Egyptian culture strikes us
with its richness.
One cannot stop but wonder about the mysterious life of ancient
Egypt. Directly associated with this history, Cleopatra, queen of
Egypt, stands out in her idealism and strength of character. She is
among the first and few women known and remembered for her
accomplishments and power from as long ago as 51 B.C., when she became
queen of Egypt. Cleopatra is often depicted in art and literature
by writers who admired her strength and by artists, her beauty.
Two of these writers are William Shakespeare and George Bernard
Shaw. While Shakespeare introduces us to the mature queen of
Egypt and portrays her relationship with Mark Antony in his play
Antony and Cleopatra, written
around 1606, Shaw shows us Cleopatra in
her very young age, before she becomes a queen and her ties with Caesar
in his play Caesar and Cleopatra,
written in 1928.
In addition, we are given further understanding in an artistic
representation of Cleopatra in the 1963 film Cleopatra, directed by
Joseph L. Mankiewicz. In these literary and artistic
representations not only are we able to see the queen of Egypt as a
powerful ruler but as a strong mother as well.
In his play Caesar
and Cleopatra, George Bernard
Shaw introduces the reader to Cleopatra as a child. She has no
control over her decisions and her actions until Caesar arrives in
Egypt and is able to transform Cleopatra’s character through his
influence. In the beginning of the play we know that Cleopatra’s
father is dead, and there is a great rivalry between her and her
brother, Ptolemy, about who should rule Egypt. Caesar arrives
intending to conquer Egypt and meets the queen-to-be. When
they meet, Cleopatra is unaware that she is speaking to a Roman.
Caesar, taking advantage of the situation, with a kindly intention,
encourages Cleopatra to speak to the Roman emperor. This initial
meeting is seen in more depth when they return to the palace, and
Cleopatra is encouraged by Caesar to give orders to her nurse,
Ftatateeta, of whom she is most afraid as a surrogate mother
figure. When Ftatateeta yells at Cleopatra, Caesar asks her the
following: “Is this how your servants know their places?” He then
comments: “You are the Queen: send her away”(Shaw 105).
Cleopatra is yet unaware that she is in the presence of Caesar and is
waiting in fear for his arrival. Caesar continues to encourage
her by saying: “If you fear Caesar, you are no true queen”(Shaw
106). In this manner Shaw foreshadows the change in Cleopatra’s
character throughout the play due to her relation with Caesar.
Unlike in the later film Cleopatra, where
Cleopatra’s relation with Caesar is a romantic one and where she bears
his child, in Shaw’s play their relation is unclear. Caesar seems
to be a father figure who does not control Cleopatra, but rather helps
her and shows her the right path. She is inspired by him, and due
to this, she gradually becomes more mature and capable of ruling
Egypt. This dramatic change is specifically seen when surrounded
by her servants. One of them humorously tells Cleopatra that Caesar
“makes you so terribly prosy and serious and learned and
philosophical. It is worse than being religious, at our
ages”(Shaw 164). While they are laughing she tells them to be
quiet in a meaningful tone. She then orders Pothinus, Ptolemy’s
guardian, who is now Caesar’s prisoner to come in. Cleopatra sees
Pothinus as her rival in ruling Egypt. She believes that if Ptolemy
rules Egypt, as a guardian of a king who is only ten years old,
Pothinus will have control over Ptolemy as well as Egypt (Shaw
167). When Pothinus tells her that she’s indeed changed, she
answers: “Do you speak with Caesar every day for six months: and you
will be changed”(Shaw165). She then says:
When I was foolish, I did what I
liked, except when Ftatateeta beat me; and even then I cheated her and
did it by stealth. Now that Caesar has made me wise, it is no use
my liking or disliking: I do what must be done, and have no time to
attend to myself. That is not happiness; but it is
greatness. If Caesar were gone, I think I could govern the
Egyptians; for what Caesar is to me, I am to the fools around me (Shaw
165).
