Egypt is significant in the
Hellenistic world from the period of 48 B.C. to 30 B.C. partly because
of the profound influence of its queen. Born in 69 B.C.,
Cleopatra marked a turning point in Egyptian history and in the history
of women overall. A member of the royal family of Ptolemies,
Cleopatra disregarded the former king’s will that she reign Egypt with
her brother, Ptolemy XIV, and she eventually took the throne to her own
hands. As a determined queen, she proved to be no less of a ruler
than the Ptolemaic kings that proceeded her. She became the queen
of Egypt, in 51 B.C., with the help of Julius Caesar. Through her
involvement with Caesar and Mark Antony, she bore four children and was
a dedicated mother, not only to her children but to all Egyptians, and
she used her relationships with powerful leaders to benefit
Egypt. Her contributions to her country and her prowess as
a ruler have made her a motherly figure, determined to do all for the
sake of Egypt as well as to promote her independence in a
male-dominated world. And, with her great intelligence and
political savvy, Cleopatra shaped her personal life to benefit
the interests of her country.
Even though Cleopatra’s royal background explains
her becoming a leader, she had to strive to earn the throne for her own
self. She belonged to the Ptolemaic dynasty and was the
daughter of King Ptolemy XI, who was also known as the Piper or the
Flute-Player (Desmond 14). While the Ptolemaic dynasty was very
powerful, King Ptolemy was rather weak, having to bribe the senate to
remain on his throne. In order to do this, he spent a great deal
of time in Rome and therefore was not a significant father figure
in Cleopatra’s life (Desmond 14). However, this did not affect
her strength and determination to become a ruler, especially after her
acquaintance with Caesar, who while romantically involved with her, was
also a father figure to Cleopatra. She was very
intelligent, much like the former kings of the Ptolemaic empire,
lacking her father’s weak qualities (Bradford 13). Because of her
father’s weakness and his decision for her to rule Egypt jointly with
her brother, Cleopatra had to struggle to become a queen in her own
right.
While the contemporary accounts of
Cleopatra’s physical characteristics are not accurate, her
extraordinary charm, beauty, and knowledge are agreed upon by several
historians. Although known as an Egyptian, a people either Semitic or
African, who usually had dark features, Cleopatra was actually of Greek
descent and probably had lighter features, like most Macedonian
women. Her masculine features, reproduced on coins during her
lifetime (i.e., coins of her and Antony made from 36-34 B.C., which
depict her facial features as similarly masculine to Antony’s), defined
her as charming rather than simply beautiful. Her facial
characteristics were classically Greek, which gave her the royal look
of a true queen. Cleopatra’s intelligence was brilliant in
comparison to that of her ancestors. None of her royal
predecessors had knowledge of the Egyptian language, but simply spoke
Macedonian; Cleopatra was the first of her line who had learned the
language of her country. In addition to this, she had learned
several other languages from her tutors and was fluent in Latin
(Bradford 11-13).
Cleopatra’s accompishments in the Hellenistic time
period were compared with the role of women in that historical
time. Even though men were more typically educated than women
according to the Hellenic tradition, scholars believe that Cleopatra’s
intelligence had to be partially the result of an instructor.
Women were also given some education in ancient Egypt but not in
institutions that were as prestigious as those of men. Therefore,
even though Cleopatra “would undoubtedly have had qualified teachers
who assured her education,” she may not have been as well educated as
her brother Ptolemy, yet it was her charm and way of presenting herself
that made her one of a kind in her dynasty (Chauveau 9-10).
Perhaps through Cleopatra’s achievements, there were
also some improvements in women’s roles in society. In the
Hellenistic era, at some point, marriage had turned into a partnership,
each person having his or her own responsibilities (Arthur 93).
Unlike earlier women in history, a woman in Hellenistic Egypt had the
right to have her dowry returned if the marriage was broken up.
Surprisingly, this was the case even if she betrayed her husband.
In addition to being property owners, women also
obtained positions in the workforce with responsibilities close to
those of men: “Women were granted citizenship as a reward for
outstanding service of one kind or another” (92-93). These facts
concerning the independence of women in ancient Egypt are similar to
those of Cleopatra as a powerful ruler and to her personal relations
with Caesar and Antony. These accomplishments of women and
Cleopatra’s powerfulness as a woman leader in the same historical
period lead to the assumption that perhaps Cleopatra was a model for
women. Not only did she have the freedom to live her life as she
wished, but she bedded one Roman after the other. Even though she did
die because of her affair with Mark Antony, she did her best as a
dedicated mother to support her children and her country through her
relationships.
Cleopatra’s knowledge and beauty appealed to two
Roman rulers, Caesar and Antony. In 48 B.C., Caesar arrived in
Egypt with the intention of collecting money that King Ptolemy once
owed him and of reconciling the rivalry of leadership over Egypt
between Cleopatra and her brother, Ptolemy. With Caesar’s support
Cleopatra became eligible to have the throne for herself. Even
though Caesar could have made Egypt part of the Roman Empire, his
affection for Cleopatra caused him to grant her the position of a queen
instead. In addition to a lover, she was able to find a father
figure in Caesar that her own father had failed to be (Desmond
14). Caesar was very powerful in that he was a great warrior and
a challenger with nothing to stand in his way. One historian
portrays these qualities by describing Caesar before his acquaintance
with Cleopatra: “However, he had charm. He was soon to meet
another exponent of this quality, and one who in her own way was every
whit as ruthless and ambitious as Caesar himself” (Bradford 67).
