Recently, Egyptian archaeologists have achieved another great success: following the reconstruction of the external appearance of Pharaoh Tutankhamun and Queen Nefertiti, they managed to restore the "face" of another famous ruler of Egypt, Cleopatra.
But unlike Tutankhamun and Nefertiti, her appearance turned out to be, to put it mildly, very far from the perfect face of the most beautiful woman of the 20th century - Elizabeth Taylor, who played Cleopatra in the movie.
According to legends, the unearthly beauty of Cleopatra periodically broke the hearts of the rulers of the Roman Empire. What sacrifices this woman made to preserve her youth and charm to a ripe old age: for example, she drank pearls dissolved in vinegar, took special baths in Pamukkale, not far from present-day Antalya - Russian tourists will be shown the "Cleopatra bath" there today. But…
Scientists have known for a long time that the "beautiful" Cleopatra just did not shine with beauty - in Egypt any guide will tell about this! Either the ideas of beauty among the Roman Caesars who fell in love with her were different from ours, or beauty was not the main quality for the queen, but even lifetime sculptural images show us the then "sex symbol" as a small, no higher than 150 centimeters, bow-legged and very a fat lady with a long, curved nose. Anthropologists have added one more rose to this “bouquet” - Cleopatra, it turns out, also badly needed the services of a dentist …
Archaeologists have repeatedly found "ugly" figurines in the Egyptian deserts, but many considered them to be images of other queens: the Egyptians simply did not understand the fact that the Roman rulers Octavian Augustus and Anthony could fall in love with such a "miracle" and even arrange a serious war! Finally, a group of historians led by the leader of the Supreme Soviet of Egypt in antiquity, Zahi Havas, discovered a large hoard of coins 250 kilometers south of Cairo. Each coin was minted a profile … of a terrible woman with clearly traced features and the inscription: "Cleopatra".
However, historians believe that she conquered the most powerful men of antiquity with her mind and charm.
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“She had the form of a scientist woman, which she was,” says Dr. Susan Walker of the British Museum. - Cleopatra was considered one of the most educated queens: in addition to the "obligatory" Egyptian and Greek languages, she was fluent in Hebrew, Aramaic and Latin.
Her charm was based on intelligence, culture, manner of speaking, dressing, moving and presenting herself, as well as her excellent possession of the secrets of seduction.
As for beauty as such, the ancient myths turned out to be nothing more than fiction! - sums up Susan Walker.