...Cleopatra Cleopatra. Many things come to mind when someone sees this name. Throughout history this word has become a symbol of beauty, power, and leadership. From being a woman pharaoh to helping shape the course of history, this woman has captivated the world. It is incredible to believe that she died well over two thousand years ago, yet she feels vey much alive today as she was then. However to today’s standards she wouldn’t have been the beautiful Cleopatra we all have come to know. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” Or in Cleopatra’s case, beauty is relative. Cleopatra was born in 69 B.C., so we have no idea what the people of that time would have considered beautiful. Today we depict Cleopatra to be this seductive, beautiful and alluring women. But archeologists have found statues and coins with her face stamped on them that would say otherwise. The all-intriguing pharaoh was no beauty queen. She had a big hooked nose, bad teeth, and she was fat. So how could a woman of such appearance become so powerful and unforgettable that still today she mesmerizes us? Cleopatra was born to Ptolemy XII and Cleopatra V Tryphaena in a time when the dynasty was falling and when Egypt was under the protection of Rome. She succeeded to the throne when she was only seventeen years old, along with her younger brother Ptolemy XIII who was ten years old. It didn’t take long after they came into power for her brother to turn on her under his advisors. Cleopatra was forced to leave...
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...Assignment 02 – Reflection on TMA01 Part 1 – Cleopatra OU Identifier: C8215589 Jamie Barber The characterisation of Antony and Cleopatra in this passage is clearly in accordance with the popular Roman opinion of them both at the time of the event and centuries after. Antony’s characterisation can somewhat be seen to be of a more demeaning manner than that of Cleopatra’s, the foreigner who was to blame for Antony’s sinful desertion of his kin and country. When Antony “witnessed this [the desertion of his fleet to Octavian]”, his weakness and cowardice are highlighted by Plutarch, and re-emphasised in his retreat to the city, and his subsequent disrobing of his armour, which ultimately emasculated him. Plutarch’s inference of the first person narratives which allegedly took place detail Antony as recognising himself that he in fact had “less courage than a woman”, and this same statement reduces Cleopatra to a mere woman, in contrast to the revered warhead and queen she had once been. Cleopatra’s betrayal and trickery run as a theme throughout most of the historical representations of her and of the events leading to Antony’s desertion, and are highlighted in this passage by her acts in fleeing to her tomb and betraying Antony once more. Another relevant theme affecting the couple’s characterisation is that of their relationship and the power dynamics within it. Antony is irrevocably influenced by his adoration of Cleopatra, which is clear from his sense of betrayal at her aiding...
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...Cleopatra (1963) More at IMDbPro » In 48 B.C., Caesar pursues Pompey from Pharsalia to Egypt. Ptolemy, now supreme ruler after deposing his older sister, Cleopatra, attempts to gain favor with Caesar by presenting the conquerer with the head of Pompey, borne by his governors, Pothinos and Achillas. To win Caesar's support from her brother, Cleopatra hides herself in a rug, which Apollodorus, her servant, presents to Caesar. The Roman is immediately infatuated; banishing Ptolemy, he declares Cleopatra Egypt's sole ruler and takes her as his mistress. A son, Caesarion, is born of their union. Caesar, however, must return to Italy. Although he is briefly reunited with Cleopatra during a magnificent reception for the queen in Rome, Caesar is assassinated shortly thereafter, and Cleopatra returns to Egypt. When Mark Antony, Caesar's protégé, beholds Cleopatra aboard her elaborate barge at Tarsus some years later, he is smitten and becomes both her lover and military ally. Their liaison notwithstanding, Antony, to consolidate his position in Rome, marries Octavia, sister of the ambitious Octavian. The marriage satisfies no one. Cleopatra is infuriated, and Antony, tiring of his Roman wife, returns to Egypt. There he flaunts his liaison by marrying Cleopatra in a public ceremony. Sensing Antony's weakness, Octavian attacks and defeats his forces at Actium. Alarmed, Cleopatra withdraws her fleet and seeks refuge in her tomb. Written by alfiehitchie The story of Queen Cleopatra VII...
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...Topic 1 Cleopatra Throughout time Cleopatra has been distinguished with many different characters, some as a kind hearted others as the ruling queen that can conquer anything. When relating to the Horace’s Odes and Plutach’s Life of Mark Antony to the 1999 movie of Cleopatra directed by Franc Roddam. Cleopatra might have taken many characters throughout years but when comparing everything she has some characteristics that are the same and some that are pursued differently. She was smart and clever woman that knew everything that was going around her. Cleopatra was also considered a strong independent women by being able to rule Egypt without any King. Even though she was powerful queen she always had a love for men. Cleopatra can be portrayed with many different characteristics but will always have be loving and powerful queen of Egypt through all points of view. Cleopatra was recognized as a very smart woman that has the capabilities to outsmart anyone. She knows the plans of men in which she is able to outmaneuver them when needed. Cleopatra shows her cleverness through the actions with Mark Antony and Julius Caesar. For example in the movie, Cleopatra is being seen as a sneaky women that just wants power and does things strategically to get what she wants. She wanted to become queen and by taking over Caesars heart she was able to marry and get what she always wanted. People hated Caesar for having Cleopatra become queen of Egypt and people always thought of Cleopatra as Caesars...