This passage portrays Cleopatra’s maturity and her commitment to
governing Egypt. Caesar has set an example for her and prepared
her to be a queen. In the end Caesar departs for Rome, leaving
Cleopatra behind as a ruler of Egypt. Throughout the play, he
seems to symbolize a father or figure of authority for Cleopatra and
addresses her as “my child” quite often.
In both plays about Cleopatra written by Shakespeare
and Shaw as well as in the film by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Cleopatra is
presented as very strong and powerful, equal to Caesar and
Antony. In Shaw’s play, Cleopatra’s growth is dramatic.
After being controlled by Ftatateeta, she is suddenly given a great
deal of power by Caesar. While her childish stubbornness and
immaturity are still seen, in her determination as a queen she is fully
capable of doing anything she wants. When Pothinus tells Caesar
that Cleopatra is waiting for Caesar to leave Egypt so that she can
reign in Egypt alone, she gets very upset and denies it is so.
She then orders Ftatateeta to murder Pothinus, even though Caesar has
ordered others not to do so, because it will cause war by the
Egyptians. Although Caesar is greatly angered by what has
happened, Cleopatra admits that Pothinus “was slain by order of the
Queen of Egypt. I am not Julius Caesar the dreamer, who allows
every slave to insult him”(Shaw 184). Cleopatra is shown as quick
in making crucial decisions and also as a fearless queen unlike in the
beginning of the play where she is controlled by Ftatateeta and afraid
of Caesar.
Similarly in Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra, as
well as in the film Cleopatra,
Cleopatra is seen to have a great impact
on Antony. In the beginning of Antony
and Cleopatra, we are
introduced to the ongoing war between Octavian Caesar and Lepidus
against Pompey. Instead of being in Rome with Caesar and Lepidus
as one of Rome’s three rulers, Antony is in Egypt, with
Cleopatra. In the opening scene of the play, Shakespeare portrays
Antony’s weakness when it comes to his passion for Cleopatra. One
of Antony’s lieutenants comments to the other one about Antony:
“Take but good note, and you shall see in him/ The triple pillar of the
world transformed/ Into a strumpet’s fool. Behold and see”
(Shakespeare I.i.10-20). Although Antony finally decides to go
back to Rome, he shortly returns to Egypt and becomes enemies with
Octavian Caesar. During their sea fight, Cleopatra insists on
going along with Antony, even though he tells her that he will be
distracted in her presence. She then leaves during the fight,
which causes Antony to follow her and leave his soldiers behind.
Antony’s response to her apology for doing so is that “Egypt, thou
knew’st too well/ My heart to thy rudder tied by th’ strings,/ And thou
shouldst tow me after “(Shakespeare III.xi.50-60). In this
example we see Antony’s weakness and Cleopatra’s strength in having
such an influence on him.
Artistic Portrayal
While Shakespeare and
Shaw, along with other writers, present portraits of Cleopatra in
literature, she is also depicted visually. Egyptian coins that have
survived from around 36-34 BC include profile portraits of Antony and
Cleopatra. Cleopatra’s profile, much like Antony’s, seems
masculine. Perhaps the artist wished to show her equivalence to
Antony as a strong queen (Online). Another visual representation
of Cleopatra is a sculpture by the Italian artist, Pier Jacopo Alari
Bonacolso, made around 1519. This figure of Cleopatra does not
seem to have any specifically Egyptian elements or jewelry. The
figure is very plain with one main element that stands out, the crown.
Similarly, here the artist seems to highlight Cleopatra’s power as a
queen. In addition to this the figure is looking down. One gets
the impression that she is brooding or guarding Egypt in a motherly
manner (Online). A similar sculpture is by William Wetmore Story,
from 1869. It is of Cleopatra sitting on her throne with a bare
shoulder and chest. While her headdress and necklace look
Egyptian, the style of the sculpture is nineteenth - century
American. Similarly here she seems to be brooding, which also
gives the impression of a queen guarding over her country in a motherly
manner. The position in which she sits and her facial qualities
seem to indicate masculine strength, yet the dress is falling down her
shoulder, and the artist shows her womanhood by her bare breast.
