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Cleopatra. The most fatal woman in history. Six Secrets of Cleopatra

Cleopatra VII Philopator (ancient Greek Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ). She was born on November 2, 69 BC. - died on August 12, 30 BC The last queen of Hellenistic Egypt from the Macedonian Ptolemaic (Lagid) dynasty.

Cleopatra was born on November 2, 69 BC. e. (officially year 12 of the reign of Ptolemy XII), apparently in Alexandria. She is one of the three (known) daughters of King Ptolemy XII Auletes, possibly from a concubine, since, according to Strabo, this king had only one legitimate daughter, Berenice IV, queen in 58-55 BC. e.

Nothing is known about Cleopatra's childhood and youth. Undoubtedly, she was strongly impressed by the turmoil of 58-55, when her father was overthrown and expelled from Egypt, and his daughter (Cleopatra's sister) Berenice became queen.

Restored to the throne by the forces of the Roman governor of Syria, Gabinius, Ptolemy XII throws himself into massacres, repressions and murders (of which Berenice fell as a victim).

As a result, he turns into a puppet, kept in power only thanks to the Roman presence, burdening the finances of the country. The troubles of her father's reign taught a lesson to the future queen, who used all means to get rid of opponents and everyone who stood in her way - such as from her younger brother Ptolemy XIV in 44 BC. e. and later from sister Arsinoe IV.

Cleopatra VII ruled Egypt for 21 years in succession with her brothers(they are traditionally formal husbands) Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV, then in an actual marriage with the Roman commander Mark Antony. She was the last independent ruler of Egypt before the Roman conquest and is often, although not entirely correctly, considered the last pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. She gained wide popularity thanks to her love affair with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. By Caesar she had a son, by Antony two sons and a daughter.

Sources on Cleopatra - Plutarch, Suetonius, Appian, Dio Cassius, Josephus Flavius.

For the most part, ancient historiography is unfavorable to her. There is an opinion that the denigration of Cleopatra was carried out by the conqueror of Egypt, Octavian and his entourage, who sought by all means to denigrate the queen, presenting her not just as a dangerous enemy of Rome and the evil genius of Mark Antony. An example is the judgment about Cleopatra of a Roman historian of the 4th century. Aurelius Victor: "She was so depraved that she often prostituted, and possessed such beauty that many men paid with their death for the possession of her for one night."

Testament of Ptolemy XII, who died in March 51 BC. e., passed the throne to Cleopatra and her younger brother Ptolemy XIII, who was then about 9 years old, and with whom she was married formally, since according to Ptolemaic custom, a woman could not reign on her own.

She ascended the throne under the official title of Θέα Φιλοπάτωρ (Thea Philopator), that is, a goddess who loves her father (from an inscription on a stele from 51 BC). The first three years of his reign were not easy due to a 2-year crop failure caused by insufficient flooding of the Nile.

With the accession of the co-rulers, the latent struggle of the parties immediately began. Cleopatra at first ruled alone, removing her young brother, but then the latter took revenge, relying on the eunuch Potin (who was something like the head of government), the commander Achilles and his tutor Theodotus (orator from Chios).

In a document dated October 27, 50 B.C. e., the name of Ptolemy appears underlined in the first place.

In the summer of 48 BC. e. Cleopatra, who fled to Syria and recruited an army there, at the head of this army set up camp on the Egyptian border, not far from the fortress of Pelusium. Her brother was also stationed there with the army, blocking her path to the country.

The turning point was the flight of the Roman senator Pompey to Egypt and his assassination by Ptolemy's supporters.

Cleopatra and Caesar

At this point, Rome intervenes in the struggle.

Pompey, defeated at Pharsalus, in early June 48 BC. e. appears at the Egyptian coast and asks the Egyptian king for help.

Young Ptolemy XIII, or rather his advisers, hoping to achieve generous favors from the winners, give the order to kill the Roman. This was done as soon as Pompey set foot on Egyptian soil, in front of his entire entourage (July 28, 48). But the king miscalculated: Caesar, who, in pursuit of Pompey, landed in Egypt two days later, was angry at this massacre and buried Pompey's head at the walls of Alexandria, where he erected the sanctuary of Nemesis.

Once in Egypt, Caesar tried to replenish his treasury with the help of debts that Ptolemy XII made to the Roman banker Rabirius during his efforts to restore the throne, and which Caesar now chalked up.

He writes that Caesar "did not dare" to turn Egypt into a Roman province, "so that some enterprising governor would not be able to rely on a province with huge resources for new troubles."

However, Caesar announced his intention to act as an arbiter in the dispute of the kings. Ptolemy XIII and without him was the actual ruler, moreover, recognized by Pompey. Therefore, Caesar was interested in Cleopatra, who could become a puppet, who owed him power.

Shortly after his arrival, he summons Cleopatra to his place in Alexandria. It was not easy to get into the capital, guarded by Ptolemy's people, - Cleopatra was helped to do this by her admirer, the Sicilian Apollodorus, who secretly carried the queen in a fishing boat, and then carried him to Caesar's chambers, hiding in a large bed bag (and not in a carpet, as this is embellished in films, see Cleopatra Carpet). From this fact, we can conclude about the fragile physique of the queen. Throwing herself at the feet of the Roman dictator, Cleopatra began to complain bitterly about her oppressors, demanding the execution of Potinus.

The 52-year-old Caesar was captivated by the young queen, especially since the return to the will of Ptolemy XII was in his own political interests. When the next morning Caesar announced this to the 13-year-old king, he ran out of the palace in a rage and, tearing off his diadem, began to shout to the assembled people that he had been betrayed. The crowd was outraged, but Caesar at that moment managed to calm her down by reading the king's will.

However, the situation for Caesar became more complicated. The detachment that accompanied him consisted of only 7 thousand soldiers; supporters of the murdered Pompey gathered in Africa, and these circumstances aroused hope in the party of Ptolemy to get rid of Caesar.

Potinus and Achilles summoned troops to Alexandria. The execution of Potinus by Caesar could no longer stop the uprising. The troops, supported by the townspeople, outraged by the extortion and self-will of the Romans, received a leader when Ptolemy XIII and his sister Arsinoe fled to them. As a result, Caesar in September 48 BC. e. was besieged and cut off from reinforcements in the royal quarter of Alexandria. Caesar and Cleopatra were saved only by the approach of reinforcements led by Mithridates of Pergamon.

The rebels were defeated on January 15, 47 BC. e. near Mareotian Lake, while fleeing, King Ptolemy drowned in the Nile. Arsinoe was taken prisoner and was then held in Caesar's triumph.

