… Is there bliss in my love for you?
Bliss can be bought for you …
Listen to me: I can equality
Between us I will restore.
Who will start a passionate bargaining?
I sell my love;
Tell me: who will buy between you
At the cost of my life, my night?..
Promotional video:
(AS Pushkin "Egyptian Nights")
The Queen of Egypt, Cleopatra, is probably the most legendary woman in the world, about whom a lot is known and … nothing is known. Even Shakespeare tried to solve the riddle of "glorious by her father" - this is how the name of Cleopatra is translated from Greek. A. S. Pushkin also did not remain indifferent to the charms of the Queen of Egypt and gave his version of her irresistibility. Is it possible to list all the artists whose imagination was excited by the image of Cleopatra? However, it is not at all easy to answer the question right off the bat - what is so outstanding this woman has done in history, why has she not let herself be forgotten for more than one millennium.
Let us venture to suggest that her unusual talent consisted in the ability to live a brilliant life, full of adventures, dangers and refined pleasures. Some people have the ability to practice poetry, others easily discover the laws of nature, and still others have distinguished themselves by great atrocities. But it is difficult to find a person in history whose every day could become the topic of more than one entertaining novel. She, as they say, knew how to make life more interesting than it is.
Cleopatra came from the famous Greek family of the Ptolemies. The closest associate of Alexander the Great, a friend of his childhood, Ptolemy I Soter (Savior), fascinated by the beauty of Egypt, asked for this country as a military reward. When his great commander died, Ptolemy embalmed Alexander's body, departed for his kingdom, and settled in Alexandria, named after the Macedonian. There, Ptolemy founded the famous Alexandrian Library, which for many years became the center of world scholarship and thanks to which many works of ancient scientists, as well as invaluable facts of the life of the Hellenic world, have survived to this day.
Note that Cleopatra, in spite of her sensuality glorified in centuries, was also brought up on the parchments of this treasury of knowledge and, apparently, was able to fully use the wisdom of the centuries, becoming the most educated woman of her time.
Plutarch, in Comparative Biographies, tried to investigate the reasons for her influence on others: “The beauty of this woman was not what is called incomparable and strikes at first sight, but her appeal was distinguished by irresistible charm, and therefore her appearance, combined with a rare convincing speech, with with a huge charm that shone through in every word, in every movement, he cut hard into the soul. The very sounds of her voice caressed and delighted the ear, and the language was like a multi-stringed instrument, easily tuned to any mood - to any dialect, so that only with very few barbarians did she speak through an interpreter, and most often she herself spoke with foreigners - Ethiopians, troglodytes, Jews, Arabs, Syrians, Medes, Parthians …"
The portrait is quite clearly written - possessing deep knowledge, a subtle mind, a strong will and being immensely confident in herself, Cleopatra mastered the rare art of charming people, and since the strength was still in the hands of men, Cleopatra successfully used her talents in the field love.
Cleopatra gained power while still very young. At 16, she married her brother, who had barely reached the age of 13, a boy of weak mind and health. Cleopatra, despite her seeming inexperience, understood well that power is life-threatening, in such a field every mistake can lead to death. The blood of her sister Berenice, executed by order of Ptolemy XII, has not yet cooled.
After her marriage to the young Ptolemy XIII, it seemed that power itself came to the Egyptian, but fate had in store for her an absurd incident. The educator of her husband, Potin, a clever, perceptive courtier, turned out to be no less ambitious than the queen, and dreamed of ruling on behalf of his close-minded pupil. The misfortune was that Potin was a eunuch, which means that Cleopatra's weapon did not work against him.
Then Cleopatra accurately calculated that only her omnipotent neighbor, Rome, could become her ally in the struggle for power. From that moment on, she directed all her efforts to seduce high-ranking Romans. The first in her network was the son of the then ruler of the empire of Pompey - Gnei. The lover was overjoyed after spending several nights with the queen of Egypt, but politics is a thankless task. While the Egyptian woman charmed Pompey the Younger, a coup took place in Rome and power passed to Julius Caesar.
The insidious Potin took advantage of the queen's involuntary slip, spreading a rumor among the inhabitants of Alexandria, as if Cleopatra had betrayed the Egyptians and the Romans would soon invade the city. Cleopatra had no choice but to flee to Syria. Her position was becoming more and more unenviable day by day. Her defender Pompey was completely defeated. The Battle of Pharsal (48 BC), designed to resolve issues of power in Rome, firmly established Caesar's supremacy, and Pompey himself recklessly fled to Egypt, in vain seeking salvation, and ended up in the clutches of Potin. He with a gracious smile presented the head of Pompey to Caesar who had entered Alexandria.
It should be noted that the very fate, favoring Cleopatra, sent Caesar to Egypt. The formal reason for the visit was Egypt's debt to Rome. The Roman ruler intended to return him in order to pay his loyal soldiers. In addition, using the right of the strong, he wanted to intervene in the feud between his wife and husband. He ordered both Ptolemy and Cleopatra to disband their troops and appear in Alexandria. But the cunning Potin did not convey the invitation to the queen, and only the extraordinary intuition and self-confidence of Cleopatra gave her greetings to the decision to go to the winner. Disguised as a commoner, she, despite Potin's intrigues, entered the city and …
What happened, perhaps, so clever Potin was afraid: Caesar could not resist the love spell of Cleopatra. In the morning, Caesar announced to Ptolemy that he must immediately make peace with his sister and share power with her. Suddenly the feeble-minded boy showed character. With shouts of “Treason! To arms! Treason! he ran through the palace. Only a rare composure saved the almost unarmed Caesar from the hands of the courtiers. The Roman was able to convince the crowd that Egypt had better not quarrel with a strong neighbor.