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...ALFRED ANGELO B. RAGOJOS III - HONESTY QUISH HAM BENITO CLEOPATRA *Characters * Cleopatra - Egypt's rightful Queen * Caesarion - Cleopatra's baby boy * Julius Caesar - Roman soldier who comes to collect Egypt's tax debt and take it with him * Marc Antony - boyhood friend and cousin who is sent to Alexandria to protect Caesarion and Queen Cleopatra * Octavius - a teenage boy who hates Cleopatra and Caesar's Roman heir and grandnephew * Brutus - the one who assassinated Caesar together with Cassius and other senators * Cassius - the one who assassinated Caesar together with Brutus and other senators * Arsinoe - Cleopatra’s traitor sister * Ptolemy – Cleopatra’s Roman lover *Introduction* What would you be doing when you're 17? Most teens would party, but when Cleopatra was 17, she became the Queen of Egypt. Cleopatra V11 was born in 69BC. and died in 30Bc. Between 69BC. to 30BC, she was the last pharaoh. Cleopatra lived most of her life in Alexandra with her brother Ptolemy. Cleopatra married her brother Ptolemy, because they wanted to rule Egypt together. They did for quite some time. But it all changed when Ptolemy got sick and died. After the death of Ptolemy she found a great emperor who she then fell in love with, and then married. She then became "a woman of great ambition, intelligence, vigor, and fascination." That's when she gained both the love and the political and military...
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...Humanities 7 July 2014 Cleopatra Hardly any personalities from the Hellenistic period (323 BC – 31 BC) are as renowned as Cleopatra VII (69 BC – 30 BC), the Egyptian queen. The focus of a wide array of Western historical texts, music, poems, literature, and arts, Cleopatra has been widely portrayed as a Queen who ruled her subjects and her Roman lovers through sex and gender. Despite such portrayals, very little is known about Cleopatra and there are doubts among historians that such accounts are an inaccurate depiction of Cleopatra. This paper will research studies on Cleopatra to determine whether the accounts of her ruling through sexual liaisons are accurate or they are propaganda developed to tarnish her impeccable reputation. The argument among scholars is that most of the accounts that currently depict Cleopatra VII as a Queen who used sex and gender to rule are erroneous. Roller argues that those accounts are the consequence of a perverse male-dominated historiography out to depict her as an extension of men in her life (2). According to Roller, modern and ancient male-dominated historiographies betray their chauvinistic attitudes towards Cleopatra in the manner in which they portray her primary accomplishments as the destruction of her male lovers (2). Such portrayals were necessary because of their effectiveness in discrediting Cleopatra’s achievements. Roller and Salisbury’s studies dismiss claims that Cleopatra ruled through sex and gender...
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...Grace Stephens Mrs. Reid Monday 1:00 class 26 Feb 2013 The Last Pharaoh Who was the last Pharaoh of Egypt? Cleopatra was a woman leader which did not normally happen in ancient times. In fact, more than one person had tried to remove Cleopatra from history. Cleopatra had to overcome many obstacles throughout her childhood, adulthood and death. She had a hard life. Her mother died only one year after she was born, and she was blamed for what was a natural drought. One of the main obstacles Cleopatra had was in trying to keep her children on the throne after her reign. Her second obstacle was her brother who was trying to put her out of office. Ingeniously, she put him out of office instead. Cleopatra, who lived from 69BC to 30BC, is famous for being the last great pharaoh of Egypt. As an adolescent Cleopatra was smart, but her childhood not all fun. Cleopatra, who was born in October of 69 BC, has an unknown day of birth. Known as Queen of the Nile, Daughter of the Nile, and Cleo, she was born into high royalty and dwelled in Cairo, ancient Egypt. The Queen of the Nile’s father was Ptolemy XII Auletes, who was also the pharaoh, and her mother was Queen Cleopatra V of Egypt. As a child, Cleopatra had nine siblings and had problems with two of her sisters, Tryphaena and Berenice. She learned at least six completely different languages at home with the help of a tutor and among them were Aramaic, Egyptian, Ethiopic, Greek, Hebrew, and Latin. Because she understood Egyptian...