These artistic representations show Cleopatra as a strong woman, who is
the ruler and the mother of Egypt.
In literature as well as in
art, Cleopatra is sometimes depicted as Isis, the goddess of fertility
and motherhood. In the plays by Shakespeare and Shaw, as well as
in the film Cleopatra,
Cleopatra identifies herself as Isis and as
daughter of Isis. This is also seen in the art from the time
period. The Egyptian wing of the Metropolitan Museum has various
sculptures of Isis, Isis with her son, Horus, and a few of Cleopatra as
Isis. One of these is a Statuette
of Isis and Horus from the
Ptolemaic period, 330 - 30 B.C.E. It is of Isis sitting with her
son, Horus. Like Isis, in the beginning, Cleopatra also had one
son, Caesarian. In the sculpture, Isis holds her son possessively
just as Cleopatra was maternally possessive of Egypt. An
additional piece of art is a painted relief sculpture of Cleopatra as
Isis from about 35 B.C., in the Temple of Denderah. The Temple of
De
nderah was built in
Egypt as a place of worship in 125 B.C. It
was dedicated to Hathor, the goddess of love and joy (online).
The hairpiece that Cleopatra is wearing in this sculpture is very
similar to the one worn by Isis.
The Film
Cleopatra
As mentioned in Shakespeare’s play and
portrayed in
the film, Cleopatra had several children. In Antony and
Cleopatra, we learn of her children when Antony is giving his sons
Alexander and Ptolemy, the kingdoms he has conquered (Shakespeare
III.vi). In addition to this, the film shows
Cleopatra as mother of 
Julius
Caesar’s son, Caesarian. Before
Caesarian’s birth, during their conversation about children she says to
Caesar that “a woman that cannot bear children is like a river that’s
dry; a woman must make life grow. Soon there will be someone to
carry the name and sword of Caesar and whatever part of the world we
give him, our child will be a son for you, Caesar. By Isis I
swear it”( Mankiewicz). After Caesar’s return to Rome, Cleopatra
pays a visit to Rome, taking her son to see his father. This
shows the importance she gives to her son and to her role as a
mother. After Antony’s death her last request to Octavius Caesar
is to allow her son to rule Egypt and his sons afterward with the
promise not to harm herself (Mankiewicz). However she commits
suicide because her dignity is of more importance to her. She
fears being paraded in the streets of Rome as a slave.
Shakespeare shows this when he is writing of Cleopatra’s conversation
with her servant. After Caesar’s ultimatum of letting her stay in
Egypt but having to obey him, she says to her servant Iras that “Thou,
an Egyptian puppet, shall be shown/ In Rome as well as I: mechanic
slaves” (Shakespeare V.ii.200-210). In the film she is presented
as a very passionate mother and even as having strong views on
motherhood; however, her ego and self - determination seem to be of
more value to her.
As depicted in
art and literature, Cleopatra has
left her mark in history as a powerful queen. While Shaw writes of the
immature child she was and Caesar’s influence on her, in Antony
and Cleopatra, we see a well-developed queen fully in charge of
her
decisions. In his film, Cleopatra,
Mankiewicz refers to both
plays in artistic detail, presenting Cleopatra’s growth and her
strength as a queen. Her power and determination, along with her
beauty, explain her comparison to Isis. In art as well as
literature she is depicted as the mother of Egypt. In the end she
shows her strength in that she chooses her pride over her life and dies
as the queen of Egypt. As Shakespeare writes of her: “Age cannot
wither her, nor custom stale/ Her infinite variety”(Shakespeare
II.ii.230-240).
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Cleopatra in Literature and Art