The Life of Cleopatra

The life of Cleopatra in 20 fascinating facts

Hello, you’re listening to jana, and I’m here with the life of Cleopatra told in 20 fascinating facts that will divert you from your daily concerns while expanding your knowledge and understanding of history.

The Greek Origins of the famed Egyptian Queen

Cleopatra, the final Pharaoh of an ancient land steeped in mystery and grandeur, commands a story as captivating as the pyramids that symbolise ancient Egypt.

Her romantic entanglements with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, entwined love and power and decided the fates of empires. Yet, to understand this enigmatic queen, we must first trace the lineage of her forebears.

Although she is famed as the Pharaoh of Egypt, her origins were Greek. One clue lies in her name. It is Greek and means “glory of her father”. She was the 7th Egyptian queen to bear that title, coming to the throne in 51 BC.

The other clue lies in the name of her magnificent Capital City, Alexandria. Alexandria was founded 3oo years earlier by

Alexander the Great, the King of Macedonia in Northern Greece. She was the last in the line of the Pharaohs of Egypt who bore the Greek family name of Ptolemy.

Alexandria, the Greek capital of Ancient Egypt

Alexander the Great, the King of Macedonia in Northern Greece, marched into Egypt in 332 BC while conquering the Persian Empire. The Egyptians welcomed him as a liberator. They proclaimed him pharaoh, acknowledging him as a king and a god.

He founded the city of Alexandria in the Nile Delta, on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt.

The harbour was home to the Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world. Close by stood the Library of Alexandria. It was a hub for scholars including the mathematician Euclid and the polymath Archimedes. After the death of Alexander, the city became home to his Mausoleum, his body an object of worship.

Ptolemy Soter, Alexander’s friend and general, started a dynasty that ruled Egypt for a final stretch of 300 years. The Ptolemies liked to keep it in the family, perhaps a tad too tight for comfort, and often brothers married sisters. The last of the line was Cleopatra, the final Pharaoh of Egypt.

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Cleopatra rules with her 10 year old Brother

In 51 BC, the 18-year-old Cleopatra was crowned alongside her 10-year-old brother, Ptolemy XIII (13th). Young Ptolemy’s mind was made up for him by his advisers, led by the royal tutor, Pothinus. The scheming eunuch turned Ptolemy against his sister.

The sibling squabbles grew into a full-blown civil war, and Cleopatra was forced to flee. She needed outside help. At this time, Rome was the dominant power in the Mediterranean world.

Egypt’s wealth made it a tempting prize for Roman politicians seeking glory and riches. What’s more, Egyptian grain from the fertile Nile basin was crucial for feeding the population of Rome.

The arrival of Julius Caesar in Egypt would decide who would be Pharaoh. Cleopatra or her brother.

The Cruel Fate of Pompey the Great.

Cleopatra’s brother Ptolemy was 15 years old when he went to war with his elder sister. Egypt’s civil war coincided with Rome’s power struggle between Julius Caesar and the famed general, Pompey the Great. Caesar defeated Pompey at the Battle of Pharsalus in central Greece, in 48 BC. Pompey’s power base was in the East, so naturally he fled to Egypt to seek sanctuary.

But he was betrayed. As Pompey stepped ashore in Egypt, he was murdered by agents of Ptolemy. When Julius Caesar arrived in Alexandria, Ptolemy's advisers presented him with his rival’s head and his signet ring. This creepy move was a big mistake. Even the battle-hardened Caesar was revolted. Pompey was not only a Roman consul and a celebrated military commander but also Caesar's son-in-law.

The scene was set for the famous political alliance, and personal dalliance, between Caesar and Cleopatra.

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The Queen who was wrapped in a rug.

In 48 BC, Julius Caesar installed himself in the palace of Egypt’s capital, Alexandria. His Roman legions had the power to decide the civil war between Cleopatra and her brother, Ptolemy. But how could Cleopatra, now exiled and desperate, slip past the palace's guard and sway the world’s most powerful man?

Her famous ruse is described by the Greek historian, Plutarch.

“Cleopatra, taking only Apollodorus the Sicilian from all her friends, embarked in a small boat and landed at the palace when it was already getting dark; As she could not possibly enter by the gates, she lay down upon a mattress or, as some say, a carpet that was rolled up, and Apollodorus tied the carpet up with a cord and carried it indoors to Caesar.”

