to her advantage. However this image couldn't be farther from the truth, Cleopatra was an intelligent queen who cared for her people.According to History.com Cleopatra was, “Well-educated and clever, could speak various languages and served as the dominant ruler in all three of her co-regencies.” So what is the truth about the way that the last Egyptian pharaoh dealt with her civilization’s politics?
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
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.
The woman, by definition is the nurturer of life. She labors through birth, tends to the needs of her family, and assumes unending responsibilities. And while women have given birth to the ancient and modern day male heroes we've come to glorify to this day, we must remember that some of those same women have also been tremendously influential and invaluable all throughout the depths of history. One such woman is Cleopatra, the temptress whose ambition and seduction both augmented her empire's prestige and brought about her theatrical downfall.
All in all Cleopatra was a powerful queen who left a meaningful impact on society.
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”)
...forever be up to interpretation. Even Plutarch himself stated in his writings that “in the truth of the matter, no one knows” ("The Unsolved Death of Cleopatra") . Hopefully though, with the known information on her past one could see that this great ruler can not simply be seen as someone so weak willed as to cave to Octavian’s threats. Even with her last breath one could imagine her fighting back against her attackers, still ever so unyielding to the control of others.
...while once she seems to help him in putting his armor on. Hence, Cleopatra gives him the spiritual support when he goes to war.
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.