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...Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Philopator was a striking and well-witted pharaoh of vast ancient Egypt. One of the six women rulers of Egypt, she led the country well and gained powerful alliances with Mark Antony and Julius Caesar, who were in fact two of her four spouses. Egypt was prosperous and thriving under her reign. Cleopatra VII was known to history for her voluptuous beauty, outrageous affairs, and- most memorably- being the last pharaoh of ancient Egypt. Cleopatra was born Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator to King Ptolemy XII Auletes and Cleopatra V Tryphaena sometime in October of 69 BC. She had several brothers and sisters, including Ptolemy XII and Ptolemy XIV, both of which she married as per the traditional Egyptian custom, and Cleopatra VI Tryphaena, who attempted to poison her younger sister, Cleopatra VII. Prior to Cleopatra’s mother and father departing to Rome, Cleopatra VI took over the throne, but died shortly afterwards, leaving the title of pharaoh to the young eighteen year-old Cleopatra and ten year-old Ptolemy. Although Ptolemy and she were a joint heir, Cleopatra made it clear that she did not intend on sharing the power with him. Ptolemy soon become conscious of Cleopatra’s intent and banished his wife and sister from Egypt. In attempt to gain alliance with Rome, thirteen year-old Ptolemy XII beheaded who he believed to be an enemy of Julius Caesar, but his assumptions were brutally incorrect. To punish Ptolemy, Caesar took over the Egyptian capital and declared...
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...CLEOPATRA VII PHILOPATOR Birth: 69 BC · Alexandria, Egypt Death: 30 BC · Cherchell, Algeria Friends, Colleagues, Lovers: * 51 B.C. Cleopatra and her brother Ptolemy XIII become Egypt's rulers and spouses * In 48 B.C. Cleopatra and Julius Caesar became lovers * When Ptolemy XIII drowned and died, she had to marry another brother for formality * Mark Antony became her lover in 41 B.C., with whom she had two children with him Enemies: * Aulus Gabinius-- Gabiniani killed the sons of the Roman governor of Syria, Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus, when they came to ask for their assistance for their father against the Parthians. Cleopatra handed the murderers over in chains to Bibulus, whereupon the Gabiniani became bitter enemies of the queen. * Octavian—Octavians sister was married to Marc Antony when he became Cleopatra’s lover * Many Romans— (no explanation) Major Life Accomplishments: * When Cleopatra and Ptolemy XIII inherited the throne, Cleopatra assumed power. However, she was driven out of Egypt by her brother, so she fled to Syria. Then she tried to regain the throne. With the help of Julius Caesar, Cleopatra defeated her brother and declared the throne for herself. Ptolemy XIII the fled and drowned himself. * She was one of the few female leaders and was very smart. She studied many languages such as philosophy, literature, art, music and medicine. Fun Fact: she could also speak 6 languages. * In an era when Egypt was roiled by...
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...Cleopatra, the “World’s First Celebrity” Cleopatra was an interesting pharaoh; her life was constantly filled with romance and drama. This last pharaoh was born in 69 BC and died in 30 BC. She ruled during the New Kingdom for 21 years. Cleopatra committed suicide, yet historians are not sure how. Most people believe that she held an venomous asp, an Egyptian snake, up to a part of her body and the snake bit her. Since her stories have lots of romance and seduction, two very significant stories include Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. This famous queen also had a child with Caesar, and then married Antony and had twins. Cleopatra was known for her beauty, even though she was very smart behind all the makeup. Speaking as many as a dozen...
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...Cleopatra Essay Cleopatra was born in 69 BC. She was the queen of Egypt and she was the last Ptolemaic ruler of Egypt. Even though in Egypt the society was ran by men Cleopatra was the only girl who ran the whole country. As a child Cleopatra was intelligent and she always cares for other. Cleopatra was a daughter of Ptolemy XII Auletes and she was interested in politics from her father. When her dad died, her brother kicked her out from Egypt when she was 48. Cleopatra wants to get back at her brother by force. One day Caesar came to Alexandria and Cleopatra thought she could get Caesar to help her. Later Caesar was in a battle against Cleopatra’s brother and at the end Cleopatra’s brother died. Then Cleopatra was restored to her throne and Caesar gain control of Egypt through Cleopatra. Then Cleopatra was married to her youngest brother Ptolemy XIV. For this occasion Caesar arranged a trip for Cleopatra to visit the Rome. While Cleopatra was in Rome, some of Caesar’s friend decided to kill him because of his behavior. One night Cleopatra dreamed that Caesar was about to be murdered, so Cleopatra warned Caesar not to leave the palace to meet the senate. When Caesar left he was assassinated and Cleopatra got scared losing her life, so she left Rome after the event. When Cleopatra is in Egypt Mark Antony led the army in Egypt and after that Cleopatra fell in love with Mark Antony and later they got married. After they got married and started to rule together, Octavian came in...
