Cleopatra VII Philopator (ancient Greek: Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ, 69 - 30 BC) - the last queen of Hellenistic Egypt from the Macedonian Ptolemaic (Lagid) dynasty.
Cleopatra came from a noble Ptolemaic family. Ptolemy I Soter was one of the closest associates of Alexander the Great. Ptolemy asked the commander for Egyptian lands as a reward. When the Macedonian died, Soter embalmed his body and moved to Alexandria, a city named after the conqueror himself. It was here that the famous library was founded. It collected many works of various scientists, poets and philosophers. Their works have reached us. So here's Cleopatra with youth took advantage of this treasury of knowledge. She became a very educated woman for her time. Cleopatra had deep knowledge, a subtle mind, and a strong will. The woman was charming and could find mutual language with the people.
Young Cleopatra gained power at the age of 16. She married her brother, who was barely 13. The boy was weak in both mind and health. Despite her inexperience, the girl understood well that power is incredibly life-threatening, and every mistake in the field means death! The young queen was ambitious, but her husband’s teacher, Pothin, also wanted power. Cleopatra had a problem on the horizon. The fact is that Pothin was a eunuch, which means the young queen will not be able to use her charm and charm for her own purposes. Then Cleopatra decided to turn to mighty Rome for help. She devotes all her strength to seducing high-ranking Romans. While Cleopatra was approaching the son of the then emperor, Pompey, a coup occurred in Rome, and Gaius Julius Caesar came to power. Pothinus took advantage of Cleopatra's unfortunate mistake. He spread a rumor that the queen had betrayed Egypt and that the Romans would soon invade the country. Cleopatra fled to Syria. The situation worsened day by day. The queen's defender, Pompey, lost. The Battle of Pharsalus decided the issue of power in Rome. Caesar's supremacy was established. Pompey fled to Egypt. He hoped to find salvation, but ended up falling into the hands of Potinu. He, of course, with a smile from ear to ear, carried the head of the son of the former king to Caesar, who entered Egypt.
Guy Julius Caesar planned to intervene in the feud between his wife and husband, and the formal reason for his visit to Egypt was a financial debt. The cunning Pothinus did not convey the invitation to Cleopatra. If not for her self-confidence and intuition, she would not have returned to Egypt. There she pretended to be a commoner. Soon, exactly what Pothinus feared happened - Caesar fell in love with Cleopatra. The next morning, the Romans, using the right of the strong, ordered Ptolemy to make peace with his sister and share power with her. At that moment, the remnants of the brain awakened in the feeble-minded prince. He rushed towards the palace, shouting about treason and betrayal, calling everyone to arms. Thanks to Caesar's composure, everything worked out. Power returned to Cleopatra, and Pothinus died due to an unsuccessful plot against Caesar. Ptolemy XIII also died soon after. Cleopatra married Ptolemy XIV. This essentially didn't change anything. Egypt still lay at the queen's feet. A couple of months later, Cleopatra gave birth to a son and named him Ptolemy-Caesarion. Now the queen could demand more than Egypt. She had an influential lover and a child with him. Cleopatra arrives in Rome, where she is greeted with all honors.
March 15, 44 BC Caesar was assassinated in the Senate. Cleopatra was not at a loss. She had to run again and again calculate the moves in a difficult political party. A war broke out in Rome and lasted two years. Caesar's supporters and opponents demanded help from Cleopatra. The Egyptian woman maneuvered between two warring parties and could not take anyone’s side. Soon her husband died again in Egypt. There were rumors that she killed him. It wasn't like that though. The king himself drank the poison. All the queen’s hopes turned to Caesarion. Cleopatra was now playing not only for herself. The war in Rome ended, and victory was with the Caesarines. Mark Antony came to power in the Asian provinces. Cleopatra regained her confidence. Anthony arrived in Egypt, where Cleopatra was already waiting for him. Soon the queen and her son had unlimited and undivided power over Egypt. Caesarion became the recognized heir, and Cleopatra began a luxurious and full of pleasures life. Mark Antony and Cleopatra are two names that are forever linked with each other.