As the carpet unfurled, an unexpected treasure tumbled out at Caesar's feet.

Cleopatra presented herself, not just as a gift but as a force to be reckoned with.

The Seductive Power of Cleopatra.

After Cleopatra presented herself to Julius Caesar, rolled up in an Eastern Rug, the world’s most powerful man fell under the seductive spell of the Egyptian Queen.

She was 21 years old. He was 52.

In part, their alliance was political. Caesar needed the wealth of Egypt to settle debts in Rome and to fund his military campaigns.

Cleopatra needed the military support of Rome against rivals including her brother, Ptolemy.

But of course there were other factors at play.

According to Plutarch, Cleopatra’s beauty was not in itself so remarkable, but in person, she was irresistible. The charm of her conversation, and everything she said or did was bewitching. It was a pleasure merely to hear the sound of her voice, with which, like an instrument of many strings, she could pass from one language to another.

She could speak Ethiopian, Aramaic, Arabic, Syriac, Median, Parthian, even the language of cave dwellers - — supposedly nine languages in total, not including her native Greek.

Cleopatra’s Beauty Regime

Cleopatra had many accomplishments, including medicine and beauty. She wrote a work titled "Cosmetics." This text included medical remedies for hair loss and dandruff, as well as treatments for ailments. Poisons were also part of her repertoire. Legend has added to her list of beauty treatments. Most famously she is said to have bathed in donkey milk to soften her skin. Donkey milk is closer in composition to human breast milk than cow's milk and was highly valued in ancient times for both its medicinal and cosmetic properties. The lactic acid present in the milk acts as an exfoliant, beneficial for the skin. She is also said to have used almond milk, honey, and Dead Sea mud.

Caesar sets fire to the Egyptian Fleet.

Julius Caesar's decisive intervention shifted the balance in the fierce civil war between Cleopatra and her brother, Ptolemy XIII.

Caesar ordered Ptolemy and Cleopatra to disband their armies. Ptolemy saw this was a trick. Cleopatra could give up her soldiers, and still have the backing of Caesar. But if Ptolemy gave up his , he would be defenceless. So Ptolemy's forces laid siege to the palace of Alexandria where Caesar was staying. Caesar captured the royal fleet and the Pharos Lighthouse, allowing him to control the harbour. He set fire to the ships, and the fire may have spread and damaged the famous Library of Alexandria.

In street-to-street fighting, Caesar's disciplined legions held the advantage over Ptolemy's more numerous but less organised troops.

The young Pharaoh fled for his life, attempting to cross the River Nile.

His boat capsized in the Nile and he drowned. Ptolemy’s body was later found and identified by his golden armour, which no doubt weighed him down beneath the waters of the Nile. He was 15 years old.

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The son of Julius Caesar and Cleopatra.

With her brother and rival, Ptolemy XIII, safely dead, Cleopatra was restored to the throne of Egypt, alongside her still younger brother, Ptolemy XIV. She married him according to the family custom. And also, according to the custom, she later poisoned him.

For it was her relationship with Julius Caesar, dictator of Rome, that was the true source of her power.

In 47 BC, Cleopatra gave birth to a son, Ptolemy XV, popularly known as Caesarion, or "little Caesar." She claimed that Caesar was the father, and while he never officially acknowledged the child, he dropped a heavy hint by allowing a statue to be erected of Cleopatra and her son in a temple in Rome.

Julius Caesar’s Triumph over Egypt

Julius Caesar was the lover of the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra, and the father of her son. But the ruler of Rome made it crystal clear who was the boss in this relationship. On his return home, he celebrated his victory in Egypt with a spectacular triumph, parading Egyptian captives through the Streets of Rome, alongside floats depicting the Pyramids and the Sphinxes. Among the humiliated captives walked Cleopatra’s sister, Arsinoe, who had taken the side of her brother in the power struggle for the throne of Egypt.

Unusually, she was spared execution, and instead was exiled to the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus. But even the goddess Artemis could not protect her life.

Cleopatra later had her sister murdered. Arsinoe was executed on the steps of the temple, an act that violated the temple's sanctuary.

Cleopatra and the Assassination of Caesar

Cleopatra and Caesar carried on a long distance affair. She visited Italy, staying in Caesar's villa just outside Rome. Her presence set tongues wagging, as Caesar was married to Calpurnia.