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...Antony & Cleopatra Essay A rewrite The theme of duty versus pleasure; the dramatic element of conflict, and the characterization of Antony v. Octavius in Act 1 of the drama Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare, sets up the rest of the play and contributes to Antony’s overthrow and Octavius’s victory. The theme of duty versus pleasure is directly advertised in the opening of the play which directly foreshadows the dreadful decisions Antony makes which directly lead to his downfall and Octavius’s victory. The beginning of the play begins with Philo and Demetrius’s conversation, which demonstrates the theme of duty vs. pleasure. For instance, Antony states “There’s not a minute of our lives should stretch without some pleasure now. What sport tonight?” (Act 1, scene 1, page 7). In this quote Antony is telling Cleopatra that they should not just waste time instead they should have a romantic time together. This quote specifically focuses on the theme of pleasure and further signifies how Antony is avoiding his duties towards Rome. Antony presents his carefree attitude when he says “not a minute of our lives should stretch” the readers can easily elaborate upon his downfall as he does not put any focus towards Rome. The words “not a minute” elaborate how all Antony wants is pleasure and Cleopatra by his side. Also, the quote creates a romantic tone as Antony is showcasing his love for Cleopatra. This quote contribute to Antony’s downfall because it highlights Antony’s...
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...Part 1: Cleopatra How does this passage characterise the relationship between Anthony and Cleopatra and how does this compare to its portrayal in other Roman sources in Book 1, Chapter 1? During the first section, of the passage, taken from Plutarch, Life of Anthony, Anthony witnesses the abandonment of his Calvary, to the enemy of men that he was fighting for the sake of Cleopatra. He undoubtedly feels let down and betrayed, and shows his anger amid the city. However, Cleopatra then secludes herself in fear, of him, and sends word, to Anthony, that she is dead. The writings in this passage depict how deeply manipulated and confused Anthony was therefore portraying him as weak man, but also portray Cleopatra as a lovesick female, afraid of her lovers anger, locks herself away, lies about her death, thus resulting in Anthony’s death. Plutarch’s writings tell us that there was no love lost between the two and that their relationship was not genuine, that “the Roman world did not value romantic love” (OU: Book 1: Reputations: page 11), that Anthony’s so called “love” for Cleopatra was more of lust than real affection. The negativity in this passage does not show the courageous, independent queen or the strong, manly soldier that society and movie directors, of the past and present, would have us believe, instead it tells us that man is capable of a love that is strong enough to render him helpless. Cassius Dio, another Roman historian portrays Anthony as somewhat...
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...Cleopatra, the final ruler of Egypt, was an immoral temptress that would let nothing and no one stand in her way of power. Although some believe her to be an intelligent role model in history for women’s rights she was absolutely nothing of the sort. Of course, she was intelligently educated, but she mainly seduced world leaders in order to acclaim the power she thirsted. So basically she was a prostitute that was being paid in power for her services. Not exactly the ideal role model. Cleopatra had an interesting early life. First off, she was born in Egypt in 69 BC. One important fact to note is that she was not even of Egyptian descent; in fact, she was of the Greek lineage. Her ancestor, Ptolemy 1 Soter, happened to be one of Alexander...
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...Comparative Essay: Cleopatra and Empress Wu Zetian Silke Karla Vinyard Strayer University Professor Mayhall HUM111346SC034-1164-001 (World Cultures 1) May 24, 2016 Cleopatra and Empress Wu Zetian Cleopatra and Empress Wu Zetian were two very powerful women of their time. Cleopatra, Last Pharaoh of Egypt. As queen of Egypt, Cleopatra is one of the most famous female rulers in history. Cleopatra’s family ruled Eygpt for more than 100 years before she was born around 69 BC. Empress Wu Zetian of Tang Dynasty. She was one of the concubines of Emperor Taizong; she was the empress of Emperor Gaozong; she was the mother of Emperor Zhongzong and Emperor Ruizong; she was once a nun in the temple. But her most glorious title was that she was the only female emperor in Chinese history who actually ruled the whole country for almost half a century. How Cleopatra and Empress Wu Zetian gained their power Most nations of note have had at least one great female leader. Not the United States of course, but one thinks readily enough of Hatshepsut of ancient Egypt, Russia’s astonishing Catherine the Great, or Trung Trac of Vietnam. These women were rarely chosen by their people. They came to power, mostly, by default or stealth; a king had no sons, or an intelligent queen usurped the powers of her useless husband. However, they rose, though, it has always been harder for a woman to rule effectively than it was for a man-more so in the earlier periods...
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