Cleopatra gained power again, freeing herself from her enemy Potin. The latter fell, becoming a member of another unsuccessful conspiracy against Caesar. The unfortunate Ptolemy XIII also died. Another marriage with the next brother, Ptolemy XIV, did not change anything in the life of the Egyptian and was necessary for solving political goals. Egypt lay at her feet. A few months after Caesar's departure, the queen gave birth to a son and named him Ptolemy-Caesarion.
Cleopatra's claims expanded enormously: now, having such an influential lover and a strong position with him, which was strengthened by the birth of a legitimate heir, she could demand more. In Rome, where Cleopatra arrived, she had a real triumph. Among the captives who followed the chariot, Cleopatra saw her sister Arsinoe - the disgruntled Egyptians were trying to remove Cleopatra from power by her name. Arsinoe threw an imploring glance at her older sister, but she knew well the basic principle of the earthly ruler: "Woe to the vanquished!" - and Cleopatra never deviated from her principles.
The queen of Egypt knew perfectly well another rule - there is nothing more shaky than power, however, she was confused when on March 15, 44 BC. Caesar was killed in the Senate. Again she had to flee, again to calculate future moves in the political party.
The war in Rome lasted two years. During all this time, Cleopatra tossed between two warring parties. Both supporters and opponents of Caesar demanded military assistance from her. The Egyptian woman successfully maneuvered between Scylla and Charybdis, although every day it became more and more difficult for her.
At that time, another legitimate juvenile husband of the queen died. Rumors spread that she had poisoned him, but that was not entirely true. Tormented by humiliation, Ptolemy XIV took the poison himself. Now all the ambitious hopes of Cleopatra rushed to little Caesarion, now she was playing the game not only for herself.
The war ended with the victory of the Caesarians, and Mark Antony became the ruler of the Asian provinces of Rome. At least with the coming of peace, Cleopatra regained her confidence and decided what to do next. The bird again flew into the net itself - Antony, like Caesar, wanted to get money from the Queen of Egypt Cleopatra. As a result … the Egyptian woman received everything from the man she conquered - undivided power in Egypt, the recognition of Caesarion as the heir to the Roman Empire, a luxurious life full of pleasures. The love pleasures of Cleopatra and Mark Antony have been told countless times. Let's just say that in history these two names are forever linked to each other.
The lovers were ruined by excessive self-confidence and loss of vigilance. Accustomed to living for their own pleasure, knowing nothing of refusal, they reacted rather sluggishly to the threat emanating from Rome. Octavian, the adopted son of Caesar, prepared thoroughly for war. He had a lot to lose - Cleopatra would never put up with his leadership in the empire.
The army of Antony and Cleopatra had a huge numerical superiority. Probably, oddly enough, this also played a negative role. They hoped for it too much and lost the battle before the start, lost psychologically. At 50, Anthony looked like an old man, the orgies did their job, his hands did not hold the sword too tightly. And the queen, accustomed to the fact that everything came to her with ease, decided that the leadership talent is somewhat akin to victories in love, she took command of a part of the navy. Alas!..
In the decisive naval battle of Actium on September 2, 31 BC. it was Cleopatra who let Antony down. Her nerves could not stand it, and in the midst of the battle, she ran away with her ships. Antony rushed after her, mad with love, and Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, the best commander of Octavian, utterly defeated the fleet left without command.
The ending of this story is truly tragic. Cleopatra is still trying to be on horseback. At first, she gathered something like a "people's militia", she even signed the young Caesarion into it. At the same time, she wants to prepare the way to escape. In the end, she secretly hopes for her last weapon - the seduction of the enemy. But neither the first, nor the second, nor the third plan of salvation succeeded. Antony is completely demoralized, from the North African city of Cyrene to Alexandria an army is going to help Octavian, the Arabs burned all her ships, which she ordered to be transferred to the Red Sea in case of flight. Well, Octavian, this gloomy, insensitive soldier, did not want to see the aging Egyptian queen, whose name had become odious in Rome for so many years.
Desperate, Cleopatra tried to buy her life at the cost of Antony's betrayal. But Octavian no longer needs this. He has already captured the most valuable thing - the children of Cleopatra. Now the Egyptian libertine, along with all the untold treasures, was completely in his hands. During negotiations with the Egyptian envoys, Octavian mentioned his plans - to put Cleopatra in chains of gold and lead through the streets of Rome - "Woe to the vanquished!"
There was no exit. She did not know pity for the losers, she had no pity for herself - the one who lost everything must leave with dignity.
The queen of Egypt, Cleopatra, ordered the best clothes to be brought to her, then took a basket where at the bottom, among the fruits of sweet figs, a snake was sleeping. With a prick of a needle, the Egyptian woke the asp. A painless bite immediately followed. Two faithful servants chose death at the feet of the dying mistress.
Cleopatra was buried with honors, next to Antony. The conqueror gave the order to remove the statues of Anthony from Alexandria, without touching the marble statues of Cleopatra. Caesarion, the son of Cleopatra and Julius Caesar, was executed as a likely contender for power.
The earthly path of the beautiful queen was over, and the legend was just beginning its path to immortality …
I. Semashko
