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Chapter 1
Cleopatra
I. Impressions:
A. First associations: temptress, seduction, beauty, doomed lover, suicide, Antony and
Cleopatra, Egypt, Elizabeth Taylor, "Carry on Cleo", luxury and extravagance
B. Sources used: movies, histories, biographies, coinage, sculpture, and poetry
C. Abbreviations:
1. CE: Common Era (Equivalent to AD)
2. BCE: Before the Common Era (Equivalent to BC)
Activity (DVD Video Cleopatra) p. 5: Watch the DVD and think about these questions:
1. What type of image of Cleopatra is being projected?
2. How are the past and the figure of Cleopatra being used to appeal to the audience?
3. How does the image of Cleopatra change over the course of movies?
4. How are these differences linked to the changing social habits of the
contemporary society?
5. What is the relationship between our popular perceptions of the past and famous
figures from antiquity and the actual events and characters of the past?
D. Activity (p. 6): What sort of sources/evidence can we use to study the events of over
two thousand years ago, and what are the obstacles and difficulties in evaluating
them?
Evidence and Sources: The materials we can use are: poems, biographies, histories,
statues, and coins.
Obstacles: Our view of the ancient world is fragmentary and puzzling, and piecing it
together needs a lot of patience and a certain degree of imaginative creativity.
How to work: We need to scrutinize the motivations of the authors and their assumptions
about the world. We need to be as OBJECTIVE as possible and to bear in mind that we
are not ancient Romans and Egyptians; we bring along our own set of values, derived
from our own cultures, education and upbringing, to our study of this material. We need
to keep in mind that history is a maze of opinion, contradiction, and heresy. In studying
the past, we must be detectives, and we must suspect our own motives.
E. A Short Biography of Cleopatra:
Cleopatra VII was the last ruler of the Ptolemaic dynasty, ruling Egypt from 51 BC - 30 BC. She is
celebrated for her beauty and her love affairs with the Roman warlords Julius Caesar and Mark Antony.
Cleopatra was born in 69 BC - 68 BC. When her father Ptolemy XII died in 51 BC, Cleopatra became coregent with her 10-year-old brother Ptolemy XIII. They were married, in keeping with Egyptian tradition.
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Whether she was as beautiful as was claimed, she was a highly intelligent woman and an astute politician,
who brought prosperity and peace to a country that was bankrupt and split by civil war.
In 48 BC, Egypt became embroiled in the conflict in Rome between Julius Caesar and Pompey. Pompey
fled to the Egyptian capital Alexandria, where he was murdered on the orders of Ptolemy. Caesar followed
and he and Cleopatra became lovers. Cleopatra, who had been exiled by her brother, was reinstalled as
queen with Roman military support. Ptolemy was killed in the fighting and another brother was created
Ptolemy XIII. In 47 BC, Cleopatra bore Caesar a child - Caesarion - though Caesar never publicly
acknowledged him as his son. Cleopatra followed Caesar back to Rome, but after his assassination in 44
BC, she returned to Egypt. Ptolemy XIV died mysteriously at around this time, and Cleopatra made her son
Caesarion co-regent.
In 41 BC, Mark Antony, at that time in dispute with Caesar's adopted son Octavian over the succession to
the Roman leadership, began both a political and romantic alliance with Cleopatra. They subsequently had
three children - two sons and a daughter. In 31 BC, Mark Antony and Cleopatra combined armies to take
on Octavian's forces in a great sea battle at Actium, on the west coast of Greece. Octavian was victorious
and Cleopatra and Mark Antony fled to Egypt. Octavian pursued them and captured Alexandria in 30 BC.
With his soldiers deserting him, Mark Antony took his own life and Cleopatra chose the same course,
committing suicide on 12 August 30 BC. Egypt became a province of the Roman Empire.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/cleopatra.shtml
F. Activity (p. 7): Reading 1.1 (page 27), The speech of Octavian before the battle of
Actium by the historian Cassius Dio:
Question 1: How did the Romans view Antony?
