Cleopatra VII of Egypt
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Cleopatra VII (December, 70 B/ January, 69 BC - August 12?, 30 BC) was pharaoh of ancient Egypt. The name derives from two Greek language words meaning "glory" of her "nation." Some say it means "Glory to my father".
Last member of the Ptolemaic dynasty to rule ancient Egypt, Cleopatra VII took the throne alone at the death of her father, Ptolemy XII Auletes, in 51 BC. She was at the time the oldest child of Auletes, since her two older sisters Cleopatra VI and Berenice IV had died. She was subsequently co-ruler with two of her brothers, Ptolemy XIII (51-47 BC, who opposed the Roman domination, and Ptolemy XIV (47-44 BC). Since the Ptolomy throne was transmited through the women (matrilinear), the Kings had to marry their sisters in order to be qualified to rule. Following their death she named her eldest son co-ruler as Ptolemy XV Caesarion (44-30 BC).
Cleopatra is reputed to have been the first member of her family in their 300-year reign in Egypt to have learned the Egyptian language.
When Julius Caesar captured Egypt in 47 BC, she preserved her own political advantage by becoming his lover and named their son Ptolomy Caesar (nicknamed Caesarion, little Caesar). Caesar refused to make Caesarion his heir, naming his grand-nephew Octavian instead. Cleopatra and Caesarion visited Rome between 46 and 44 BC and were there when Caesar was assassinated.
Having formed a political alliance with him in 41 BC, Cleopatra started a relationship with Mark Antony, who was ruling the eastern Mediterranean possessions of the Romans. At the time, Antony was married to Octavia (Octavian's sister), but they had three children: the twins Alexander Helios (the Sun, 40-30 BC) and Cleopatra Selene (the Moon, 40 BC-6 AD), and Ptolemy Philadelphus (36-12 BC). At the Donations of Alexandria in late 34 BC, following Antony's conquest of Armenia: Cleopatra and Caesarion were crowned co-rulers of Egypt and Cyprus; Alexander Helios was crowned ruler of Armenia, Media, and Parthia; Cleopatra Selene was crowned ruler of Cyrenaica and Libya; and Ptolemy Philadelphus was crowned ruler of Phoenicia, Syria, and Cilicia. Cleopatra also took the title of Queen of Kings.
Following the battle of Actium, Cleopatra committed suicide by using a snake to poison herself, when Octavian (the future Augustus) captured Alexandria in August of 30 BC. Mark Antony also committed suicide, and Caesarion was killed by the Romans. The three sons of Cleopatra with Antony were spared and taken back to Rome where they were reared by Antony's wife Octavia.
Although it is often said that Cleopatra used an asp to kill herself, it is possibly more likely that her death was effected by an Egyptian cobra. There is also a story that Cleopatra asked several of her servants to test out various forms of suicide, before choosing the method which she believed to be most effective.
One of the best-known artistic treatments of Cleopatra is William Shakespeare's play Antony and Cleopatra.
Here are some films about Cleopatra:
A longer discussion of Cleopatra films is at: Cleopatra (movie)
There is a painting, The Death of Cleopatra, painted by Jean André Rixens, that was painted in 1874 and which hangs in the Musee des Augustins in Toulouse, France.External links
Cleopatra in art
Other films titled Cleopatra were released in 1912, 1917, and 1920. Other films of Antony and Cleopatra were released in 1908, 1910, and 1951, and a silent "Anthony and Cleopatra'' in 1924.