The lovers were destroyed by self-confidence. They reacted sluggishly to the threat from Rome. Octavian prepared very thoroughly for war. Cleopatra thought that victories in war were as easy as on the personal front. She foolishly takes command of a unit navy. Alas, but at the most crucial moment, in the Battle of Akitsuma, it was Cleopatra who failed Antony. IN last moment her nerves gave way. She ran away from the battlefield on her ship. Mark, mad with love, rushed after her. It is easy to guess that their fleet was destroyed. The ending of this story is tragic. At first, Cleopatra tried to maintain power. She put together something like " people's militia" At the same time, Cleopatra is preparing the way for retreat. Secretly, she hopes to seduce her enemies. However, none of these plans came to fruition. All of Anthony's ships were burned by the Arabs in the Red Sea. By the way, Cleopatra transferred them there. Mark no longer wants to see the queen. In desperation, Cleopatra tries to buy her life by betraying Antony. However, Octavian no longer needs this. He captured Egypt and the power in it and the children of the Egyptian harlot. The new ruler mentioned his plans - to shackle Cleopatra in gold chains and lead her through Rome - “Woe to the vanquished!” Cleopatra was completely frightened and chose to leave with dignity. She dressed in her best clothes and took a basket of fruit. A snake was sleeping at the bottom. Cleopatra woke her up with a prick of a needle. A painless bite followed. Death. Cleopatra was buried next to Anthony. Octaivan ordered to remove all the statues of Mark, but not to touch the statues of Cleopatra. The queen's son was executed as a contender for power. This is how the tragic story about the life of the great Egyptian woman ended, but her image still lives in poems, stories, films...
The name of Cleopatra is known to everyone - she was not only an outstanding ruler of Egypt, but also an amazing woman. More than two thousand years have passed since her death, but she is still remembered as one of the individuals who changed history.
Cleopatra was not a beauty by any standards Ancient Egypt, nor according to modern canons. However, she managed to fall in love with two powerful Roman generals and completely subordinate them to her influence. She was an unusual woman and possessed an extraordinary intellect.
What else do you remember about Cleopatra?
- Cleopatra remained in history as the most famous ruler of Egypt. But it is worth noting that she originally came from the Ptolemaic dynasty, who migrated from Greece during the reign of Alexander the Great. Thus, Cleopatra, although born in Egypt, was not an Egyptian at all, but a representative of the ancient Greek dynasty.
- Who knows about other Cleopatras? Nobody! But the famous Egyptian queen was the seventh in a dynasty named after Cleopatra. Much is known about her father - he was the ruler of Egypt, Ptolemy XII. But the identity of the mother still remains a mystery. There is a version that she was the half-sister of the king himself, since relationships and marriages between brothers and sisters were the norm in this dynasty. It is absolutely certain that Cleopatra was not the legitimate child of Ptolemy XII, since he officially recognized only one daughter - Berenice IV.
- Cleopatra's name when she ascended the throne was Thea Philopator (Θέα Φιλοπάτωρ), which translated means “the goddess who loves her father.” Afterwards she added “lover of the fatherland” to the title and became known as Thea Neotera Philopator Philopatris.
- Cleopatra had an extraordinary intellect and spoke at least nine languages. She was the only one of all the kings of her dynasty who learned the Egyptian language for 300 years. Before this, the Ptolemies spoke only Greek and did not bother learning the language of the country in which they ruled and lived. In addition to Greek and Egyptian, she knew Hebrew, Ethiopian, Aramaic, Persian and even Latin.
- In addition to linguistics, she also studied mathematics, astronomy, public speaking and philosophy. The queen, again alone of all her predecessors, accepted the religion and culture of Egypt. Before her reign, the Ptolemies were not interested in the gods and customs of their people.
- She married her brothers, that was the law in those days. Despite her uniqueness, Cleopatra could not rule alone, without a male co-ruler. Therefore, she had, like many of her predecessors, to marry first with one brother and then with another. But she did not feel safe, since her brothers always wanted to take the throne from her. After their death, she gave birth to a son and secured a carefree future for herself, as she made the boy her co-ruler.
- Cleopatra's younger brother and her first legal husband did not want to put up with his sister's power. Therefore, a war broke out between them, which forced the queen to flee to Syria. Ptolemy XIII entered into an alliance with Caesar, but made the wrong move and killed the noble Roman Pompey. This turned the Roman commander away from his brother, and Caesar turned his attention to Cleopatra. He helped the queen overthrow her brother and regain her throne.
@thegreatcoursesplus.com - According to legend, Cleopatra snuck into Caesar's chambers wrapped in a carpet. The losing queen understood that she could change the balance of power only by meeting Caesar in person. And she did not miscalculate - Caesar immediately became interested in her, although she was then 21 years old, and he was already 52.
- According to rumors, Cleopatra was involved in the death of her brothers and sister. The first brother Ptolemy XIII drowned in the river while fleeing, very fortunate for Cleopatra. Sister Arsinoe was executed by order of the queen on the steps of a Roman temple. And the younger brother died after poisoning at the age of 14 years. This played into the hands of Cleopatra, who at that time gave birth to a son and could make him a co-ruler. She didn't need a growing brother who could encroach on her power.
- Her arrival as Caesar's mistress in Rome was triumphant. They hated her, but they imitated her; Roman women began to style their hair like hers and wear pearl jewelry. She was in Rome at the time of her lover's murder and was forced to flee home to Egypt.
- Cleopatra never got lost in the crowd. Her contemporaries noted the amazing charm and charisma that the queen exuded. She took very good care of herself - she took milk baths, had in her arsenal a scrub, masks and shampoos made from egg yolks and honey. Cleopatra loved incense and selected aromatic oils for different purposes.