Discussion: The manner of the speech presents a negative image of Antony through his
association with Cleopatra and Egypt. He is characterized as a shadow of his former,
manly Roman self. He has embraced a foreign and decadent way of life and become
bewitched and enslaved by Cleopatra to such an extent that he is fighting against his own
country on her behalf. He has become effeminate, self-indulgent, and soft.
The contrast between Rome and Egypt: Rome is presented as the master and ruler of
the world, while Egypt is pictured as inferior and its people are described as slaves of
women, worshiping reptiles and beasts.
Question 2: How can we evaluate Dio's authenticity in his record of facts?
Discussion: He was writing about two hundred years after the events he is reporting. This
is certainly not an eyewitness account. Ancient historians, unlike modern historians, did
not back up their points with evidence and references to their source materials. They don't
feel obliged to justify their assertions. This speech is a dramatic and engaging piece of
rhetoric. It is most possible that Dio used his own judgment to put this speech into the
mouth of Octavian, gauging what was likely to have been said by such a character in a
particular situation. Such speeches are not a record of what was said, but rather
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plausible fictions. In this manner, the work of ancient historians can seem to be a bit like
a play or a novel where what happens is often predetermined by the way the author has
presented the make-up of his or her characters.
G. Plutarch's Antony: The Fallen Hero
Activity (Reading p. 9): What are Cleopatra's effects on Antony according to
Plutarch?
Discussion: Cleopatra has, according to Plutarch, a fatal influence on Antony. She is
temptation personified, and Antony is incapable of resistance. She can bring out the worst
in Antony and suppress the best in him. Under her influence, he has lost his mental
faculties and all his sense of responsibility. Love for Cleopatra is pictured as madness and
has let out all his baser desires and passions. His moral failings lead him to destruction
and the agent of his ruin is Cleopatra.
Activity (Reading pp. 9-10): How does Plutarch present Cleopatra's appearance and
personality?
Discussion: According to him, Cleopatra was not the most beautiful of women. Her
captivating effect relied not so much on the stunning nature of her looks but rather on the
sheer force of her personality. Cleopatra is capable of casting a spell over men. The
portrait of Cleopatra as bewitching Antony is a constant theme in the Roman sources.
Activity (Reading p. 10): How did Cleopatra manipulate her appearance to
influence others?
Discussion: Plutarch presents Cleopatra as a cunning manipulator who seduces and outmaneuvers Antony. She was a master, he says, of a thousand flatteries; she shrewdly
measured Antony's desires and appetites and made sure to cater them. In doing this,
Plutarch notes that she turned a veteran statesman and warrior into the equivalent of a
spoilt youth content to squander his precious time on idle pleasures. The Roman world
did not value romantic love, and Antony's infatuation with Cleopatra was simply another
indication to Plutarch of self-indulgence and a lack of self-control. The only aspect of
Cleopatra's life that draws admiration from Plutarch is the manner of her death.
H. Cleopatra in Augustan Poetry:
1. Poetry: a special use of language, fitting the sound of words to certain rhythmic
patterns.
2. Lyric Poetry: A kind of poetry that presents the singular perspective of an individual,
the "I" or speaker of the poem. Most often, in modern poetry, the speaker talks about a
fairly intense emotion experience or mood. The speaker does not usually address the
reader directly, but rather we seem to overhear this voice as it appears to talk to itself
about its deepest feelings and experiences. However, in ancient Greece, it was a form of
performance art for the community. It was a public event, and the voice of the poet
represents an expression of the community rather than that of an isolated individual.
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Poetry is rarely history. It conveys feelings and impressions that may give us some
insight into what people at Rome thought of Cleopatra and the events that had
transpired, but we must not lose sight of the fact that poems such as Horace's ode
are verbal works of art; they are of historical value, but they are not objective
historical records.
Activity: Horace Ode 1.37 (Reading p. 28)
Question 1: What is the mood of the opening lines?
