Some little known-things about Cleopatra

Written in Art, Queens and Kings
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By Duane W. Roller

Cleopatra VII (69-30 BC), the last queen of Egypt, is probably the most famous woman from classical antiquity, if not all history. Yet her modern reputation is based largely on the presentation of her in art and cinema, rather than the actual historical reality of this most fascinating of women. Here are several things about her that are not generally known:

1. She was by no means a great seductress. She had only two known relationships in 18 years, hardly a sign of promiscuity. Both of these were with carefully selected partners (the most powerful Romans of the era), and were designed to produce heirs (the only way her kingdom could survive).

2. She was a highly educated person. She knew at least a dozen languages. She was also a published author, writing at least two treatises on medical subjects, the predominant discipline of her era.

3. She was a naval commander. As a royal personage, she was skilled in the arts of warfare, and twice led her fleet in battle.

4. She was connected with contemporary Messianic thought. Many were suggested to be the Messiah in her day; an oracle tells of a woman who will restrain the Romans and push them out of the eastern Mediterranean. There is no other candidate for this woman than Cleopatra.

5. She did not die by the bite of an asp. The Egyptian asp (cobra) is several feet long and generally not fatal. She probably died by poison, as the sources consistently say, but may have left a suicide note fabricating the story of death.

Duane W. Roller is Professor Emeritus of Greek and Latin at the Ohio State University and author of Cleopatra: A Biography (Oxford 2010).

IMAGE: Wall painting in Room 71 of the House of M. Fabius Rufus, Pompeii, showing the statue of Cleopatra VII in the Forum Julium. Courtesy of Pietro Giovanni Guzzo, Domenico Esposito, and the Soprintendenza Archeologica di Pompei.

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11 Comments - Leave a comment!
  • http://www.jslion.wordpress.com Jonathan Slaton

    Fascinating Woman. Cleopatra is probably the most often portrayed, yet most misunderstood woman of the ancient world.

  • http://www.indonique.com George Constance

    loved the post. History is so much more interesting than fiction.

    Has Cleopatra’s remains been found yet? Love to see a reconstruction of the real Cleopatra.

  • http://www.twitter.com/hedgerows Zoe Eckman

    I can take her not being a grand seductress, but please tell me the carpet thing is true! It’s one of the greatest entrances ever, and I’d be gutted to learn it’s just a story…

  • http://thetruebookaddict.blogspot.com/ Michelle @ The True Book Addict

    I have long been fascinated by Cleopatra. I agree with George Constance…that would be something to find her remains and see her facial reconstruction since her looks have been of such speculation.

    Thanks for another great giveaway!

  • Anne

    Great article! I did not know she was an author…do any of her texts survive?

  • http://franceshunter.wordpress.com Frances Hunter

    This is fascinating! I don’t know a thing about the real Cleopatra. How did she rise to power? Was she part of a dynasty or family that had held power, was it through marriage, or did she somehow seize the reins herself?

  • http://brokenteepee.info Patty

    A truly intriguing woman. I would love to win this book. Please enter me.
    Thank you

  • http://www.jslion.wordpress.com Jonathan Slaton

    Frances:

    I am NOT an expert, and there are probably lots of sources on the web. I know that Cleopatra and her brother were the children of the previous ruler of Egypt. Their line descended from on of Alexander the Great’s generals. The story is that she and her brother ruled jointly until her brother tried to depose her. She escaped the palace and hid, and when Julius Caesar came to egypt, she had her self delivered to see him rolled up in a carpet, and naked BTW, just to ensure she got his full attention.
    She SOMEHOW convinced Caesar to take her side in the dispute, and eventually her brother was killed.

  • Vicky Alvear Shecter

    Cleo is simply endlessly fascinating. Learning about how her image was manipulated by her enemies adds to the fascination!

  • http://www.theburtonreview.com Marie

    I loved Michelle Moran’s Cleopatra’s Daughter, and I am so interested in reading more about Cleopatra herself. I also have Margaret George’s The Memoirs of Cleopatra that comes highly recommended. I wonder at the posion aspect, as who would have had access to her to poison her and why did she really feel the need to commit suicide?

  • duane w roller

    Hello everybody! And thanks for your interest in both Cleopatra and my book. I have been on the road this week so my replies are a little slow, but I would like to add something to the interesting comments that all of you made.
    1. Cleopatra’s remains. No, they have not been found. There is some suggestion in recent pseudo-archaeology circles that her tomb was west of Alexandria, but the evidence for this is weak and questionable. Presumably she was buried in the tomb of her ancestors and that has been lost. Interestingly, though, the tomb and remains of her younger sister Arsinoe have been found, without question at Ephesos. But generally remains of famous people from antiquity have not been found.
    2. The carpet story. Basically it is true, except it was a bedsack, not a carpet. Shakespeare, I think, changed it to be carpet which sounds a little better!
    3. Cleopatra as an author. Fragments of her texts survive as quotations by later medical authors, including the great Galen and others. They are not extensive but interesting. The weights and measures passage is very important for its topic.
    4. How did she rise to power? On this one I have to say read the book!
    5. Poison and her suicide. She was a published medical author, and the line between poisoning and curing is very thin. Access to poison would have been no problem. Why did she commit suicide? Again I say read the book, but she had no other alternative.

    DWR