This was followed by a joint journey of Caesar and Cleopatra on the Nile in 400 ships, accompanied by noisy festivities. Cleopatra, formally combined with her other young brother Ptolemy XIV, actually became the undivided ruler of Egypt under a Roman protectorate, the guarantee of which was the three legions left in Egypt. Shortly after Caesar's departure Cleopatra's son is born on June 23, 47, who was named Ptolemy Caesar, but which went down in history under the nickname given to him by the Alexandrians Caesarion. They claimed that he looked a lot like Caesar both face and posture.

Caesar fought with the king of Pontus Farnak, then with the last supporters of Pompey in Africa; immediately after the end of the wars, he calls Cleopatra and her brother to Rome (summer 46 BC), formally - to conclude an alliance between Rome and Egypt. Cleopatra was allocated Caesar's villa in his gardens on the banks of the Tiber, where she received noble Romans who were in a hurry to pay their respects to the favorite. This caused extreme irritation among the Republicans and became one of the reasons that hastened the death of Caesar.

There was even a rumor (transmitted by Suetonius and indicative of the general mood) that Caesar was going to take Cleopatra as his second wife and move the capital to Alexandria. Caesar himself ordered that a gilded statue of Cleopatra be placed at the altar of Venus the Ancestor (Venus as the mythical ancestor of the Julius family, to which he belonged). Nevertheless, Caesar's official will did not contain any mention of Caesarion, whom he thus did not dare to recognize as his son.

Sovereign reign of Cleopatra

Caesar was killed as a result of a conspiracy on March 15, 44 BC. e. A month later, in mid-April, Cleopatra left Rome and arrived in Alexandria in July.

Shortly thereafter, the 14-year-old Ptolemy XIV died. According to Josephus Flavius, he was poisoned by his sister: the birth of a son gave Cleopatra a formal co-ruler. In this situation, the maturing brother was completely redundant to her.

In 43 BC. e. famine struck Egypt and the Nile did not flood for two years in a row. The queen was primarily concerned with supplying her rebellious capital. The three Roman legions left behind by the late Caesar raged until their withdrawal.

The war between the murderers of Caesar, Cassius and Brutus on the one hand, and on the other hand, his heirs Antony and Octavian, demanded resourcefulness from the queen.

The East was in the hands of Caesar's assassins: Brutus controlled Greece and Asia Minor, and Cassius settled in Syria. Cleopatra's viceroy in Cyprus, Serapion, helped Cassius with money and a fleet with the undoubted consent of the queen, no matter what feelings she had for the murderers of her Roman patron. She later officially retracted Serapion's actions. On the other hand, Cleopatra equipped the fleet, allegedly, as she later assured, to help the Caesarians.

In 42 BC. e. The Republicans were crushed at Philippi. The situation for Cleopatra immediately changed.

Cleopatra and Mark Antony

Cleopatra was 28 years old when she was in 41 BC. e. met a 40-year-old Roman commander. It is known that Antony, as head of the cavalry, participated in the restoration of Ptolemy XII to the throne in 55, but it is unlikely that they met at that time, although Appian cites a rumor that Antony was carried away by the 14-year-old Cleopatra even at that time. They could have met during the queen's stay in Rome, but before meeting in 41, they apparently did not know each other well.

In the division of the Roman world, made after the defeat of the Republicans, Antony got the East. Antony decides to implement Caesar's project - a big campaign against the Parthians. Preparing for the campaign, he sends the officer Quintus Dellius to Alexandria to demand Cleopatra to come to Cilicia. He was going to accuse her of helping the assassins of Caesar, apparently hoping, under this pretext, to get as much money from her for the campaign.

The ship moved along the Cydn River to the sound of flutes and citharas, wrapped in incense smoke. Then she invites Antony to her place for a sumptuous feast. Antony was completely fascinated. The queen easily rejected the prepared accusations, stating that Serapion acted without her knowledge, and she herself equipped a fleet to help the Caesarians, but this fleet, unfortunately, was delayed by contrary winds. As a first courtesy to Cleopatra, Antony, at her request, ordered the immediate execution of her sister Arsinoe, who sought refuge in the temple of Aphrodite in Ephesus.

Thus began a ten-year romance, one of the most famous in history - even though we cannot judge how much political calculation in relations with Antony was necessary for Cleopatra to carry out her plans. For his part, it was only with the help of Egyptian money that Antony could support his huge army.

Anthony, leaving the army, followed Cleopatra to Alexandria, where he spent the winter of 41-40. BC e., indulging in drinking and entertainment. For her part, Cleopatra tried to bind him as tightly as possible.

Plutarch says: “She played dice with him, drank together, hunted together, was among the spectators when he practiced with weapons, and at night, when he, in the dress of a slave, wandered and loitered around the city, stopping at the doors and the windows of the houses and showering their usual jokes on the hosts - people of a simple rank, Cleopatra was here next to Antony, dressed to match him.

One day, Antony, thinking to impress Cleopatra with his fishing abilities, sent divers who constantly planted a new “catch” on his hook. Cleopatra, quickly figuring out this trick, for her part sent a diver, who planted dried fish on Antony.

While they were having fun in this way, the Parthian prince Pacorus went on the offensive, as a result of which Rome lost Syria and the south of Asia Minor with Cilicia. Antigonus Mattathius, a prince from the Hasmonean (Maccabean) dynasty hostile to the Romans, was approved by the Parthians on the throne of Jerusalem. Mark Antony launched a short counter-offensive from Tyre, but was then forced to return to Rome, where, after a clash between his wife Fulvia and Octavian's supporters, a peace agreement was reached in Brundisium. The clashes were caused by the fault of Fulvia, who, according to Plutarch, hoped in this way to tear Antony away from Cleopatra.

Fulvia died at this time, and Antony married Octavian's sister, Octavia. At the same time in 40 B.C. e. Cleopatra in Alexandria gave birth to twins from Antony: the boy Alexander Helios ("The Sun") and the girl Cleopatra Selene ("Moon").

For 3 years until the autumn of 37 BC. e. there is no information about the queen. When Anthony returns from Italy, the lovers meet in Antioch in the autumn of 37, and from that moment a new stage begins in their politics and their love. Antony's legate Ventidius expelled the Parthians.

Antony replaces the Parthian henchmen with his own vassals or direct Roman rule. Thus, the famous Herod, with his support, becomes king of Judea. Something similar happens in Galatia, Pontus and Cappadocia. Cleopatra directly benefits from all this, since her rights to Cyprus, which she actually owned, as well as to the cities of the Syrian and Cilician coasts of the Mediterranean Sea, the kingdom of Chalkidike in present-day Lebanon, are confirmed.

In this way, Cleopatra managed to partially restore the power of the first Ptolemies.

