Queen Cleopatra VII

Queen Cleopatra VII, known as Cleopatra, was the most famous of all the Queens of Egypt, and the last member of the Greek Ptolemaic Dynasty.
She was consort to Julius Caesar and to Mark Anthony, but when she lost Egypt to Octavian, she took her own life.

Name:
- Cleopatra VII Philopator:
- Reign: 51 BCE – 12 August 30 BCE
Born:
- 69 BCE in Alexandria, Egypt.
Died:
- Committed suicide on 12th August 30 BCE in Alexandria, Egypt.
Family:
- Ptolemaic Dynasty: Descendant of the Greek General Ptolemy, who took over Egypt after Alexander the Great‘s death.
Consorts and Children :
- Cleopatra became consort to and had children by, the two most powerful men in Rome, Julius Caesar and Mark Anthony.
Other Facts:
- Cleopatra was one of the few female Pharaohs of Egypt: (The others were: Hatshepsut c.1473-1458 BCE and Nefertiti c.1336 BCE)
- She was the only member of the Ptolemies to speak Egyptian. Previously the Rulers spoke only Greek.
- Cleopatra projected herself as a reincarnated Egyptian Goddess.
- She used powdered Lapis Lazuli to produce her blue eyeshadow.

In 48 BCE, after defeating Pompey, Julius Caesar pursued him to Alexandria, Egypt. Pompey was executed on arrival by Cleopatra’s brother Ptolemy as he left his vessel.
When Julius Caesar appeared two days later, he was angered by this lack of clemency.
Taking advantage of her brother’s mistake, and to ingratiate herself with Caesar, Plutarch states Cleopatra made an unusual entrance into the Palace where Caesar was staying:
- Her servant called Apollodorus carried Cleopatra past the Legionaries on guard duty wrapped up in a carpet. The Carpet was then unrolled in front of Julius Caesar and the 21 year old Cleopatra emerged from it.
Between 48-44 BCE Cleopatra became his Consort, and within a year they had one son, Caesarion (little Caesar) Ptolemy XV Philopater Philometor Caesar (23 June 47-23 Aug 30 BCE).
In 46 BCE Julius Caesar invited Cleopatra to visit him in Rome. The one year old Caesarion and Cleopatra lived as Julius Caesar‘s guests in Rome, from 46 BCE until the Assassination of Julius Caesar on 15th March 44 BCE.
After the Assassination they returned to Egypt.

Pliny the Elder‘s Anecdote:
- Pliny states that Cleopatra had a bet with Mark Anthony that she could throw a dinner party that would cost 10,000,000 Sestercii. The following evening she served an ordinary first course, and was ridiculed by Mark Anthony.
- For the second course, a glass of vinegar was placed before him, much to his amusement. Cleopatra then removed one of her fabulous Pearl Earings and placed it into the vinegar. Once it had dissolved she drank it, winning the Bet.
Plutarch‘s Anecdote:
- Plutarch, also writing in the first century CE, relates a story this time of Mark Anthony trying to impress Cleopatra with his ability to catch fish. As they were dining on their barge, he arranged for hidden swimmers to secretly attach fish to the lines.
- Unfortunately, the swimmers ran out of fresh river fish and attached dead sea fish instead. Cleopatra soon realised what was going on, and advised Mark Anthony to give up the game of fishing. His game, she told him, was the game of Cities, Provinces and Kingdoms.

In 31 BCE Cleopatra and Mark Anthony sailed to Greece to challenge Octavian's bid for Power. But, they were defeated at the Battle of Actium and managed to escape back to Egypt.

On 1st August 30 BCE, Mark Anthony's armies in Egypt mutinied and joined with those of Octavian.
Mark Anthony and Queen Cleopatra VII, then facing death, preferred to commit suicide.
Octavian was then declared Pharaoh of Egypt, and Egypt was retained as the personal Property of all future Roman Emperors.

Caesarion, Queen Cleopatra VII’s only son by Julius Caesar and also his heir, was briefly declared Pharaoh.
When Octavian entered Alexandria, Cleopatra tried to save Caesarion by sending him to Taprobane (Sri Lanka). Octavian prevented Caesarion’s escape and had him executed by strangulation with the remark:
- Two Caesars is one too many.
Cleopatra’s three children by Mark Anthony were spared and returned to Rome with Octavian.

Queen Cleopatra VII built the Caesareum as a Temple in honour of her late Consort Julius Caesar, the father of her son Caesarion. She then dedicated it to her husband Mark Anthony.
When Octavian defeated Cleopatra and Mark Anthony at the Battle of Actium, he erased all trace of Mark Anthony and of Cleopatra, and had the Temple dedicated to himself.
The Caesareum continued as part of a larger Temple complex until the fourth century CE.

So that the Temple could be observed from the harbour, Octavian removed two Obelisks from the Temple of Ra-Atum at Heliopolis, and placed them in front of the Caesareum.
The Location of the Obelisks today:
- One Obelisk was erected on Victoria Embankment, London, on the 12th September 1878, and is known as Cleopatra's Needle.
- The other Obelisk known as the New York Obelisk and also called Cleopatra's Needle, is in New York Central Park.

According to Strabo Cleopatra committed suicide either because:
- Either: She had discovered that Mark Anthony had already committed suicide, and wanted to follow him to the grave.
- Or: After Mark Anthony committed suicide, Cleopatra pursued Octavian as a lover, but was rebuffed and told she would be taken to Rome in chains and presented as a vanquished Queen during his Roman Triumph.
For whichever reason, Strabo stated that she died from the bite of an Asp, an Egyptian Cobra, or possibly six asps, to be effective.

IMDb Queen Cleopatra (1963)
- with Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and Rex Harrison.

Alexandria, Egypt