Cleopatra VII

Egyptian queen (r. 51-30 b.c.e.)

• Born: 69 b.c.e.
• Birthplace: Alexandria, Egypt
• Died: August 3, 30 b.c.e.
• Place of death: Alexandria, Egypt

Cleopatra VII, as the last of the Ptolemaic Greek rulers of an independent Egypt, tried to come to terms with the ceaseless expansion of the Roman Empire throughout the Mediterranean region and at her death left behind a rich Imperial province that continued to flourish as a center of commerce, science, and learning under Roman rule.

Early Life

Cleopatra (klee-oh-PAT-truh) VII was the daughter of Ptolemy XII Auletes and (possibly) of his sister and wife, Cleopatra Tryphaena. Such brother-sister marriages were common among the members of the Egyptian ruling house. It is believed that Cleopatra had three sisters, two older and one younger, and two younger brothers. Her representation with Nubian features by Michelangelo and her depiction as an Egyptian in cult paintings conceal her Macedonian ancestry; her family traced its lineage back to the Macedonian house of the Lagid Ptolemies, which had succeeded to the Egyptian throne after the untimely death of Alexander the Great in the early fourth century b.c.e. The Ptolemaic rule of Egypt was centered in Alexandria, the beautiful and populous city Alexander had founded to the west of the delta of the Nile River when he invaded Egypt in 332 b.c.e.

Cleopatra was raised in a court beset by violence, murder, and corruption and dominated by the reality of Roman military might—all of which had played an important role in her father’s accession to the throne. In 80 b.c.e., on the death of Ptolemy IX Soter II, the only legitimate male Ptolemaic heir came to the throne as Ptolemy XI Alexander II. He was confirmed in power by the Romans but after murdering his wife, Berenice III, was himself murdered. Two illegitimate sons of Ptolemy IX Soter II were then claimants to the kingship.

The Romans put one brother in control of Cyprus. The other, Cleopatra’s father, Ptolemy XII Neus Dionysos or, as he was known to the Alexandrians, Ptolemy XII Auletes (the Flute Player), succeeded to the throne of Egypt. His relations with his subjects were difficult, in part because he recognized, unlike them, the growing power of Rome throughout the Mediterranean area and realized that the only way to secure his position was to maintain close contact with the rulers of the world. During a visit to Rome, when he was hoping by means of massive bribes to secure the aid of the Roman army, his daughter, Berenice, in alliance with Archilaus, son of Mithridates, seized the throne, only to be put to death by her father on his return.

When Ptolemy XII Auletes died in 51 b.c.e., after nearly thirty stormy years in office, he willed the kingdom of Egypt to his seventeen-year-old daughter and his ten-year-old son, who ruled jointly as Cleopatra VII and Ptolemy XIII. The young Ptolemy, however, soon fell under the influence of his advisers—Pothinus, a eunuch; Theodotus, a rhetorician; and Achillas the army commander—who must have found the boy king far more manipulable than his older sister, the intelligent, headstrong, energetic Cleopatra. As a result, Cleopatra was driven from Alexandria. When Julius Caesar arrived in Egypt, in pursuit of Pompey after the Battle of Pharsalus in 48 b.c.e., Cleopatra was in Pelusium, on the eastern frontier of Egypt, with her newly acquired army preparing to attack her brother and his associates.

Caesar, as Rome’s official representative, was in a position to arbitrate between the siblings, and his plan to reconcile Cleopatra and Ptolemy might have worked had not Ptolemy’s advisers decided that power should remain in their own grasp. In the resulting showdown, known as the Alexandrian War, Caesar was victorious—but not without a struggle. Pothinus, Achillas, and Ptolemy were all killed, and Cleopatra was restored by Caesar to the throne, this time with Ptolemy XIV, her younger brother, as consort. By late 48 b.c.e., Cleopatra was in control of Egypt.

Life’s Work

From this point onward, Cleopatra’s future is inexorably intertwined with that of Rome and its leaders. In their writings, Plutarch and Suetonius dwell on the love affair that developed between Julius Caesar, then in his fifties, and the twenty-one-year-old Cleopatra. In spite of the arguments to the contrary, the child born to Cleopatra shortly after Caesar left Egypt on his eastern campaign was probably Caesar’s son. At any rate, Cleopatra, by naming the child Caesarion, was claiming that her son was indeed the son of the Roman conqueror. Moreover, young Octavian (later called Augustus), Caesar’s heir, who had most to fear if Julius Caesar had a genuine son, had Caesarion put to death in 30 b.c.e., immediately after the death of Cleopatra.