@neolaia.gr - Both of her affairs were scandalous, because the men were already married and had heirs in Rome. However, after Caesar, Cleopatra easily fell in love with his successor Mark Antony. For the first impression, she dressed as Aphrodite and arrived on a ship that more closely resembled the abode of the gods. She became his lover and faithful companion; she hunted with him, drank wine and had feasts.
- Mark Antony and Cleopatra had three children. The first to be born were twins, a girl and a boy, named Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene. Translated, their middle names mean “Sun” and “Moon”.
- The love between Mark Antony and Cleopatra led to the fact that in Rome the commander was considered a traitor. Octavian defeated the lovers' forces in a naval battle, leading to their flight and downfall. None of Cleopatra's children survived, and Caesar's son Caesarion was executed by his half-brother Octavian.
- Mark Antony and Cleopatra, as agreed, committed suicide after their defeat. He threw himself on the sword, and she, according to assumptions, died from snake venom. Historians are still arguing how she managed to die in a locked room guarded by Octavian’s soldiers. It is worth noting that this is not the only mystery of her death. The tomb of Cleopatra and Mark Antony has not yet been found.
Cleopatra became to the last queen th of Egypt and a representative of the Ptolemaic dynasty. After her death, Egypt, which was ruled by Greek kings but had freedom, became a Roman province. This amazing woman, who died at the age of 39, became a symbol of the fall of Egypt as the greatest civilization of the Ancient World.
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Cleopatra lived more than 2000 years ago, but is still remembered in history as a very influential and powerful woman. She was the last independent ruler and became famous not only for her life, but also for her death.
As the last representative of the Macedonian Ptolemaic dynasty, she ruled the country for almost three decades, first with her brothers, then with her son. She made alliances not thanks to strength and army, but to cunning and feminine charm. There were legends about Cleopatra, because she had short life(38 years old) had two affairs with influential Romans - Julius Caesar and Mark Antony.
What is Cleopatra's secret? This article contains the most fascinating facts from her biography!
Cleopatra's childhood and youth
There are few reliable sources about the life of this woman, since after her death her image was greatly distorted by the Romans. It is known that she was born in 69 BC. e. and was one of the three daughters of Ptolemy XII, whose names remained in history. Her childhood was marred by a rebellion against her father, which resulted in the death of his only legitimate daughter, Berenice. He bequeathed his throne to Cleopatra and her younger brother, since a woman could not rule alone.
She ascended the throne at age 18 as co-ruler with her 10-year-old brother Ptolemy XIII. Cleopatra VII faced problems with crop failure and soon fled Egypt due to differences with her brother. In Syria, she gathered a huge army and returned to lay claim to her throne. Meanwhile, in Rome there was a war between Caesar and Pompey, who fled to Egypt, but was killed on the orders of Ptolemy XIII.
Ptolemy wanted to gain the favor of the Romans, but Caesar, who arrived in Egypt and learned about the murder of the enemy, was angry at such treachery. Cleopatra took advantage of this, in whom Caesar was interested as a Roman puppet that could be controlled. He summoned the girl to Alexandria, and at first sight she captivated the mighty commander.
Cleopatra and Caesar
Despite the fact that Ptolemy was recognized as the king of Egypt, Caesar decided to lean towards Cleopatra and return to her father’s will, where she was recognized as ruler along with her brother. According to legend, an acquaintance led her to guarded Alexandria in a sleeping bag (a carpet is often mentioned in films). The indignant Ptolemy XIII did not calm down and raised an uprising, which was barely suppressed in 47 BC. e. The young man himself drowned in the river, and Cleopatra married her other younger brother, Ptolemy XIV. After this, she went to Rome following Caesar.
By that time, she and Caesar were already living together, and Cleopatra had a son, Caesarion (little Caesar). It is worth noting that, despite all the negative descriptions of Cleopatra, her intelligence and natural charm were noted by all her contemporaries. She was not beautiful in the usual sense, but she had powerful energy and skillfully used her art of seduction. In addition, she was educated and smart, and was even known as a polyglot - Cleopatra knew about 7 languages, considering that at that time people had difficulty speaking their native language perfectly.
Upon arrival in 46 BC. e. In Rome, Cleopatra and her son settled in Caesar's villa, and her arrival accelerated the conspiracy against the great pontiff. There were rumors that he planned to make her his second wife and locate the capital of the Roman Empire in Alexandria. In 44 BC. e. Caesar was brutally killed right at the Senate meeting. Cleopatra with her son and brother immediately left Rome for Egypt. It is curious that her younger brother soon died, and, according to rumors, not without the participation of Cleopatra. Now she had a son who could become her co-ruler, and she did not need a rival brother.