Cleopatra ordered to count from this moment a new era of her reign in documents. She herself took the official title of Θεα Νεωτερα Φιλοπατωρ Φιλοπατρις (Fea Neotera Philopator Philopatris), that is, "the younger goddess who loves her father and fatherland." The title was intended for the annexed Syrians, who already had a queen (senior goddess) of Ptolemaic blood, Cleopatra Fea, in the 2nd century BC. BC, the title also indicated, according to historians, the Macedonian roots of Cleopatra, which was a weighty argument for the Greek-Macedonian ruling class of Syria.

Children of Cleopatra and Mark Antony

In 37-36 BC. e. Antony launched a disastrous campaign against the Parthians, mainly because of the harsh winter in the mountains of Armenia and Media. Antony himself narrowly escaped death.

Cleopatra remained in Alexandria, where in September 36 BC. e. gave birth to the third child from Anthony - Ptolemy Philadelphus. In Rome, they began to consider the union of Antony and Cleopatra as a threat to the empire and personally to Octavian. The latter sent his sister Octavia, the lawful wife of Antony and the mother of his two daughters, Antonia the Elder (the future grandmother of Emperor Nero) and Antonia the Younger (the future mother of Germanicus and Emperor Claudius) in the early spring of 35, to join her husband.

However, as soon as she reached Athens, Antony ordered her to return immediately. This happened with the participation of Cleopatra, who threatened Antony with suicide if he accepted his wife.

Anthony wanted to take revenge for the defeat in the war with the Parthians: in 35 BC. e. he captured the king of Armenia Artavazd II, made an alliance with another Artavazd - the king of Media Atropatene and celebrated a triumph, but not in Rome, but in Alexandria with the participation of Cleopatra and their common children.

A little later, Caesarion received the title of king of kings. Alexander Helios was proclaimed king of Armenia and the lands beyond the Euphrates, Ptolemy Philadelphus received (nominally, since he was about 2 years old) - Syria and Asia Minor, and, finally, Cleopatra Selene II - Cyrenaica.

Not all of the granted territories were under the real control of Anthony. Josephus claims that Cleopatra also demanded Judea from Antony, but was refused.

The news of the distribution of land caused great indignation in Rome, Antony clearly broke with all Roman traditions and began to play the Hellenistic monarch.

Battle of Actium

By 32 B.C. e. it came to a civil war. At the same time, Octavian proclaimed it a war of "the Roman people against the Egyptian queen." The Egyptian, who enslaved the Roman commander with her charms, was portrayed as the focus of everything oriental, Hellenistic-royal, alien to Rome and "Roman virtues."

While Antony was gathering troops to the western coast of Greece, intending to cross to Italy, Octavian himself quickly crossed to Epirus and imposed a war on Antony on his territory.

The defectors informed Octavian of the contents of Antony's will, which was immediately removed from the Temple of Vesta and published. Antony officially recognized Cleopatra as his wife, her sons as his legitimate children, and bequeathed to bury himself not in Rome, but in Alexandria next to Cleopatra. Antony's will completely discredited him.

Cleopatra insisted on a sea breakthrough. At the council of war, this opinion prevailed.

The result was the naval Battle of Actium on September 2, 31 BC. e. When Cleopatra feared that victory was slipping away, she decided to flee with her entire fleet in an attempt to save something else. Anthony ran after her. His defeated fleet surrendered to Octavian, and after that, the demoralized land army surrendered without a fight.

Death of Cleopatra and Mark Antony

Cleopatra was preoccupied with saving Caesarion. She sent him to India, but he then returned back to Egypt. She herself at one time considered a plan to escape to India, but when trying to transport ships across the Isthmus of Suez, they were burned by the Arabs. These plans had to be abandoned.

In the spring of 30 B.C. e. Octavian marched on Egypt. Cleopatra tried cruel measures to protect herself from treason: when the commandant of Pelus Seleucus surrendered the fortress, she executed his wife and children. By the end of July, Octavian's troops appeared near Alexandria itself. The last parts that remained with Antony, one after another, went over to the side of the winner.

On August 1st it was all over. Cleopatra with trusted servants Irada and Charmion locked herself in the building of her own tomb. Antony was given the false news of her suicide. Antony threw himself on his sword. Soon, the women dragged him, dying, into the tomb, and he died in the arms of Cleopatra, who was crying over him.

Cleopatra herself, holding a dagger in her hand, demonstrated readiness for death, but entered into negotiations with Octavian's envoy, allowed him to enter the tomb building and disarm it. Apparently, Cleopatra still retained a faint hope of seducing Octavian, or at least agreeing with him, and keeping the kingdom. Octavian showed less pliability to female charms than Caesar and Antony, and the charms of a woman in her thirties and a mother of four children may have weakened somewhat.

The last days of Cleopatra are described in detail by Plutarch according to the memoirs of Olympus, her doctor. Octavian allowed Cleopatra to bury her lover; her own fate remained unclear. She said she was sick and made it clear that she would starve herself to death - but Octavian's threats to kill the children forced her to accept treatment.

A few days later, Caesar (Octavian) himself visited Cleopatra in order to console her somehow. She lay on the bed, depressed and dejected, and when Caesar appeared at the door, she jumped up in one chiton and threw herself at his feet. Her long untidy hair hung in tufts, her face went wild, her voice trembled, her eyes went out.

Octavian admonished Cleopatra with encouraging words and left.

Soon, the Roman officer Cornelius Dolabella, who was in love with Cleopatra, informed her that in three days she would be sent to Rome for the triumph of Octavian. Cleopatra ordered that a pre-written letter be handed over to him and locked herself with the maids. Octavian received a letter in which he found complaints and a request to bury her with Antony, and immediately sent people. The messengers found Cleopatra dead, in royal attire, on a golden bed. Since before that a peasant with a pot of figs went to Cleopatra, who did not arouse suspicion among the guards, it was decided that a snake was carried in the pot to Cleopatra.

It was claimed that two light bites were barely visible on Cleopatra's hand. The snake itself was not found in the room, as if it immediately crawled out of the palace.

According to another version, Cleopatra kept the poison in a hollow hairpin. This version is supported by the fact that both of Cleopatra's maids died with her. It is doubtful that one snake killed three people at once. According to Dio Cassius, Octavian tried to revive Cleopatra with the help of the Psylli, an exotic tribe that could suck out poison harmlessly to themselves.

The death of Cleopatra on August 12, 30, deprived Octavian of a brilliant captive at his triumph in Rome. In the triumphal procession, only her statue was carried.

Caesar's adopted son Octavian executed Caesar's own son by Cleopatra Ptolemy XV Caesarion in the same year. Children from Antony walked in chains at the parade of the victor, then were brought up by Octavian's sister Octavia, Antony's wife, "in memory of her husband."