Little is known about Cleopatra’s rule of Egypt, although there is evidence that she tried to win the favor of the farmers by reducing their taxes. From 46 b.c.e., she was living in Rome with Caesarion and Ptolemy XIV. The reason stated for her visit was that she had come to ask the senate for confirmation of her father’s treaty of friendship; yet she was lodged by Caesar, along with Caesarion and Ptolemy XIV, in his villa in Trastevere, where she attempted to cultivate good relations with as many influential Romans as possible. Caesar also put a golden statue of Cleopatra in the temple of Venus Genetrix at Rome, thus associating her with the goddess who was in legend the mother of Aeneas and thus of the Julian line. He may have planned to gain special permission from the Roman people to contract a legal marriage with her, as his Roman wife was childless. The plans were frustrated by Caesar’s assassination in 44 b.c.e., and Cleopatra probably left Rome shortly afterward.

Egypt’s wealth did not pass unnoticed by the Romans, so it is not surprising that during Marc Antony’s eastern campaign after the Battle of Philippi in 42 b.c.e. he saw the chance of subsidizing his wars by taxing Cleopatra’s subjects. Cleopatra was shrewd enough to realize that her personal charms would be far more effective in preserving her kingdom than would open confrontation. Plutarch’s account of the meeting between Antony and Cleopatra brilliantly describes both the fabulous wealth of the monarch and her grace. Just as Cleopatra had captivated Julius Caesar in earlier days, when she “was green in judgment,” she now in her maturity set out to win the heart of Antony.

After the formation of the so-called Second Triumvirate among Antony, Octavian, and Lepidus, which was sealed by Antony’s marriage to Octavian’s half sister Octavia, Cleopatra was left to rule Egypt. In 37 b.c.e., however, Antony’s march eastward led to renewed friendship and an understanding between the two, which made available to Antony the resources of Egypt. From this time onward, Cleopatra’s influence over Antony grew. She also assumed Egyptian dress that represented the goddess Isis and is reported to have adopted the following oath: “As surely as I shall one day dispense judgment in the Roman Capitol.” When Antony arranged for Caesarion and his own three children with Cleopatra to share in ruling both Egypt and Roman provinces in Asia Minor and formally divorced Octavia, Octavian declared war not only against his fellow Roman Antony but also against Cleopatra. He must have realized that Antony could not help but join Cleopatra.

At the Battle of Actium in 31 b.c.e., Cleopatra’s Egyptian forces, together with Antony’s Roman forces, faced Octavian’s fleet, commanded by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa. When Cleopatra retreated, she was quickly followed by Antony. Cleopatra’s suicide in 30 b.c.e. marked the end of Ptolemaic rule and the beginning of direct Roman rule in what was now an Imperial province.

Significance

The historical picture of Cleopatra VII is one-sided. Very little is known of her apart from her association with the two Roman generals, Julius Caesar and Marc Antony. As one might expect, the Roman writers do little to enhance her reputation. In the work of Augustan poets, she is never mentioned by name but merely as “the queen,” “the woman,” or “that one.” She is chiefly seen as a crazy drunkard, surrounded by wrinkled eunuchs. Horace also pays tribute to her courage, but he, Vergil, and Sextus Propertius, whose livelihood depended on Octavian’s bounty, quite clearly toe the party line in suggesting that she received no more than she deserved.

William Shakespeare’s depiction of her in Antony and Cleopatra (pr., pb. 1617) as high-spirited, shrewd, sensuous, and fickle is based on that found in Plutarch, a Greek biographer, who mentions her only in association with his two heroes, Caesar and Antony. Plutarch also depicts her as a highly intelligent woman who, unlike her Ptolemaic predecessors, actually went to the trouble of learning the language of her subjects. He reports, moreover, that she could converse easily with “Ethiopians, Troglodytes, Hebrews, Arabians, Syrians, Medes, or Parthians” in their own languages.