Cleopatra and Mark Antony
The queen was safe with her son as co-ruler, but there was again a crop failure in Egypt, and the country was on the verge of rebellion. In addition, after the death of Caesar, a conflict raged in the Roman Empire between his murderers and his heirs - his nephew Octavian and his comrade-in-arms Mark Antony. They soon shared power in Rome, and turned their attention to Egypt. Mark Antony showed interest in Cleopatra and summoned her to him to clarify her attitude to the murder of Caesar. The queen prepared for the trip and arrived on a gilded ship in the guise of Aphrodite, which immediately captivated Mark Antony.
She was 28 years old at the time of their meeting, and he immediately promised her protection and the crown of Egypt. She returned to Egypt, and he followed her, leaving a third wife and children. In 41-40 he stayed in Alexandria all winter, and after his return home Cleopatra gave birth to twins. His wife Fulvia caused clashes with Octavian's men, and he was forced to return to restore order. However, Fulvia soon died, and Mark Antony married Octavian's sister Octavia.
They did not see each other for several years, in 37 BC. e. They met again, and a year later the queen gave birth to a son. The Roman Empire began to perceive the union of the Egyptian queen and the Roman consul as a threat to Octavian, and Mark Antony himself was the initiator of the rumors. He named Caesarion as Caesar's official heir and recognized all of his children by Cleopatra. The Roman also ceased to be interested in his army and country, spending most of his time having fun with his beloved. Octavian became convinced that his comrade-in-arms was under the authority of the Egyptian queen and was a direct threat to his power.
Death of the Queen
Mark Antony remained in Alexandria, and in 32 BC. e. the Senate stripped him of his titles and declared war on Cleopatra. Already in 31 BC. e. between Mark Antony and Octavian Civil War, which ended with the Battle of Accinum, when the fleet of the Egyptian queen was defeated. The lovers returned to Alexandria and began to feast, simultaneously swearing an oath to die if defeated. They tested poisons on those close to them, looking for the most painless and fastest ones. Meanwhile, Octavian's troops reached Alexandria, and all his comrades turned away from Mark Antony.
In 30 BC. e. Cleopatra locked herself with her maids in her tomb. Mark Antony was given the news of her death, and he committed suicide by throwing himself on his sword. Meanwhile, the queen met with Octavian, but her charms had no effect on him. She buried her lover and a few days later she was found dead in her own bedroom. According to various versions, she died from a snake bite or stored the poison in a hairpin.
She, according to the will, was buried along with the body of Mark Antony, but this moment their tombs have not been found. In 2008, they managed to find a bust of Mark Antony in the Temple of Osiris in Alexandria, but the research did not progress further. This 2000-year-old mystery still remains unsolved.
Nobody remembers the names of the pharaohs of Egypt, but Cleopatra is on everyone’s lips. Some considered her a courtesan, a woman of rare cunning, who became the cause of a number of civil wars, while others, on the contrary, took her as a standard of virtue.
Egyptian Aphrodite
Cleopatra came from the Greek Ptolemaic dynasty, which was founded by the ally and commander of Alexander the Great - Ptolemy. After the conquest of Egypt, he was appointed satrap (ruler) of that country.
Today, the name Cleopatra has become synonymous with beauty, but scientists cannot say anything definite about her appearance. People begin to write about her unprecedented beauty only a couple of hundred years after her death. The most famous is considered to be Plutarch’s description of it, given in “ Comparative biographies" The Roman historian characterized Cleopatra as the owner of an irresistible charm, whose appearance, combined with the rare persuasiveness of her speeches, was firmly etched into the soul: “The very sounds of her voice caressed and delighted the ear, and her tongue was exactly multi-string instrument, easily attuned to any mood - to any dialect.”
The historian Sextus Aurelius Victor, who had a negative attitude towards Cleopatra, wrote about her: “She was so depraved that she often prostituted herself, and had such beauty that many men paid with their death for possessing her for one night.”
Since Cleopatra's mummy has not been found, busts are considered the most reliable source for her appearance. The most famous is the damaged bust from Cherchell in Algeria, created after the death of the queen on the occasion of the wedding of her daughter. A typical Greek face with the same hooked nose and wavy hair tied in a bun.
Femme fatale
This is exactly what Cleopatra was like for all her husbands and cohabitants, starting with her brother and first husband - King Ptolemy XIII, who at the time of his accession to the kingdom was only 9 years old, while Cleopatra was already 17. For some time she actually ruled alone, but then the courtiers seized power. Julius Caesar returned Cleopatra to the throne. When he was in Alexandria, the queen, in an attempt to enlist his support, approached him in a very original way.
Plutarch says that “Cleopatra, taking with her only one of her friends, Apollodorus of Sicily, got into a small boat and, at nightfall, landed near the royal palace. To remain unnoticed, she climbed into the bed bag and stretched out to its full length. Apollodorus carried him across the courtyard to Caesar. They say that this very cunning of Cleopatra seemed bold to Caesar and captivated him.”