Subsequently, Cleopatra's daughter Cleopatra Selene II was married to the Moorish king Yuba II, thanks to which the bust of Cleopatra from Shershell appeared.

The fate of Alexander Helios and Ptolemy Philadelphus remained unknown. It is assumed that they died early.

Egypt became one of the Roman provinces.

Appearance of Cleopatra

The true appearance of Cleopatra is not easy to discern because of the romantic flair surrounding her and numerous films; but there is no doubt that she had enough courage and firmness of character to disturb the Romans.

There are no reliable images that accurately, without idealization, would convey her physical appearance.

A damaged bust from Shershell in Algeria (the ancient city of Mauritanian Caesar), created after the death of Cleopatra on the occasion of the marriage of Cleopatra Selene II, her daughter from Mark Antony, with King Yuba II of Mauretania, conveys the appearance of Cleopatra in her last years. Although sometimes this bust is attributed to Cleopatra Selene II, daughter of Cleopatra VII.

Cleopatra VII is credited with Hellenistic busts depicting attractive young women with typically Greek faces, but the persons from whom the bust was made have not been positively identified.

It is believed that the busts depicting Cleopatra VII are kept in the Berlin Museum and the Vatican Museum, but the classical appearance makes one suspect the idealization of the image.

The profiles on the coins show a woman with wavy hair, large eyes, a protruding chin, and aquiline nose (hereditary Ptolemaic traits).

On the other hand, it is known that Cleopatra was distinguished by powerful charm, attractiveness, she perfectly used this for seduction and, in addition, she had a charming voice and a brilliant, sharp mind. As he writes, who saw the portraits of Cleopatra: “For 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 persuasiveness of speeches, with great charm, showing through in every word, in every movement, firmly cut 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 tune, to any dialect. "

While the Greeks usually neglected the education of their daughters, even in royal families, Cleopatra clearly had a good education, which, superimposed on her natural intelligence, gave excellent results.

Cleopatra became a real polyglot queen, knowing, in addition to her native Greek, Egyptian (the first of her dynasty made efforts to master it, maybe with the exception of Ptolemy VIII Fiscon), Aramaic, Ethiopian, Persian, Hebrew and the language of the Berbers (the people who lived in southern Libya).

Her linguistic abilities did not bypass Latin, although enlightened Romans, like Caesar, for example, were themselves fluent in Greek.

Name Cleopatra - symbols, hieroglyphic writing, transliteration

Cleopatra in cinema:

♦ Cleopatra (Cléopâtre, France, 1899) - a silent black-and-white film directed by Georges Méliès, in the role of Cleopatra Jeanne D'alsi;
♦ Cleopatra (Cléopâtre, France, 1910) - a silent black-and-white film based on William Shakespeare's play "Antony and Cleopatra", directed by Henry Andreani and Ferdinand Zecca, in the role of Cleopatra Madeleine Roche;
♦ Cleopatra (Cleopatra, USA, 1912) - a silent black-and-white film directed by Charles L. Gaskill, in the role of Cleopatra Helen Gardner;
♦ Cleopatra (Cleopatra, USA, 1917) - silent black-and-white film, directed by J. Gordon Edwards, in the role of Cleopatra Ted Bar, the film is considered lost;
♦ Cleopatra (film, 1934) - Oscar nominee as Claudette Colbert;
♦ Caesar and Cleopatra (film, 1945) - in the role;
♦ Anthony and Cleopatra (film, 1951) - in the role of Pauline Lets;
♦ Two Nights with Cleopatra (film) (1953) - in the role;
♦ Cleopatra (film, 1963) - Oscar nominee as Cleopatra Elizabeth Taylor;
♦ I, Cleopatra and Anthony (film) (1966) - in the role of Stavras Paravas;
♦ Legions of Cleopatra (1959) - as Linda Crystal;
♦ Asterix and Cleopatra (cartoon, 1968) - voiced Cleopatra Micheline Dax;
♦ Antony and Cleopatra (film, 1974) - as Janet Sazman;
♦ Caesar and Cleopatra (1979) - in the role;
♦ Crazy Nights of Cleopatra (film) (1996) - as Marcella Petrelli;
♦ Cleopatra (film, 1999) - as Leonor Varela;
♦ Asterix and Obelix: The Mission of Cleopatra (film, 2002) - she performed the role of Cleopatra;
♦ Julius Caesar (film, 2002) - the role of Cleopatra was performed by Samuela Sardo;
♦ Roman Empire. August (film) (2003) - as Anna Valle;
♦ Rome (2005-2007) - HBO/BBC television drama, as Cleopatra by Lindsay Marshal

Cleopatra in art:

Poems "Cleopatra" (Pushkin, Bryusov, Blok, Akhmatova);
Alexander Pushkin "Egyptian Nights";
William Shakespeare "Antony and Cleopatra";
Bernard Shaw "Caesar and Cleopatra";
Georg Ebers "Cleopatra";
Henry Rider Haggard "Cleopatra";
Margaret George "Cleopatra's Diaries" (1997);
Davtyan Larisa. "Cleopatra" (poetic cycle);
A. Vladimirov "Cleopatra's Rule" (musical drama);
Maria Hadley. "Queen of Queens";
N. Pavlishcheva. "Cleopatra";
Théophile Gautier "The Night Given by Cleopatra"

In one of his studies, the American cultural theorist Harold Bloom noted that the Egyptian queen Cleopatra VII was the world's first celebrity. It’s hard to disagree with him, because no other woman has managed to perform on the historical stage more vividly. Even the famous Nefertiti fades against her background. With all this, the image of Cleopatra is shrouded in a fog of fiction, and sometimes dirty slander. What do historians say about this woman more than 2000 years after her death?

Bust of Cleopatra VII

The girl who was destined to become the last queen of Egypt was born in Alexandria in 69 BC. She became another representative of the famous dynasty, founded by an associate of Alexander the Great, Ptolemy, who later took possession of Egypt. Cleopatra's ancestors ruled Egypt for about three centuries, during which time they became famous for incest and bloody strife within the family.

The queen's father was Ptolemy XII Avlet ("Flutist"), and her mother was Cleopatra V Tryphena. Both were Ptolemies, but so far it is difficult for scientists to accurately determine the degree of their relationship. There is also a hypothesis according to which Cleopatra was the daughter of one of the concubines of Ptolemy XII.

Be that as it may, the birth of Cleopatra did not become something remarkable. She became the third daughter in a family where a son had been waiting for a long time. She was given a traditional name for the Ptolemaic dynasty (the meaning of the name is “father’s glory”), not assuming that she would somehow stand out among the string of her namesakes.

However, the future ruler of Egypt began to stand out from others since childhood. The first thing that distinguished her from other descendants of Ptolemy XII was her thirst for knowledge. Scientists suggest that Cleopatra managed to master such languages as Greek, Arabic, Persian, Hebrew, Abyssinian, Parthian and, of course, Latin during her life.