Although Cleopatra is often imagined as a ravishing beauty because of the ease with which she seduced experienced and mature soldiers such as Caesar and Antony, a few coins survive depicting her as large-nosed, sharp-chinned, and determined. She was also ruthless. After the Alexandrian War, Caesar thought it sufficient to expel Cleopatra’s sister, Arsinoe, for her part in the uprising; Cleopatra later had her put to death.

Plutarch in fact describes not so much Cleopatra’s beauty as her charm, humor, and ability to amuse and delight her company. She probably made a powerful impression on the Romans with her intelligence and political ambition. The Roman political system was in a period of transition. Republican government had proved inadequate. Egypt in Cleopatra’s time and afterward was essential as a source of wheat for the Roman populace, and its master, if properly armed, could dictate his or her terms to Italy and the Roman senate.

As the creation of Alexander the Great and the place where he was buried, Alexandria provided an obvious starting point for the revival of his empire and its extension even as far as India. The capital of the Roman Empire would eventually be shifted to the east anyway, by Diocletian and Constantine the Great. Legend related that the Romans’ ancestor Aeneas originated from Troy in Asia Minor. There may well be some truth in the stories that Caesar intended, if he had lived, to remove the capital to the old site of Troy, and Antony may have been captivated by his dead commander’s vision. Cleopatra gambled that, with the aid of such Roman generals, she could make her dynasty a partner in a new eastern empire that would reduce Rome to second place. Like Caesar and Antony, she failed because she was ahead of her time. Her failure has fascinated many throughout the centuries—including Shakespeare and George Bernard Shaw—who have felt the romance and energy of her ambitions.

Bibliography

Bevan, Edwyn. The House of Ptolemy: A History of Egypt Under the Ptolemaic Dynasty. 1927. Rev. ed. Chicago: Argonaut, 1968. In chapter 13, Bevan offers a brief account of the final days of Ptolemaic rule. Includes illustrations of coins depicting Cleopatra.

Essex, Karen. Kleopatra. 2 vols. New York: Warner Books, 2001-2002. This biography examines Cleopatra’s political ambition and her connection to Greek culture. Provides good background of the ancient world’s culture and political machinations.

Fraser, P. M. Ptolemaic Alexandria. 3 vols. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press, 1972. The most comprehensive and scholarly treatment of the entire period of Ptolemaic rule. Especially valuable for the massively detailed citation of primary sources.

Marlowe, John. The Golden Age of Alexandria. London: Victor Gollancz, 1971. A popular treatment of one of the most famous cities, from antiquity to its capture in the sixth century c.e. Includes a discussion of Cleopatra.

Plutarch. “Caesar.” In Fall of the Roman Republic, Six Lives: Marius, Sulla, Crassus, Pompey, Caesar, Cicero, translated by Rex Warner. Rev. ed. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Books, 1981. The meeting of Caesar and Cleopatra is recounted in chapters 48 and 49. Plutarch accepts Caesar’s paternity of Caesarion.

Plutarch. “Mark Antony.” In Makers of Rome, Nine Lives: Coriolanus, Fabius Maximus, Marcellus, Cato the Elder, Tiberius Gracchus, Gaius Gracchus, Sertorius, Brutus, Mark Antony, translated by Ian Scott-Kilvert. New York: Dorset Press, 1985. Offers a good depiction of the intelligence, vivaciousness, shrewdness, cunning, and ruthlessness of Cleopatra. This life of Antony was used to great effect by William Shakespeare in his famous play.

Pomeroy, Sarah B. Women in Hellenistic Egypt: From Alexander to Cleopatra. New York: Schocken Books, 1984. Chapter 1, which discusses the queens of Ptolemaic Egypt, places Cleopatra in a historical context. Pomeroy’s discussion of married women, slaves, and women of the capital city of Alexandria—and the overall role of women in the economy in Cleopatra’s time—brilliantly depicts the women subjects of this great queen.

Weigall, Arthur. The Life and Times of Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt. 1914. Reprint. New York: Greenwood Press, 1968. Although dated, this book gives a shrewd assessment of Cleopatra’s relationship with Julius Caesar and Marc Antony. Weigall argues that Caesar was quite clearly intending to move the center of Roman power to the east and that in Cleopatra he had found an ally uniquely qualified to help him realize his plans.