Fun Facts About Cleopatra
The name Cleopatra brings up memories from being a child and becoming fascinated with the world of Ancient Egypt. Humanizing the past is what really inspires me to continue learning about it. Better understanding people who once walked the earth can allllmost make me feel like I'm back there with them. Now onto Cleopatra...
Did you know...
*Even though we know her informally as "Cleopatra," she was more than just a single name such as Cher or Madonna. If she had a modern day birth certificate it would read "Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator." She was the second to last in a long line of Cleopatras in the Ptolemaic dynasty (305 BC - 30 BC). It was her daughter, Cleopatra Selene II, who was indeed the last.
*She was not Egyptian. She was Macedonian Greek. This may be the most surprising thing to know (or not know) about her. In the late 4th century BC, a Greek general named Ptolemy took control of Egypt, and his dynastic line (Ptolemaic), therefore, was also Greek, all the way down to Cleopatra herself.
*The daughter of a pharoah, Cleopatra grew up in affluence in the city of Alexandria, Egypt. And by living in one of the largest cities in the world at that time, she had nearly unlimited access to some of the best luxuries known to man.
*Ancient Egyptians believed in the popular fertility goddess Isis. It was not uncommon for pharaohs to believe that they were gods and goddesses living amongst mere mortals - another way to keep themselves above all others. Cleopatra, in order to solidify her royal position and gain worldwide (foreign) acceptance, identified herself as the earthly manifestation of Isis.
*Cleopatra supposedly first met Caesar by being smuggled into the Egyptian palace hiding inside a large rolled up rug. The truth of this account is under debate, but is said to be realistic according to Cleopatra's bold and assertive nature.
*Cleopatra was only 21 years old when she met Caesar. He was 52. An unlikely pair due to such a large age gap, they quickly become allies and lovers. And about one year later, Cleopatra gave birth to Caesar's child, a boy named Ptolemy XV Caesar (Caesarian, informally).
*Cleopatra met the second love of her life, Mark Antony, first when she was 12, again when she was 25, and lastly when she was 28, which finally brought about the period of their love affair that lasted until her death.
*Though we generally are only familiar with her first child Caesarian, Cleopatra had, in fact, four children. As mentioned earlier, she had a daughter named Cleopatra Selene, but also two other sons, named Alexander Helios and Ptolemy Philadelphus, all born from her relationship with Mark Antony.
*Though big names such as Khufu, Tutankhamun, and Nefertiti all came before her, Cleopatra ended the fascinating era of Egpytian pharaonic rule upon her death in 30 BC at the age of 39.
~ Knowledge is Power ~
My learning experiences come from:
Tyldesley, Joyce. Chronicles of the Queens of Egypt: From the Early
Dynastic Times to the Death of Cleopatra.
London, Thames & Hudson Ltd. 2006.
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Nardo, Don. Cleopatra: Egypt's Last Pharoah.
New York, Thomson Gale, 2005.