Discussion: It is the mood of an almost compelling need to celebrate. The opening lines are full
of the imagery of joyous celebration: dancing, feasting, and opening that expensive bottle of
wine kept for a special occasion. Before hearing the news of the war, the nation felt so anxious,
but the mood is now replaced by the urgent need to celebrate the release of the collective anxiety
of a nation following the news of Cleopatra's defeat.
Question 2: How Cleopatra and her followers are described in the beginning of the poem?
Cleopatra is not referred to by her name. Rather, she is introduced as "queen", which had a very
negative resonance to the Roman ears. This term would be enough to invoke hostility and
suspicion in a Roman audience. The notion of the "queen" was so bad to the Romans; it not only
had all the negative overtones of "king", but it stood for royal power being exercised by a
woman. (Note: Rome used to be a republic! It was also a male-dominated society, where women
had no role in political and public life.) Cleopatra is portrayed as "mad" and "crazed with hope
unlimited and drunk with sweet fortune" in her wild ambition to destroy Rome and its empire.
Her followers are described as a "contaminated flock of men diseased by vice".
Question 3: Is there a change in the poet's attitude towards Cleopatra as the poem
progresses?
There is a shift of tone and attitude in the second half of the poem. The image that Horace uses
of Octavian's ships pursuing Cleopatra, like a "hawk" after "gentle doves", seems to elicit
sympathy for her, and though she is soon after described as a "monster", one has to wonder how
monstrous someone could be who has just been compared to a gentle dove. The following lines
seem to portray Cleopatra in a very favorable light. She seeks "a nobler death", does not display
"a woman's fear" and doesn't try to run and hide. Rather, she returns to her palace defeated but
with her spirit unbroken, and calmly and bravely chooses death on her own terms. Horace, like
Plutarch, describes her suicide as a deliberate and defiant act that prevents her capture by
Octavian and her being paraded as a conquered enemy in his triumphal procession back in Rome.
How can we use this poem as a historical source?
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This poem can't be taken as an objective eye-witness account of what happened at the battle of
Actium or how Cleopatra committed suicide. However, it does tell us about the sorts of feelings
that these events inspired back at Rome and the complex set of emotions that the name of
Cleopatra might have evoked.
Contrast between Rome and Egypt as seen by Romans:
Rome: manly, austere, disciplined, and principled
Egypt: effeminate, reckless, indulgent, and debauched
I. In search of Cleopatra:
1. Cleopatra has entered the history of the West largely through her incorporation
into the written records of Roman authors, and there are no narrative histories or
biographies of Cleopatra written by ancient Egyptians that we can set beside the
Roman accounts. One important aspect of Cleopatra, which is underplayed in the
Roman sources and also in modern representations of her, is her status not only as
an Egyptian but also as a member of a Hellenistic (Greek) elite within her own
country. It is done deliberately to represent her as the figurehead of a strange and
barbarous Egyptian culture. The reason behind this is that it was much easier for
the Romans to draw a picture of radical differences between themselves and
Egypt than between themselves and the Greeks, for Rome saw itself as the heir to
the intellectual culture of ancient Greece.
Activity (Reading p. 17):
How does Plutarch describe Cleopatra's actions?
Plutarch in principle is hostile to Cleopatra, and the spin that he puts on her actions here
is that she behaved in a brazen manner in seeking out Caesar in this way. However, if we
were to consider Cleopatra's actions from a wider perspective, we could choose to portray
this action rather differently. Considering the situation she was finding herself in (i.e.
involved in a civil conflict with her brother and being forced out of Alexandria), she
acted swiftly and decisively to seize the initiative and impress the man best able to help
her secure her future. This was not simply a flirtatious whim on her part, but a matter of
both political expediency and self-preservation.
2. The motivations of Caesar, Antony, and Cleopatra in their alliances:
Caesar's motivations: He was already moving on to a campaign elsewhere, and he
needed stability in Egypt; he also needed the wealth and grain of Egypt. In Cleopatra he
saw the best means to this end.