It is worth noting that Alexandria, where the princess grew up, was the intellectual capital of the then world. Despite her Greek origin, the princess was in awe of the history and culture of Egypt. Before her, none of the Ptolemies bothered to learn the Egyptian language.

Cleopatra's worldview was influenced not only by books, but by cruel feuds in her own family: the overthrow of Ptolemy XII by her daughter Berenice and the subsequent murder of Berenice by her father. Later, she will not disdain any means on the way to power.

images on coins

The beginning of the reign

Cleopatra received the kingdom according to the will of her father; it was not for nothing that she was considered his favorite. According to the will of Ptolemy XII, Rome became the guarantor of the Egyptian state. The document also indicated that an 18-year-old girl should become the wife of her own brother, 10-year-old Ptolemy XIII, and rule the country with him. The royal couple ascends the throne in 51 BC.

But the actual rulers of Egypt are not Cleopatra and Ptolemy, but the so-called "Alexandrian trio", which included the royal dignitaries Theodotus, Achilles and Potinus. They manage to turn Cleopatra's younger brother against her. The queen is accused of wanting to rule alone, which was not far from the truth. As a result, she decides to flee to Syria for a while. Here she gathers an army that sets up camp near the Egyptian border. He is ready to resist the army of Ptolemy XIII.

Bust of Caesar from the National Archaeological Museum in Naples.

Julius Caesar and Cleopatra

The acquaintance of Cleopatra and Caesar was preceded by the treacherous murder of the Roman commander Gnaeus Pompey, set up by Egyptian dignitaries. Thus, they hoped to earn the favor of Caesar, but the great commander did not appreciate the "service". When Pompey's head was presented to him, he turned away and wept.

At this time, Cleopatra received detailed information about everything that happened in Alexandria. Arriving in Egypt for debts, Caesar declared that he was ready to become an arbitrator in a dispute between the royal spouses. Soon he calls Cleopatra to him. The queen of Egypt appears before him suddenly and, importantly, effectively. According to one version, she arrived to Caesar wrapped in a carpet, according to another, she was secretly carried in a bed bag. Romance between the 53-year-old Roman consul and the 21-year-old queen breaks out on the same night.

How did she enchant Caesar? This is perhaps the main question of her biography. The usual female charms were clearly not enough here. Most likely, he appreciated her mind, eccentricity, courage and, as ancient authors say, the enchanting voice of an eastern ruler. In addition, in her person he could expect to receive a reliable Egyptian puppet. The next morning after meeting Cleopatra, Caesar declares that sister and brother should rule together.

In response, Egyptian dignitaries proclaim the youngest daughter of Ptolemy XII Arsinoe queen. A war begins, in which Caesar wins, Arsinoe is captured, and Ptolemy XIII dies. After that, the great Roman organizes the wedding of Cleopatra with her second brother, 16-year-old Ptolemy-Neoteros. As a result, with the help of Rome, Cleopatra becomes the de facto sole ruler of Egypt. In 47 BC the son of Caesar and Cleopatra is born - Ptolemy-Caesarion. Caesar leaves Egypt, but soon enough calls Cleopatra to his place.

In Rome, the Egyptian queen was given Caesar's villa. Here she spends about two years. There was even a rumor that Caesar wanted to make the Egyptian his second wife. The admiration of the great commander for this woman worried the Roman nobility a lot and became another argument in favor of his liquidation. The assassination of Caesar forced Cleopatra to flee Rome.

Bust believed to represent Mark Antony

Cleopatra and Mark Antony

Soon after the death of Caesar, the co-ruler of Queen Cleopatra, Ptolemy XIV, dies. There was a rumor that he would have been poisoned on the orders of his sister, who thus got rid of the future rival. In Rome, meanwhile, one of the prominent positions was occupied by Mark Antony, an associate of Caesar. Without thinking twice, he decided to ask Cleopatra for money for a new military campaign.

The fateful meeting of Antony and Cleopatra takes place in 41 BC. in the city of Tarsus aboard the queen's magnificently decorated ship. The Egyptian ruler appears before the amorous and vain Anthony in the form of the goddess Aphrodite. She invites a Roman for a sumptuous feast. As a result, Antony selflessly falls in love with the queen. In the same year, with his hands, she gets rid of her sister Arsinoe, who is in Rome.

In an effort to be with Cleopatra, Antony practically moves from Rome to the capital of Egypt. True, here he mostly indulges in drinking and entertainment. Soon the lovers give birth to children, the twins Alexander and Cleopatra. In 36 BC Anthony from Cleopatra's lover turns into her husband. The marriage takes place despite the fact that Antony already had a legal wife. In Rome, this alliance is beginning to be seen as a threat to the empire, especially after Mark Antony bestows Roman territories on his children from Cleopatra.

Antony's behavior leads Octavian to proclaim "war against the Egyptian queen". This confrontation culminates in the Battle of Actium, which took place in 31 BC. Its result is the complete defeat of the fleet of Antony and Cleopatra. Modern historians believe that victory in this battle led Rome to world domination.

Death

In 30 BC. Octavian's troops entered Alexandria. At this time, Cleopatra, along with trusted servants, locked herself in her own tomb. By mistake or intentionally, Antony received false news about the suicide of his beloved, after which he threw himself on the sword. He died in the arms of Cleopatra.

After the death of her husband, Cleopatra enters into negotiations with the envoy of Octavian. Perhaps she still retained a faint hope of holding on to the kingdom. Plutarch notes that a Roman officer in love with the queen warned her that Octavian wanted to spend her in chains during his triumph in Rome.

To avoid public humiliation, the Egyptian queen decides to commit suicide. Before that, she gives Octavian a letter asking him to bury her along with Antony. Soon the ruler is found dead. Cleopatra died on August 12, 30 BC. in royal attire, reclining on a golden bed.

One of the possible causes of the death of the queen is called a snake bite, according to another version - it was a pre-prepared poison. The location of Cleopatra's tomb and her mummy have not yet been discovered. After the death of Cleopatra VII, Egypt became a Roman province.

Appearancelast queen of egypt. This woman is usually associated with the image of a fatal beauty. But even by the standards of her time, she looked quite ordinary. Plutarch wrote that it is difficult to call her "incomparable." According to him, she was more struck by the charm and persuasiveness of speech.

The portraits on the coins depict a woman with large eyes, a protruding chin and a long hooked nose. The height of the queen was no more than 152 cm, while she was plump and stocky.

Cleopatra's underwater palace. The alleged palace is located off the coast of Alexandria. The ruins of this ancient building were flooded as a result of an earthquake that occurred one and a half thousand years ago. Now it is located at a depth of 50 m. The possibility of creating an underwater museum on its territory is being discussed.