Caesar was not short of enemies. He had made himself Dictator of Rome, and not everyone was happy with that situation.

On March 15, 44 BCE, a date known as the Ides of March,

Brutus and Cassius, along with other Roman senators, assassinated Julius Caesar, stabbing him in the Roman Senate. Their motivations were a blend of personal grievances, political ideology, and fear for the future of the Roman Republic.

Brutus, a man known for his honour, was the last to plunge the dagger.

In the dramatic version of Shakespeare, Caesar uttered The famous last words, “Et Tu Brute?” “And you Brutus?”

Following the death of Caesar, Cleopatra returned to Egypt, now stripped of her lover’s powerful protection.

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How Shakespeare immortalised Antony and Cleopatra

Cleopatra’s powerful protector and lover, Julius Caesar lay dead on the floor of the Roman Senate.

But soon enough, another Roman general walked into her life.

Mark Antony was one of a trio of men who ruled the Roman world, along with Octavian who was the adopted son of Caesar, and Lepidus.

He is famous for a speech he never made, one penned by Shakespeare.

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears. I have come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interrèd with their bones.

Mark Antony needed Egypt's wealth to fight the Parthian Empire in the East. With this in mind, he summoned Cleopatra to Tarsus in Southern Turkey, in 41 BC.

Cleopatra arrived on a barge with purple sails, adorned as Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, an irresistibly seductive spectacle, with Antony drawn to her as though she were a goddess. According to Shakespeare:

The barge she sat in, like a burnish'd throne,

Burn'd on the water: the poop was beaten gold;

Purple the sails, and so perfumed that

The winds were love-sick with them; the oars were silver,

Which to the tune of flutes kept stroke, and made

The water which they beat to follow faster,

As amorous of their strokes. “

Shakespeare immortalised Antony and Cleopatra, a portrayal that Hollywood would later amplify, thanks to Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor.

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14) The Scandalous Love Affair of Antony and Cleopatra

In the winter of 41 - 40 BC, Mark Antony and Cleopatra carried on a passionate love affair in the Egyptian capital of Alexandria.

The affair between the Roman general and the Egyptian Queen soon became the greatest scandal of the times.

And how this power couple loved to live it up! They formed a drinking club which indulged in nightly banquets and wine-soaked revelry.

In an outlandish display of opulence, Cleopatra once wagered Mark Antony that she could eat and drink her way through a vast fortune at a single meal. Sceptical, Antony watched as a modest feast unfolded, only to be astounded when Cleopatra dropped a priceless pearl earring into a cup of vinegar. As the pearl dissolved, she drank the mixture, and with that single, luxurious gulp, she won the extravagant bet.

Shortly after Antony returned to Rome in 40 BC, Cleopatra gave birth to twins, Alexander Helios, which means sun, and Cleopatra Selene, which means moon.

Back at home, Antony had political and marital problems. His wife Fulvia was scheming against Octavian, the most powerful of the three men who ruled Rome, Octavian, Antony and Lepidus.

Antony shrewdly divorced Fulvia and married Octavian’s sister, Octavia.

Yet, the allure of Cleopatra and Egypt's opulence was a siren call Antony could not resist. The political marriage to Octavia was but a brief intermission in the impassioned saga of Antony and Cleopatra.

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16) How Mark Antony and Cleopatra overstepped the line..

The love affair between Antony and Cleopatra was both passionate and Political. Antony was one of a trio of men who ruled the Roman world. People soon asked, where did his loyalties lie, with Rome or Egypt?

In a lavish ceremony in 34 BC,"the Donations of Alexandria," Antony dubbed Cleopatra and her son Caesarion as monarchs of monarchs, while donating them expansive territories—a tapestry of lands that spanned the Eastern Mediterranean, far beyond Egypt's sands.

Octavian, the master of political spin in Rome, seized this opportunity. He framed Antony's actions as a flagrant abandonment of Roman values, suggesting that Antony was bewitched by Cleopatra's influence, prioritising her over the Republic.

Plutarch described Cleopatra as a sovereign who held sway over those who commanded her.

With the winds of moral indignation at his back, Octavian declared war, not on Egypt, but directly against Antony and Cleopatra.

