The story of Cleopatra’s life has been immortalized in different ways for so many times. William Shakespeare was among the many authors who were fascinated by the enigmatic life of Egypt’s last pharaoh with the tragedy Anthony and Cleopatra. In 1963, the movie was made documenting the life of the fallen mistress of the Nile. Another different form of a dramatization on the life of a woman who was attributed for the downfall of Mark Anthony also graces the opera house under Jules Massenet’s Cléopâtre. While there had been numerous presentation on the life of Cleopatra many are still in awe of how rich and colourful her life was that amidst the passing centuries from when she lived. In fact, today many still cannot find the satisfaction to rest in the description that she was Egypt’s last pharaoh. It is almost necessary that if Cleopatra’s name is mentioned the titles associated with her through the century should also come with a narration of her regal stature in one of world’s oldest and richest civilization. This paper would try to capture in as short narrative of the majesty of Cleopatra’s reign and her legacy. It would attempt to establish a validation of the reason why her life has been immortalized throughout centuries and will continue to survive in the coming years.
The Struggle of Cleopatra
Cleopatra succeeded her father’s throne after the later died in 51 B.C. At that time, Cleopatra was just 18 years old and alongside her ten-year-old brother, Cleopatra ruled a very troublesome Egypt. In fact, during the first three years from when Cleopatra assume her reign of Egypt the country was facing a turbulent period. Egypt was plagued with famine, political conflicts, indebtedness and scarcity of rainfall that almost left the Nile without sufficient reserve of water for irrigation. Seeing the need to prove herself and out of fear that she will be overthrown by her brother through the officials of the Court of Alexandria, Cleopatra made a strategic move to marry Ptolemy XIII . However, she made her intentions clear that she is not willing to share the leadership of Egypt with anyone.
This was not the only event that Cleopatra was able to justify that she was indeed a cunning leader. In fact, when Caesar came to invade Egypt, Cleopatra again used her beauty to lure Caesar into believing that she was in love in him and that she can help him conquer and rule Egypt with ease. All the while Caesar thought that Cleopatra can be manipulated to pledge her loyalty and allegiance to Rome. However, Cleopatra was simply using Caesar to her advantage. Soon with the help of Caesar she was able to gain sole leadership of Egypt when Ptolemy died in an effort to escape the army who came to bring him back to Egypt to be executed.
After succeeding to acquire sole leadership of Egypt, Cleopatra began to lure Caesar until she bore him a son who was eventually named Ptolemy Caesar, but was popularly received as Little Caesar . This information was somewhat conflicting as there were many interpretations of this part in Caesar and Cleopatra’s relationship. There were accounts to suggest that Caesar refuses to give his name to Cleopatra’s son. So instead the boy was named Ptolemy XIV. The sincerity in the relationship of Cleopatra and Caesar was also slightly questionable. While there were accounts to suggest that it was nothing but a commensal relationship, the golden statue of Cleopatra that Caesar built for Egypt’s lady pharaoh was validation of the ardour that Ceasar had for Cleopatra.
After Caesar’s death, Cleopatra returned to Egypt. It was then that she began an affair with Mark Anthony. This affair was unforeseen by Anthony himself because their planned meeting was only to secure the allegiance of Cleopatra . However, he was mesmerized by her beauty and charm. Eventually, Cleopatra has again used her beauty to regain her position in Egypt’s throne. For the succeeding years, Cleopatra and Anthony ruled Egypt until Anthony met an unfortunate death. It was believed that out of fear of being captured Cleopatra claimed her life.
Cleopatra’s Death
There were several version of Cleopatra’s death. According to an account narrated by Strabo, Cleopatra was bitten by an asp (Egyptian cobra) on her breast after applying a poisonous ointment . The Romans claimed that Cleopatra died of snake poisoning. However, there were historians who claimed that Augustus killed Cleopatra. Contemporary German historian Christoph Schaefer challenged the earlier theories surrounding Cleopatra’s death and suggested that the Egyptian lady pharaoh was killed by drinking a mixture of poison . However, given the advancement in technology studies conducted on Cleopatra’s remains by toxicologists assert that an asp could not be the reason for Cleopatra’s death . Instead, they proposed that Cleopatra used a mixture of opium, hemlock, and wolfsbane in support of Schaefer’s earlier claim .
Conclusion
The stories that surround’s Cleopatra’s affairs and her rise to power were what initially drew people to become interested of her life. She was a cunning leader who used her beauty to lure the most powerful men to protect her while she tried to gain the throne. Finally, the unrest in the debate of what caused her death even drew more attention to her story. Cleopatra’s life was a classic tale of struggle, success and self-destruction. Three interesting plot for readers, moviegoers and casual observers.
Works Cited
Brown, Pat. The Murder of Cleopatra: History's Greatest Cold Case. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2013. Print.
Burstein, Stanley. The reign of Cleopatra. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2004. Print.
Cleopatra: Portrait of a Killer. Perf. Neil Oliver. 2009. Documentary .
Flamarion, Edith and Alexandra Bonfante-Warren. Cleopatra: The Life and Death of a Pharaoh. New York : Harry Abrams Press, 1997. Print.
Hawass, Zahi and Franck Goddio. Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt. New York: National Geographic, 2010. Print.
Schiff, Stacy. Cleopatra: A Life . New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2010. Print.