Antony's motivations: The same was true for Antony. Egypt's support was an important
cog in his power base in the East and he needed resource in his conflict with Octavian.
Cleopatra's motivations: Through her liaisons with Caesar and Antony, Cleopatra
attempted to steer a shrewd path among the shifting sands of the violent civil conflicts of
Rome.
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3. Cleopatra's images of herself:
Cleopatra left behind objects (coins, statues, and sculptures) which present images
of herself. Through these sources we can gain great insight into how she wanted
others to see her. By looking at these artefacts we can try to restore some of
Cleopatra's own "voice" as a counterpoint to how she has been represented by
others.
Activity (Figure 1.3, p. 19)
Question 1: How would you describe this sort of art?
Discussion: The temple of Hathor at Dendera was an ancient religious site. The
complex was started by Cleopatra's father and completed by herself. Her own
involvement in this project is a likely indication that these relief sculptures were
approved by the queen herself. The temple is very much architecture on a grand
scale. The sculpture is a piece of art in the style of ancient Egypt: the
hieroglyphic symbols form a dense graphic backdrop to the figures, which are
depicted with the stiff formality of this type of archaic art. In this sculpture,
Cleopatra deliberately wanted to place herself and her son (Caesarion) within this
artistic tradition stretching back thousands of years.
Interpretation of the Sculpture:
In this relief, Caesarion is placed in the more important position (closest to the
gods), and he is depicted as a fully adult male pharaoh. This suggests the
importance Cleopatra placed on the promotion of Caesarion as a legitimate
pharaoh and ruler of Egypt. Representing her son in the timeless fashion of
traditional portraits of the pharaohs was a means to establish his legitimacy. At
the same time, she is also emphasizing her own status and authority as not only a
pharaoh but also as the mother of a pharaoh. As Cleopatra and her son face
Hathor and her son, an obvious parallel seems to be drawn between the fertility
and power of the mother goddess and those of her human counterpart.
Cleopatra on Coins:
Activity (Figures 1.4 and 1.5, p. 21):
Question: What is the first impression of Cleopatra's depiction on the coins?
How is she depicted?
Discussion: These coins are radically different material objects, made for a
different audience. Coins circulate in everyday life and hence are seen by more
people over a wider geographical area. Unlike the Dendera sculptures, they were
not designed for an Egyptian audience. On the coins, she doesn't appear youthful;
her neck is thick set and she has a rather unflattering roll of skin under her chin.
The nose is prominent and hooked; the jaw juts out, and the eyes are almost
bulbous. In fact, nose, jaw, and eyes all look rather exaggerated, perhaps more in
keeping with a caricature than a portrait. She is represented within the manner of
a Hellenistic queen (i.e. her "melon" hairstyle and her hairband).
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The coin portraits are very much in the Roman style of portraiture of the day
known as verism (aiming at a realistic, or even overly realistic, depiction of the
subject).
The purposes of this type of depiction:
a. To project her powerful and striking individuality
b. To reinforce the projection of power and wealth (e.g. pearl jewelry)
c. To depict her political and personal alliance with Antony (whose face
appears on the other side of the coin).
The sculptures at Dendera were intended to impress on the Egyptian
population the legitimacy of Cleopatra and Caesarion to rule as
pharaohs in Egypt, then these coins were similarly designed to present
Antony and Cleopatra as viable rulers of the Roman Empire. For the
Egyptians, Cleopatra appears as a timeless female pharaoh; for the
residents of the Roman Empire, she appears as a powerful and
formidable dynast.
J. Reassessing Cleopatra:
We have seen Cleopatra in a variety of poses, from a glamorous Hollywood star to a
depraved foreign tyrant, to a determined stateswoman and patriot. She has been many
things to many people. Historians' work on Cleopatra is never likely to be definitive or
finished. There are too many important issues (gender, race, colonialism and so on)
invested in her figure for there ever to be an agreed assessment.
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