In the dynastic struggle between sister and brother, he stood up for his sister. A civil war ensued, during which the young king Ptolemy XIII drowned in the Nile while trying to escape.
Under Caesar
Thus begins Cleopatra's reign under the Roman protectorate and her romance with Caesar, despite the fact that, in accordance with tradition, she married her other brother, Ptolemy XIV.
From the great commander she had a son, Caesarion (“little Caesar”), for whom she prophesied a great future. In the summer of 46 BC. Caesar summons Cleopatra to Rome, ostensibly to conclude a formal peace treaty between Rome and Egypt. He builds a luxurious villa for her in his gardens on the banks of the Tiber. This veneration of the Egyptian queen, which could lead to the proclamation of Caesar as king, did not please the Roman senators. On March 15, 44 BC, Julius Caesar was assassinated as a result of a conspiracy.
Cleopatra left Rome and returned to Alexandria. According to the historian Josephus, there she poisoned her brother-husband, fearing an overthrow in the absence of a patron.
Antony and Cleopatra
The romance of Anthony and Cleopatra is among the top most legendary and tragic novels ancient world. After the death of Caesar, a struggle for power broke out in Rome between two groups: the killers of the dictator - Cassius, Brutus, and his comrades - Octavian and Mark Antony. Octavian and Antony defeated the conspirators. Anthony needed the wealth of Egypt. Having found out through her confidants about the amorous and simple-minded Anthony, who was more likely to be a brave soldier than a cunning politician, she arrived to him on a luxurious ship with a gilded stern and silvered oars, where she sat in the outfit of Aphrodite, accompanied by maids dressed as nymphs and boys dressed as Cupids. . Soon Anthony left the army and went with Cleopatra to Alexandria.
From him, Cleopatra gave birth to three children: twins - a boy Alexander Helios, a girl Cleopatra Selene and Ptolemy Philadelphus. Antony, who was himself married to the sister of his ally Octavian, left his legal wife and began distributing lands to his illegitimate heirs. Caesarion receives the title of king of kings, Alexander receives Armenia, Ptolemy - Syria and Asia Minor, Cleopatra Selene - Cyrenaica. He made this decision not without the influence of the queen. This signed his and Cleopatra's death warrant.
"Union of Suicide Bombers"
The noble couple lost the decisive battle with Octavian. Right in the middle of the naval battle of Actium, Cleopatra left the battlefield with her fleet. Anthony fled after her, leaving his soldiers behind. Returning to Alexandria, they awaited Octavian's invasion, spending their time in endless feasts and entertainment. Their vow to die together dates back to this time. They even organized a “suicide union,” whose members pledged to prefer death to captivity.
True, when Octavian’s legions entered Alexandria, only Mark Antony fulfilled the oath, throwing himself on his sword. Cleopatra allowed herself to be captured, apparently in the hope that she would be able to find an approach to the new winner. This is where Cleopatra's story ends. Not wanting to repeat the fate of her sister Arsinoe, who was once led through the streets of Rome in golden chains by her ally Julius Caesar, she decided to commit suicide. It is believed that even before Octavian's invasion, she was looking for a poison that would bring an easy and painless death, conducting tests on prisoners. According to the official version, her choice fell on the venom of the Egyptian cobra.
A talented poetess, a skilled pharmacist, a femme fatale and an inaccessible beauty for all times, fallen victim a cruel and merciless plot against her beloved men. To this day, the story of Queen Cleopatra, her life, difficult fate And tragic death it remained mysterious and unsolved. For more than two thousand years, her image has been shrouded in a dense aura of mystery, which her descendants are trying in vain to reveal. However, scientists managed to find out something almost reliably. Let's figure out who it is and why her image remained bright and lively, despite the passing years.
Unsurpassed Cleopatra: biography of the earthly goddess
Surprisingly, even during this woman’s lifetime there were legends and myths about her, and her tragic death became the reinforcing factor that further romanticized her image. The aura of beauty and mystery, mysticism and mystery, the enthusiasm of ancient Roman authors and the efforts of modern filmmakers - all this made her one of the most famous and famous in all human history. If we talk about Hellenistic Egypt, then you definitely won’t find a ruler equal in fame.
Contrary to the beautiful legends, Cleopatra VII Philopator’s life was not at all so easy and simple. Deprived of the right to choose, she married her own younger brothers twice, as prescribed by law. She gave birth to four children, and only then became the last ruler of her dynasty.
Briefly about the Queen of Egypt
Who Cleopatra is, from the moment of her birth to the present day, many people around the world already knew. The illegitimate daughter of a great ruler, shrouded in secrets and riddles. However, all scientists agree on one thing: she was extremely smart, educated, power-hungry and daring. But at the same time, the girl was distinguished by her special charisma and charm, prudence and even insight in her ability to find the right approach to people, and especially to men.