The fate of the children. Cleopatra had four children. The son of Caesarion from Julius Caesar and three children from Mark Antony - the twins Cleopatra and Alexander, as well as the son of Ptolemy. The shortest was the life story of the eldest son of the queen. He was killed on the orders of Octavian, and the twins and Ptolemy were given to the upbringing of Octavia, Octavian's sister, the ex-wife of Mark Antony. The only daughter of Cleopatra was subsequently married to Yuba II, the ruler of Mauritania.

Cream. Mix 40 ml of aloe juice with 40 ml of distilled water, 20 ml of rose water or rose petal infusion and 1 teaspoon of honey. Put the mixture in a water bath and gradually add 100 g of melted pork fat. Transfer the finished cream into jars, seal tightly and store in the refrigerator. Apply a thin layer once a day.

milk bath Cleopatra's most important beauty recipe is, of course, the famous milk bath. To make a Cleopatra milk bath, dissolve a small cup of honey in 1 liter of hot (but not boiled) milk and pour the mixture into the bath. The temperature of the bath should be the same as body temperature, that is, 36-37°C, take a bath for 10-15 minutes. Modern followers of Cleopatra's beauty sometimes suggest replacing fresh milk with powdered milk, at the rate of 1-2 kg per bath.

Speaking about the beauty of Cleopatra, we note that the effect of Cleopatra's bath was enhanced by the scrub. 300 g of ground sea salt was mixed with half a cup of heavy cream and rubbed on the body of the queen. They rubbed it before the bath or after - opinions differ, but, as practice shows, it’s already good, but it’s better to use a scrub before the bath: it will cleanse the skin, and milk with honey will bring a greater effect to the beauty of the skin.

aromatherapy Why do you think Cleopatra chose milk and honey as the basis of her beauty recipes? The smell is another component of her feminine attractiveness. The smell of honey in deep esoteric beliefs is personified with the smell of nature, it is “sweet” from nature, and a child, youth, youth smells of milk. Therefore, milk and honey, if you look at the philosophy of faith, mean a combination of natural sweetness and youth, literally "a young tasty woman." It is no coincidence that both Caesar and Mark Antony could not resist the spell of such a deeply subconscious natural beauty of Cleopatra.

In addition to these smells, Cleopatra loved incense and myrrh: mysterious and attractive, they simultaneously calmed her strong, but often unrestrained and quick to punish men.

Internal flush According to legend, the queen performed an “internal washing” twice a month. To do this, she mixed in equal proportions lemon juice, water and olive oil. This mixture should be drunk on an empty stomach, in small sips. Then you need to do 15-20 exercises with the abdominal press - the stomach is drawn in to the spine, lingers for a few seconds in this position, and only then the muscles relax. This is nothing more than a cleansing of the liver and intestines. A very useful and common procedure to this day.

Water bioenergy method Our body is almost 80 percent water. And the purity of our biofield, the state of the chakras, the color of the aura and the general condition of the body will depend on its fine structure. Cleopatra was well aware of the energy potential of "special" water.

Making silver water Pour melted water into an earthen vessel. (You can take ice cubes from the refrigerator and let them melt). Melt water is neutral, all information is erased. Dip a silver object into the water. For example, a ring, a spoon or a brooch. And put it at the window at night. It is advisable to do this on a full moon so that the light of the moon falls on a vessel of water. And an even greater effect is achieved if there is a night thunderstorm. Such water will have a wonderful energy that can erase negativity and heal wounds.

Making golden water Pour melt water into an earthen vessel, lower a golden ring, chain or other object into it. It is desirable that the sample of gold was as high as possible. The vessel should be placed by the window on a sunny day. The rays of the daylight should illuminate the water. It will be charged with life-giving energy that can work miracles with the body.

Store water in closed bottles in the refrigerator. Should be used like this. Drink seven sips of silver water first, and after a few minutes, seven sips of golden water. It is also useful to wipe the face and body first with silver and then with golden water. Silver water will remove negative energy, “smooth out” the centers of tension in the body, relieve stress, destroy bad bacteria, and “plug” energy holes. And golden water, in turn, will fill the whole body with healing power, rejuvenate it, harmonize it, give vigor and charm.

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%D0%97%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%B5%D1%89%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B5%20 Ptolemy XII, who died in March 51 BC e. , passed the throne to Cleopatra and her younger brother Ptolemy XIII, who was then about 9 years old, and with whom she was married formally, since according to Ptolemaic custom, a woman could not reign on her own. She ascended the throne under the official title of Θέα Φιλοπάτωρ (Thea Philopator), that is, the goddess who loves her father (from an inscription on a stele from 51 BC). The first three years of the reign were not easy due to a 2-year crop failure caused by insufficient flooding of the Nile.

The war between the killers of Caesar, Cassius and Brutus on the one hand, and on the other hand, his heirs Antony and Octavian, demanded resourcefulness from the queen. The East was in the hands of Caesar's assassins: Brutus controlled Greece and Asia Minor, and Cassius settled in Syria. Cleopatra's viceroy in Cyprus, Serapion, helped Cassius with money and a fleet with the undoubted consent of the queen, no matter what feelings she had for the murderers of her Roman patron. She later officially retracted Serapion's actions. On the other hand, Cleopatra equipped the fleet, allegedly, as she later assured, to help the Caesarians. In 42 BC e. The Republicans were crushed at Philippi. The situation for Cleopatra immediately changed.

Cleopatra and Anthony

Meeting with Mark Antony

Cleopatra on a luxurious ship goes to Antony. Frame from the film "Cleopatra", 1963

Cleopatra was 28 years old when she was in 41 BC. e. met a 40-year-old Roman commander. It is known that Anthony, as the head of the cavalry, participated in the restoration of Ptolemy XII to the throne in 55 BC. e. , but it is unlikely that they met at that time, although Appian cites a rumor that Antony was carried away by the 14-year-old Cleopatra even at that time. They could meet during the stay of the queen in Rome, but before their meeting in 41 BC. e. they apparently did not know each other well.

In the division of the Roman world, made after the defeat of the Republicans, Antony got the East. Antony decides to implement Caesar's project - a big campaign against the Parthians. In preparation for the campaign, he sends the officer Quintus Dellius to Alexandria to demand Cleopatra to come to Cilicia. He was going to accuse her of helping the assassins of Caesar, apparently hoping, under this pretext, to get as much money from her for the campaign.