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17) The Battle of Actium

The battle of Actium took place in the Ionian Sea near the peninsula of Actium in Greece, in 31 BC. The scene was near the modern town of Preveza.

Mark Antony commanded his fleet, while Cleopatra was in charge of the Egyptian contingent. Together they took on the Roman ships of Octavian and his wily general, Agrippa.

Prior to the battle, both forces engaged in a standoff that lasted months, while Antony's and Octavian's troops attempted to out manoeuvre each other on land and sea.

Antony's fleet was large, but not as well-manned or as versatile as Octavian's ships. Octavian's general, Agrippa, was a brilliant naval commander whose smaller, more agile Liburnian ships outmatched Antony's larger but less manageable vessels.

At a crucial point during the battle, Cleopatra took her Egyptian ships and fled the combat zone. Mark Antony, seeing Cleopatra's ships leaving, abandoned his own men and made the fateful choice to follow her with several ships.

Their escape from the battle was seen as a betrayal by Antony's supporters. Octavian won the day.

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18) The Tragic Suicides of Antony and Cleopatra

After losing the battle of Actium in 31 BC, Antony and Cleopatra fled in their ships to Egypt.

Antony was falsely informed that Cleopatra had killed herself. The Greek historian, Plutarch, writes:

"Antony said nothing, but he lay down as if insensible. He was silent .But when he came to himself, he begged those who were about him that they would put him out of his misery. And as nobody would do it, he took his sword and gave himself a stab"

His attempt was botched. He was still alive when he learned that Cleopatra was, in fact, alive. He was then taken to her where he eventually died in her arms, as detailed by Plutarch:

'being lifted up, he was carried in his men's arms to the door of the tomb. Cleopatra would not suffer them to bring him in, but came herself to the doors... so she lifted him up with great difficulty, with the help of one of her women, and laid him on a bed within'”

Then came Cleopatra’s turn to take her own life.

"'Some say that an asp was brought in with the figs and lay hidden under the leaves, and that when Cleopatra took out the figs she put her arm to the asp to be bitten. Others say that it was kept in a water jar, and that she vexed and pricked it with a golden spindle till it seized her arm... but the truth of the matter no one knows'

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19) How Octavian demonised Cleopatra

Antony and Cleopatra died in 30 BC. Following their deaths, Octavian, 33 years old at the time, was the undisputed ruler of the Roman World.

Octavian, the adopted son of Julius Caesar, ordered the execution of Caesarion, the actual son of Julius Caesar and Cleopatra, with the cold phrase: "Too many Caesars is not good.”

His victory was endlessly celebrated by imperial flunkies and poets who vilified Cleopatra.

Horace describes her, as The deadly monster, like a rabid dog or snake,

she had sharpened her fangs to use them

on the world..."

In 27 BC, the Roman Senate granted Octavian the title of Augustus, marking the end of the Roman Republic and the beginning of the Roman Empire. The once powerful senate continued in form only. Behind the scenes, the all powerful emperor Augustus pulled the strings.

The victory over Antony and Cleopatra was thus a turning point that led to the establishment of an imperial system that would define the ancient world for generations.

20) Cleopatra, in Brief

Cleopatra VII ruled Egypt for almost 22 years. She ascended to the throne as co-regent with her brother Ptolemy XIII in 51 BC and ruled until her death in 30 BC.

Her affair with Julius Caesar began in 48 BC, after she met him when he arrived in Alexandria. It continued until Caesar's assassination in 44 BC, marking roughly a four-year liaison.

Cleopatra's involvement with Mark Antony began around 41 BC, after meeting him in Tarsus. Their affair lasted until their deaths in 30 BC, which means they were together for about 11 years.

Cleopatra’s death also marked the end of the Ptolemaic Kingdom and the start of Egypt's new phase as a province of the Roman Empire. The first Pharaoh had united upper and lower Egypt around 3100 BC. Cleopatra, the final Pharaoh, died on August 12, 30 BC, but her reputation lives on forever in drama, film, and word.

And we hope you found this account of Cleopatra’s life, broken down into 20 fascinating facts, both diverting and informative. We aim to present history and literature in a pleasing fashion - and to give you a little time to yourself, away from your daily concerns. For more audio like this, tune into Relaxivity - the podcast and youtube channel. For now, from Me Jana.