According to historical reports, the last queen of Egypt was fluent in not one or two, but thoroughly knew seven languages. Moreover, education allowed this girl to even write books on such serious topics as measurements of mass, weight and the monetary system. She compiled several treatises on philosophy, and in addition to everything, she understood the secrets of beauty - she wrote books on primary cosmetology and hairdressing.
The greatest merit of the ruler was the fight against the invaders and fierce attempts to save her native Egypt from destruction by the Romans. But the most known facts about the woman can be considered her intimate relationship with Julius Caesar and touching affection for Mark Antony. She lived a rich, bright and beautiful life, like the flash of a comet in the night sky, and ended it with dignity, so descendants will never forget this woman with a difficult fate.
Goddess loving father
The events preceding the birth of the tiny girl Cleopatra were not at all peaceful. Her father, King Ptolemy XII of Egypt Neos Dionysus (Auletes) Philopator, was far from ideal. According to the testimony of Cicero, to whom we can safely refer, he was a noble reveler, loved orgies, played the flute himself, and was only interested in this. When in the fifty-ninth year BC the Roman ruler Julius Caesar wanted to annex Egypt to Rome, he preferred to pay off six thousand talents of silver (about one hundred and sixty tons) rather than engage in hostilities. At the same time, he completely resignedly gave Cyprus to the Romans, along with his unfortunate brother, who committed an act of suicide out of grief.
In the twelfth year of Ptolemy's reign of Egypt, on November 2, 1969, in the great city with the richest and largest library in the world - Alexandria - a tiny girl was born who was named Cleopatra. Her mother, most likely, was a concubine, since the ancient Greek historian and philosopher Strabo points out that the king had an only legitimate daughter, and her name was Berenice IV, who would later, having overthrown her father, become ruler for three years. At that time, the future queen herself was barely eleven years old, but she could already sensibly assess the situation.
ABOUT early childhood and youth, the story of Cleopatra is silent. Apparently, like other children, she was brought up in the palace, and received a very good education for that time. Then little attention was paid to girls and their education, because a man had to sit on the throne, and a woman had to brighten up his leisure time with her beautiful appearance. In our case, this number did not work, and since childhood the girl studied Greek, Berber, Hebrew, Latin, Aramaic, Arabic, Syriac. Moreover, she was one of the few who was fluent in Egyptian, unlike most of the idle rulers of this submissive people.
Actual administration of Egypt
In March of the fifty-first year BC, the old emperor died, although he was not one by age. The wild lifestyle and sexually transmitted diseases that were common at that time probably played a role. He left a will in which he transfers the throne to his son Ptolemy XIII, who was only nine years old at that time, as well as to his daughter Cleopatra. Since a woman then did not have the right to rule independently, she had to marry her half-brother, although the marriage was formal. That same year, she ascended the throne with the title Thea Philopator (Θέα Φιλοπάτωρ), which literally means "Goddess who loves the father."
Interesting
The first three years of the reign of the new kings were extremely tense. First, the sister removed her little brother from the road, occupying him only with entertainment, games and other amusements. However, a year later he rebelled. With the help of the eunuch Pofin (Potin), a rhetorician from the island of Chios - Theodore, and also not without the participation of the famous commander Achilles, he managed to regain power, and Cleopatra had to flee and hide in Syria.
To be honest, such events did the girl good. She began to recruit soldiers who were ready to give their lives and souls for hard cash and world peace. military glory. In addition, Ptolemy's supporters inadvertently quarreled with their neighbors when it was decided to physically eliminate the fleeing senator Pompey. They killed the unfortunate man right in front of his entire retinue, with particular cynicism and cruelty. Rome could not tolerate this, despite its disagreements with Pompey. Caesar ordered the head of his rebellious subject to be buried near the walls of Alexandria, building a temple to the goddess Nemesis in that place.
Queen of Kings
Julius Caesar was a competent and perspicacious ruler, therefore, without making Egypt a Roman province, he decided to place Cleopatra on the throne, who could become an obedient doll in his hands. He ordered the girl to report to Alexandria, where she was taken under conditions of strict secrecy in a bag of bed linen. As soon as the emperor saw the beauty shedding tears at his feet, he immediately fell in love. Her fate was decided - according to the will, she was the first heir, which was beneficial to the Roman and made it possible to calm the agitated people.
After this, the situation became slightly more complicated, since the entire seven-thousand-strong guard of Julius was attacked by supporters of the murdered Pompey, who conspired with the fugitive thirteen-year-old Ptolemy. They managed to escape by pure chance - the king of Bosporus and the Asia Minor tetrarch (military leader) Mithridates of Pergamon approached the walls of the city. By mid-January 1947, the rebels were destroyed, and Cleopatra’s stupid brother himself drowned in the river while fleeing. To do everything according to the law, Caesar gave her in marriage to the second minor brother of Ptolemy XIV, after which festivities followed. During the celebration, more than four hundred ships passed along the Nile, on which the festivities were held. It was rumored that Julius was simply having fun with the queen there.