Cleopatra, having found out through Dellius about the character of Antony and, above all, about his amorousness, vanity and love for outward brilliance, arrives on a ship with a gilded stern, purple sails and silver-plated oars; she herself sat in the outfit of Aphrodite, on both sides of her stood boys in the form of erotes with fans, and the maidservant in the robes of nymphs controlled the ship. The ship moved along the Cydn River to the sound of flutes and citharas, wrapped in incense smoke. Then she invites Antony to her place for a sumptuous feast. Antony was completely fascinated. The queen easily rejected the prepared accusations, stating that Serapion acted without her knowledge, and she herself equipped a fleet to help the Caesarians, but this fleet, unfortunately, was delayed by contrary winds. As a first courtesy to Cleopatra, Antony, at her request, ordered the immediate execution of her sister Arsinoe, who sought refuge in the temple of Aphrodite in Ephesus.

Restoration of the Lagid Empire

Cleopatra ordered to count from this moment a new era of her reign in documents. She herself took the official title Θεα Νεωτερα Φιλοπατωρ Φιλοπατρις ( Fea Neothera Philopator Philopatris), that is, "a younger goddess who loves her father and fatherland." The title was intended for the annexed Syrians, who already had a queen (senior goddess) of Ptolemaic blood, Cleopatra Fea, in the 2nd century BC. BC e. , the title also indicated, according to historians, the Macedonian roots of Cleopatra, which was a weighty argument for the Greek-Macedonian ruling class of Syria.

Children of Antony and Cleopatra

In 37-36 years. BC e. Antony launches a disastrous campaign against the Parthians, mainly due to the harsh winter in the mountains of Armenia and Media (northwest of present-day Iran). Antony himself narrowly escaped death.

Not all of the granted territories were under the real control of Anthony. Josephus claims that Cleopatra also demanded Judea from Antony, but was refused; however, this message has been questioned.

The news of the distribution of land caused great indignation in Rome, Antony clearly broke with all Roman traditions and began to play the Hellenistic monarch.

crash

Battle of Actium

Antony still enjoyed considerable popularity in the senate and the army, but with his antics in the Eastern Hellenistic spirit, challenging Roman norms and traditional ideas, he himself gave Octavian a weapon against him. By 32 BC e. it came to a civil war. At the same time, Octavian proclaimed it a war of "the Roman people against the Egyptian queen." The Egyptian, who enslaved the Roman commander with her charms, was portrayed as the focus of everything oriental, Hellenistic-royal, alien to Rome and "Roman virtues."

On the part of Antony and Cleopatra, a fleet of 500 ships was prepared for the war, of which 200 were Egyptian. Antony waged the war sluggishly, indulging in banquets and festivities with Cleopatra in all the associated Greek cities and giving Octavian time to organize the army and navy. While Antony was gathering troops to the western coast of Greece, intending to cross to Italy, Octavian himself quickly crossed to Epirus and imposed a war on Antony on his territory.

Cleopatra's stay in Antony's camp, her constant intrigues against everyone in whom she saw her ill-wishers, did Antony a disservice, prompting many of his supporters to defect to the enemy. Characteristic is the story of an ardent supporter of Antony Quintus Dellius, who nevertheless was forced to defect to Octavian, because he was warned that Cleopatra was going to poison him for a joke that she considered offensive to herself. The defectors informed Octavian of the contents of Antony's will, which was immediately removed from the Temple of Vesta and published. Antony officially recognized Cleopatra as his wife, her sons as his legitimate children, and bequeathed to bury himself not in Rome, but in Alexandria next to Cleopatra. Antony's will completely discredited him.

Octavian, who was not a major military leader, found in the person of Mark Vipsanius Agrippa a competent commander who successfully waged war. Agrippa managed to drive the fleet of Antony and Cleopatra into the Gulf of Ambracia and blocked it. Their troops began to feel the lack of food. Cleopatra insisted on a sea breakthrough. At the council of war, this opinion prevailed. The result was the naval Battle of Actium on September 2, 31 BC. e. When Cleopatra feared that victory was slipping away, she decided to flee with her entire fleet in an attempt to save something else. Anthony ran after her. His defeated fleet surrendered to Octavian, and after that, the demoralized land army surrendered without a fight.

Death of Antony and Cleopatra

Antony returned to Egypt and did nothing to continue the fight against Octavian. However, he did not have any real resources for this. He wasted his strength in drinking parties and luxurious festivities, and announced, together with Cleopatra, the creation of the "Union of Suicide Boats", whose members swore to die together. Their close associates had to join this union. Cleopatra tested poisons on prisoners, trying to find out which poison brings a faster and painless death - the Armenian king Artavazd II became a victim of these experiments. Cleopatra was preoccupied with saving Caesarion. She sent him to India, but he then returned back to Egypt. She herself at one time rushed about with plans to escape to India, but when they tried to drag ships across the Isthmus of Suez, they were burned by the Arabs. These plans had to be abandoned.

Death of Cleopatra. Painting by Jean André Rixens (1874)

Octavian admonished Cleopatra with encouraging words and left.

According to another version, Cleopatra kept the poison in a hollow hairpin. This version is supported by the fact that both of Cleopatra's maids died with her. It is doubtful that one snake killed three people at once. According to the historian Dio Cassius, Octavian tried to revive Cleopatra with the help of the Psylli, an exotic tribe that could suck out poison harmlessly to themselves.

Cleopatra in art

Poems "" (Pushkin, Bryusov, Blok, Akhmatova)
Georg Ebers "Cleopatra"
Henry Rider Haggard "Cleopatra"
Davtyan Larisa. "Cleopatra" (poetic cycle). M., River of times, 2010
A. Vladimirov "Rule of Cleopatra" (musical drama)

Cleopatra in cinema

Cleopatra is dedicated to many films. The most famous of them:

Cleopatra (film, 1899) - silent black-and-white film directed by Georges Méliès, starring Jeanne D'alcy
Cleopatra (film, 1912) - silent black-and-white film, as Helen Gardner
Cleopatra (film, 1917) - silent black-and-white film, as Ted Bar
Cleopatra (film, 1934) - Oscar nominee, as Claudette Colbert
Caesar and Cleopatra (film, 1945) - as Vivien Leigh
Antony and Cleopatra (film, 1951) - as Pauline Lets
Two Nights with Cleopatra (film) (1953) - as Sophia Loren
Cleopatra (film, 1963) - Oscar nominee, as Cleopatra Elizabeth Taylor
I, Cleopatra and Antony (film) (1966) - as Stavros Paravas
Asterix and Cleopatra (cartoon, 1968) - voiced Cleopatra by Micheline Dax
Antony and Cleopatra (film, 1973) - as Janet Sazman
Crazy Nights of Cleopatra (film) (1996) - as Marcella Petrelli
Cleopatra (film, 1999) - as Leonor Varela
Asterix and Obelix: Mission Cleopatra (film, 2002) - the role of Cleopatra was played by Monica Bellucci
The Roman Empire. August (film) (2003) - as Anna Valle
Rome (2005-2007) - HBO/BBC TV drama, starring Lindsay Marshall as Cleopatra.

