No one remembers the names of the pharaohs of Egypt, but Cleopatra is on everyone's lips. Someone 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 for the standard of virtue.
Egyptian Aphrodite
Cleopatra came from the Greek dynasty of the Ptolemies, which was founded by the colleague and commander of Alexander the Great - Ptolemy. After the conquest of Egypt, he was appointed satrap (ruler) of this country.
Today, Cleopatra's name has become synonymous with beauty, but scientists cannot say anything definite about her appearance. They begin to write about her unprecedented beauty only a couple of hundred years after her death. The most famous is the description of it by Plutarch, given in the "Comparative Biographies". The Roman historian characterized Cleopatra as the owner of an irresistible charm, whose appearance, combined with rarely convincing speeches, firmly cut into the soul: “The very sounds of her voice caressed and delighted the ear, and her language was like a multi-stringed instrument, easily tuned to any mood, to any dialect ".
The historian Sextus Aurelius Victor, negatively disposed towards Cleopatra, wrote about her: "She was so depraved that she often prostituted, and possessed such beauty that many men paid with their death for possession of 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 Shershell in Algeria, created after the death of the queen on the occasion of her daughter's wedding. A typical Greek face with the same hooked nose and wavy hair gathered in a bun.
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Femme fatale
This was exactly what Cleopatra was for all husbands and roommates, starting with her brother and first husband - Tsar Ptolemy XIII, who at the time of accession to the kingdom was only 9 years old, while Cleopatra was already 17 years old. For some time she ruled virtually 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, penetrated to him in a very original way.
Plutarch says that “Cleopatra, taking with her only one of her friends, Apollodorus of Siculus, got into a small boat and, at nightfall, moored near the royal palace. To remain unnoticed, she climbed into the bed bag and stretched out in it to its full length. Apollodorus carried him across the courtyard to Caesar. They say that this cleopatra's cunning seemed courageous to Caesar and captivated him."
In the dynastic struggle between sister and brother, he stood up for his sister. Civil war ensued, during which the young king Ptolemy XIII drowned in the Nile in an attempt to escape.
Under Caesar
This is how Cleopatra's reign under the Roman protectorate and her romance with Caesar began, despite the fact that, in accordance with tradition, she was married to her other brother, Ptolemy XIV.
From the great commander she had a son - Caesarion ("little Caesar"), to 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 erects for her a luxurious villa 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 like the Roman senators. On March 15, 44 BC, Julius Caesar was killed in a conspiracy.
Cleopatra left Rome and returned to Alexandria. According to the historian Josephus Flavius, there she poisoned her brother-husband, fearing in the absence of the patron of the overthrow.
Antony and Cleopatra
The novel of Antony and Cleopatra is one of the top most legendary and tragic novels of the ancient world. After the death of Caesar, a struggle for power broke out in Rome between two groups: the dictator's killers - Cassius, Brutus, and his associates - Octavian and Mark Antony. Octavian and Antony defeated the conspirators. Antony needed the wealth of Egypt. Having found out through the confidants about the amorous and simple-minded Antony, who was more a brave soldier than a cunning politician, she arrived to him on a luxurious ship with a gilded stern and silvered oars, where she herself sat in the outfit of Aphrodite, accompanied by maids in the attire of nymphs and boys in the attire of cupids … Soon Antony 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 Selena and Ptolemy Philadelphus. Antony, who himself was married to the sister of his ally Octavian, left his lawful 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 him and Cleopatra a death warrant.
Death row
The noble couple lost the decisive battle with Octavian. In the midst of the naval battle of Actium, Cleopatra left the battlefield with her fleet. Antony 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 the legions of Octavian entered Alexandria, only Mark Antony fulfilled his oath, throwing himself on the sword. Cleopatra allowed herself to be taken prisoner, apparently in the hope that she would be able to find an approach to the new winner. This was the end of Cleopatra's story. Not wanting to repeat the fate of her sister Arsinoe, whom her ally Julius Caesar once held through the streets of Rome in gold chains, she decided to commit suicide. It is believed that even before the invasion of Octavian, she was looking for a poison that brings an easy and painless death by testing prisoners. According to the official version, her choice fell on the poison of the Egyptian cobra.