What Cleopatra looked like
It’s not easy to figure out what she really was like these days. She is surrounded by a romanticized image, portrayed in films by such beauties as Vivien Leigh or Elizabeth Taylor. Without a doubt, she had the family features of the Ptolemies: the girl had a large nose with a hump, large dark eyes and a slightly Wavy hair. She had a strong and courageous character, without which she simply would not have been able to rule the country.
Historical evidence, for example, a badly damaged bust found near Cherchell in Algeria (Caesarea the Mauritanian), was created after her death, when her daughter was getting married. It is believed that the Hellenic images stored in the Berlin Museum are closest to the original, but their reliability is also questionable. Plutarch writes that, in addition to her colossal charm, this woman amazed with her melody, beauty of voice and literacy of speech, as well as the sharp and inquisitive mind of a researcher.
Glory of the destroyer of men
As a result of the conspiracy, Caesar was killed in March forty-four, and Cleopatra had to quietly go home so as not to fall “under distribution.” Soon after this, her husband, and also her young brother, unexpectedly died. The Jewish historian and military leader Josephus believed that he was poisoned by his “good wife” so that the boy would not get in the way. Although he showed no interest in government affairs anyway.
Returning to her homeland, Cleopatra discovered that famine was raging in the country. For two years in a row there was a small flood of the Nile, drought burned almost all the crops, people sweltered from the heat, dried up from hunger and thirst. But the ruler didn’t care: balls were regularly thrown in the palace, magnificent drinks flowed like a river, and according to legend, the queen was even given baths of milk and honey. The woman herself falls into debauchery and debauchery, where the only payment for a night of pleasure is human life.
Perhaps all these are just legends and myths, but, as you know, usually such “slanders” do not arise out of nowhere. It is likely that the gossip about the ruler’s debauchery was told by Octavian, the great-nephew of Julius, who at that time was actively fighting for the Roman throne. The emergence of a powerful rival was somehow not part of his plans, so he figured out how to bring her down with the help of prehistoric propaganda. However, he did poorly.
Cleopatra and Caesar
Even before the conspiracy against Caesar arose, Cleopatra ingratiated herself into his trust and even became his mistress. Immediately after the man’s departure, at the end of June of the year forty-seven, the beauty gave birth to a boy, whose name was decided by Ptolemy Caesar, but the name Caesarion is more often used, given to the baby by the cunning inhabitants of the city, who understand “where legs grow from.” They say that in his gait, his face, and even his speech, he was an exact copy of Caesar.
In '46, he invited her and her husband to Rome, supposedly to conclude a peace treaty. The Egyptian queen lived in a villa near the city, in luxury and prosperity, which greatly outraged the people. People were afraid that the ruler would marry a non-Christian and suffer main city to Alexandria. The last straw was the gilded statue of the queen, installed by the emperor near the altar of Venus. Until the murder, Julius never recognized his son, therefore he never received formal rights to the throne of Rome, and in the end he was completely killed by Octavian at the age of seventeen.
Mark Antony and the Pearl of the Nile
In forty-one, the twenty-eight-year-old beauty first saw Mark Antony, who immediately fell in love with her. He was stately, handsome, a skilled and fearless warrior with an excellent reputation. It was rumored that he noticed the girl at a time when she was only fourteen, but this fact was not supported by documentation. After the division of Rome, in which he received the eastern part, he decided to implement the plans of his predecessor and capture the Parthians.
But this requires means that the man did not have, but the Egyptian queen did. He summoned her to his residence in Cilicia, wanting to demand a ransom for the murder of Caesar, in which she was allegedly involved. Everything worked out, just a little differently than Mark planned. She arrived on a gilded boat, dressed as Aphrodite, surrounded by maids dressed as nymphs and shrouded in incense. The man could not resist and collapsed into the arms of the temptress - this is how a romance began, one of the most famous in the history of mankind.
The Egyptian queen rejected all the accusations, explained all the discrepancies, and her money perfectly helped support the Roman legions. Therefore, Anthony did not complain, but enjoyed life, at the same time fulfilling all the whims of his beloved. He spent the winter from '41 to his term in Alexandria, indulging in drunkenness and debauchery. Meanwhile, the empire gradually lost its territories, conquered with such difficulty by his ancestors. It should be understood that all this time the ruler was married to Fulvia, who tried with all her might to snatch her husband from the clutches of the Egyptian harlot, but she could not - she died of a “nervous illness.”