Cleopatra in astronomy

asteroid (216) Cleopatra. Discovered on April 10, 1880 by the Austrian astronomer Johann Palisa at the Vienna Observatory

Notes

Literature

// Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: In 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.
A. Petrov. A few pages in defense of Cleopatra// East-West-Russia. Sat. articles. - M.: "Progress-Tradition", 2002, p. 383-390.
And Kravchuk. Sunset Ptolemies- M .: "Science", Ch. ed. east Literature, 1973, 217 p.

Links and sources

When writing the article, material from the French Wikipedia was used. Also used:

Plutarch, "Caesar"; "Anthony"
Appian, "Civil Wars", Vol. II, V
Suetonius, "The Divine Julius", "Augustus"
"Notes on the Alexandrian War" by an unknown author
Bengtson G., Rulers of the Hellenistic era, M., 1982
Alexander Kravchuk, Sunset of the Ptolemies
Roman History, by Cassius Dio, Book 51

Lagid
Ptolemy I Soter Ptolemy II Philadelphus Ptolemy Ceraunus Meleager Ptolemy III Euergetes Ptolemy IV Philopator Ptolemy V Epiphanes Ptolemy VI Philometor Ptolemy VII Neos Philopator Ptolemy VIII Fiscon Ptolemy IX Lathyr Ptolemy X Alexander Berenice III Ptolemy XI Alexander Ptolemy XII Auletes Cleopatra V Berenice IV Ptolemy XIII Ptolemy XIV Cleopatra VII Philopator Ptolemy XV Caesarion
Hellenistic rulers

Prominent figures of ancient Egypt
Pharaohs of the Early Kingdom	Narmer Menes Khor Aha Djer Den Hasekhemui
Pharaohs of the Old Kingdom	Djoser Sneferu Khufu Khafra Menkaura Sahura Piopi II
Pharaohs of the Middle Kingdom	Mentuhotep II Amenemhat I Senusret I Senusret III Amenemhat III
Pharaohs of the 18th Dynasty of the New Kingdom	Ahmose I Amenhotep II Amenhotep III Akhenaten Horemheb
Pharaohs of the 19th and 20th Dynasties of the New Kingdom

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 deceit, who caused a number of civil wars, others, on the contrary, took her as a standard of virtue.

Egyptian Aphrodite

Cleopatra came from the Greek Ptolemaic dynasty, which was founded by an associate and commander of Alexander the Great - Ptolemy. After the conquest of Egypt, he was appointed satrap (ruler) of that country.

Today, the name Cleopatra has become synonymous with beauty, but scientists cannot say anything definite about her appearance. Writing about her unprecedented beauty begins only a couple of hundred years after her death. The most famous is the description of her by Plutarch, given in the Comparative Biographies. The Roman historian characterized Cleopatra as the owner of an irresistible charm, whose appearance, combined with the rare persuasiveness of speeches, firmly cut 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 tune - to any dialect ".

The historian Sextus Aurelius Victor, who was negative 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 possessing her for one night."

Since the mummy of Cleopatra has not been found, the busts are considered the most reliable source for her appearance. The most famous is a damaged bust from Shershell in Algiers, created after the death of the queen on the occasion of the wedding of her daughter. A typical Greek face with the same hooked nose and wavy hair in a bun.

Femme fatale

This is exactly what Cleopatra was like for all husbands and cohabitants, starting with her brother and first husband - King Ptolemy XIII, who at the time of accession to the kingdom was only 9 years old, while Cleopatra was already 17. 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 him in a very original way.

Plutarch says that “Cleopatra, taking with her only one of her friends, Apollodorus of Sicily, got into a small boat and, at nightfall, landed near the royal palace. In order to remain unnoticed, she climbed into a bed bag and stretched out in it to her full length. Apollodorus carried him across the court to Caesar. They say that even this cunning of Cleopatra seemed bold to Caesar and captivated him.

In the dynastic struggle between sister and brother, he stood up for his sister. A civil war ensued, during which the infant king Ptolemy XIII drowned in the Nile in an attempt to escape.

Under Caesar

Thus begins the reign of Cleopatra under the Roman protectorate and her affair with Caesar, 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. Such veneration of the Egyptian queen, which could lead to the proclamation of Caesar as king, did not please the Roman senators. On March 15, 44 BC, Julius Caesar was assassinated as a result of a conspiracy.

Cleopatra left Rome and returned to Alexandria. According to the historian Josephus Flavius, there she poisoned her brother-husband, fearing an overthrow in the absence of a patron.

Anthony and Cleopatra

The novel of Antony and Cleopatra is one of the most legendary and tragic novels of the ancient world. After the death of Caesar in Rome, a struggle for power broke out between two groups: the murderers of the dictator - Cassius, Brutus, and his associates - Octavian and Mark Antony. Octavian and Antony defeated the conspirators. Anthony needed the wealth of Egypt. Having found out through trustees about the amorous and simple-minded Antony, who was more likely a brave soldier than a cunning politician, she arrived to him on a luxurious ship with a gilded stern and silver-plated oars, where she herself sat in the outfit of Aphrodite, accompanied by maids in the attire of nymphs and boys in the outfit of cupids. . Soon Antony left the army and went with Cleopatra to Alexandria.

From him, Cleopatra gave birth to three children: twins - the boy Alexander Helios, the girl Cleopatra Selene and Ptolemy Philadelphus. Antony, who himself was married to the sister of his ally Octavian, left his lawful wife and began distributing land 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 such a decision not without the influence of the queen. This signed his and Cleopatra's death warrant.

"Suicide Alliance"

The noble couple lost the decisive battle with Octavian. Right in the midst of the naval battle of Actium, Cleopatra left the battlefield with her fleet. Anthony fled after her, leaving his soldiers behind. Returning to Alexandria, they awaited Octavian's invasion, spending their time in endless feasting and entertainment. By this time, they vowed to die together. They even organized a “suicide bomber union”, whose members pledged to prefer death to captivity.

True, when the legions of Octavian entered Alexandria, only Mark Antony fulfilled the oath, throwing himself on the sword. Cleopatra, however, allowed herself to be captured, apparently in the hope that she would be able to find an approach to a new winner. This is the end of Cleopatra's story. Not wanting to repeat the fate of her sister Arsinoe, who was once led through the streets of Rome in golden chains by her ally Julius Caesar, she decided to commit suicide. It is believed that even before Octavian's invasion, she was looking for a poison that brings an easy and painless death by conducting tests on prisoners. According to the official version, her choice fell on the poison of the Egyptian cobra.