Already in the fortieth year, throughout the Roman Empire and in Egypt, as well as in the lands surrounding these countries, only the lazy did not know what Cleopatra was famous for. She gave birth to Mark's twins: a girl, Cleopatra Selene, and a boy, Alexander Helios (Moon and Sun). For three years, the queen was engaged in raising her offspring, and in the meantime Anthony himself placed the notorious Herod on the throne of Judea, whose name later became a household name. In '37 he set out on a campaign against the Parthians, but a year later the campaign failed due to the harsh winter and bad weather conditions. A lot of money was actually thrown down the drain. And by the thirty-sixth, Cleopatra gave birth to a third child from Mark - Ptolemy Philadelphus.
Confrontation with Octavian
After a successful campaign against Armenia, Anthony went to celebrate with his beloved and her children in Alexandria, which led first to confusion and then to indignation in Rome. He boldly distributed crowns and lands, without taking into account anything other than the words of his queen. As a result, this ended badly - in Rome they began to openly show indignation at the unreasonable actions of the ruler. Octavian, who was considered the adopted son of Caesar, became a particularly zealous opponent. In the thirty-second year it came to an outright civil war.
Octavian turned out to be a skillful and cunning commander, or rather, he found a truly outstanding strategist, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa. He crossed the river and forced battles on Mark on his own territory. It is not entirely clear why Cleopatra was not in the city at that time, but her constant intrigues within the camp led to the fact that many famous warriors simply went over to the side of Octavian, who professed Roman traditions. In addition, the emperor’s will was published, where the capital was transferred to Egypt, the harlot was recognized as a wife, and the children were recognized as legitimate. This was the last straw.
Death of the fatal temptress
The naval battle of Actium in September thirty-one was decisive. Cleopatra, having grabbed the remaining ships, began to actively run home, Antony rushed after her, whose fleet and army surrendered to the enemy almost without a fight, and Octavian rushed after them. The woman wanted to save Caesarion, and she herself was not averse to sitting out in India, but Arab pirates were waiting in the Isthmus of Suez, and such an idea had to be abandoned. In the thirtieth year, at the head of the army, the enemy moved to Alexandria. Later a short time the city was captured, and its former ruler locked herself in her own tomb with two maids.
At the same time, Mark was told that the woman had committed suicide. In despair, he threw himself on his sword in front of the doors of her tomb. The maidservants dragged him inside, and he died right in the arms of his sobbing lover. All these events are described in detail by Plutarch, who has no reason not to believe, because he received information from Olympus, the queen’s personal physician. She began to starve, but Octavian threatened to execute the children, and Cleopatra was forced to retreat.
It was not possible to seduce him, because after learning that she would be taken to Rome as a trophy to celebrate the victory, the woman poisoned herself. There are theories that a snake was used for this, but it is more likely that the poison was stored in a hollow hair pin. Caesarion was soon executed, and there was no information left about his younger brothers. But the fate of their sister, Cleopatra Selene II, is well known. She was married to the Moorish ruler Yuba II. In the eighth year of the twenty-first century, archaeologist Zahi Hawass announced that he had found the tomb of Cleopatra and Mark Antony, located under the Temple of Osiris.
In memory of the last queen of Egypt
This an unusual woman, which managed to win the hearts of even those who never knew her, outstanding artists have dedicated their works in all centuries. There is a tragedy by Shakespeare, operas by Johann Mattheson and Franz Pönitz, and a play by Bernard Shaw about the life and death of Cleopatra. Artists such as Giampetrino, Andrea Vaccaro, Hans Makart, Jean-Andre Rixan and Guido Cagnacci dedicated their works to her.
Since the nineteenth century, feature and documentary films have been made in honor of the Egyptian queen. This “parade” was opened in 1899 by director Georges Méliès, who cast actress Jeanne D’Alsi as the heroine. The latest film incarnation can be considered the Russian television series “The Boundary of Time,” where the role of an unsurpassed beauty was played by Evgenia Shcherbakova.
Interesting facts about the most seductive of women
The beautiful Egyptian woman's full name was Cleopatra Thea Philopator VII. This means that before her there were six more women who bore exactly that name.
Despite the inability of women to formally become rulers, Cleopatra was precisely the pharaoh. Moreover, she happened to become the last pharaoh. After her death, Egypt was officially reclassified as a Roman province.
It is this Egyptian queen who is credited with the invention of waxing - hair removal. Only she did not use pure wax, as women prefer these days, but a special mixture of aromatic resins.
Plutarch, according to Cleopatra’s physician, describes her collection of various poisons. The woman collected them for years and tested their effects on slaves and prisoners.
The Egyptian princess's father, Ptolemy, was the first to marry his own sister, which marked the beginning of such a tradition. Since then, close family ties have become familiar and normal among rulers.
There is a version that the queen died not from a snake bite, but from hemlock tincture. She wanted to keep her body just as beautiful after death, so this option is quite likely.