Caesar had managed to persuade Cleopatra’s brother Ptolemy to go to
battle, where, Caesar knew, he would die, and Cleopatra would remain to
rule over Egypt. After the death of Ptolemy, the Ptolemaic
tradition of the royal marriage between a brother and a sister was
broken, and Caesar was accepted as Cleopatra’s husband. Because
there was some controversy about the queen of Egypt marrying a Roman,
Cleopatra had arranged for Caesar to be accepted as a divine
being by having the spirit of Amon, the king of Gods, enter into
him. Similarly she was identified as the Goddess of motherhood,
Isis (Desmond 23-25). Shortly after, in 47 B.C., Cleopatra bore a
child by Caesar, whom she named Caesarian, but who was also known as
Ptolemy XIV. Because Cleopatra had a difficult time giving birth,
Caesar was afraid that the doctors would have to perform a Caesarian
section -- the same operation that was performed on his deceased mother
during his birth. Fortunately everything went well; however,
ironically, Caesarian did inherit Caesar’s illness of epilepsy (Desmond
26-27). With the birth of her son, Cleopatra hoped he would be
able to rule Egypt one day along with Rome, having a Roman emperor as
his father. However, shortly after Caesarian’s birth, Caesar had
to return to Rome and was assassinated in 44 B.C., while Cleopatra and
her son were also in Rome (Bradford 105).
After Caesar’s death, Cleopatra returned to Egypt
with her dreams of a wonderful future for herself and her son
ruined: “East and West would be united, and she would be Caesar’s
Queen-Empress” (Bradford 95). Shortly after, Mark Antony jointly
ruled Rome with Lepidus and Octavian. However, upon Cleopatra’s
invitation, Antony arrived in Alexandria during the winter of 41 - 40
B.C. (Chauveau 44). Antony was seen to have betrayed Rome since
he would not return to join Octavian and Lepidus in their
battles. Like Caesar, he had fallen in love with Cleopatra,
leaving Rome behind, and remaining with her, disregarding his wife in
Rome. As a result of her union with Antony, Cleopatra had twins
in 40 B.C., whom she named Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene, Sun
and Moon. However, Cleopatra was unhappy because at the same
time, Antony had returned to Rome and married Octavian’s sister,
Octavia, in order to reestablish his relationship with Octavian and his
ties to Rome (Desmond 67).
Antony’s departure left Cleopatra hopeless once
again, now as a single mother of three children. It would be
three years, from 40 to 37 B.C. until Antony was reunited with
Cleopatra and his children (Chauveau 48). During this interval,
Cleopatra ruled Egypt and remained a mother, yet relied on Caesarian
for support. Leaving Helios and Selene to the nurses, she was
mainly a true mother to Caesarian. This was in an effort to find
comfort in Caesarian with her sweet memories of Caesar rather than
focusing on her disappointment in Antony. She hoped that the
future of her son would be brighter by having Antony as her husband,
however, because he was gone she decided to train Caesarian to be the
ruler of Egypt. This liability on Caesarian was overwhelming for him at
the age of nine.
In 32 B.C., Cleopatra chose to reunite with Antony.
Consequently, she left for Syria with her twins, leaving Caesarian
behind. On his part, Antony left Octavia and married
Cleopatra. However, there was also seen to be a political reason
behind this. Cleopatra wished to obtain the goal she shared with
Caesar. She chose to reunite with Antony so that she or her
children would still be able to have a part in ruling Rome (Desmond
68-71). In the autumn of 36 B.C., Cleopatra had another child,
whom she named Ptolemy Philadelphus (Desmond 74).
As seen from her relation with her son Caesarian,
throughout her life Cleopatra tried to do what was best for her
children:
She fought like a tigress for her child
by Caesar, and her children by Antony. A large part of her life
may be seen as a struggle to try to ensure that her children should
inherit her empire and her throne. Nothing should be allowed to
stand in her way if their interests were threatened (Bradford 16).
Her accomplishments are best seen through the ceremony, in the fall of
34 B.C., of Antony declaring her four children as kings of the lands he
had conquered. Cleopatra was recognized as Queen of Kings and
Caesarian as King of Kings. Alexander Helios was to rule Armenia
in addition to several other lands, Ptolemy Philadelphos, the greater
part of Asia along with several other countries, and Cleopatra Selene,
Cyrenaica with a part of Crete (Chauveau 59). Cleopatra initially
did reach her goal as a result of her determination for her children to
follow in her footsteps. However, her children’s destinies
changed along with the tragic end of her life.
Cleopatra’s strength was truly seen in that she
chose an honorable death over survival as a captive. Antony’s
relations with Octavian had become hostile, and they were in
rivalry against one another. Antony lost the war against Octavian
in August of 30 B.C. Because of Antony’s weakness, his army had
left him behind to join forces with Octavian, and Antony had thought
that Cleopatra betrayed him as well. In her despair Cleopatra
sent a false message to Antony that she had killed herself, and Antony
decided to do the same. As a result of this and her realization
that Octavian was now to rule, Cleopatra decided to join her loved one
by ending her life similarly (Bradford 258). When Octavian
promised to spare her children, she did not believe it. She did
not want to be ridiculed on the streets of Egypt as one of Octavian’s
slaves. After planning to send Caesarian to Meroitic, she died as
a queen (Chaeveau 72). However, Octavian had already killed
Caesarian and Alexander Helios while giving assurance to their
desperate mother that her children would rule Egypt (Chauveau
110). Even Cleopatra’s death had dignity: there was nothing
she could do about her children, and she remained a queen forever and
not a prisoner of Octavian.
In her leadership of Egypt and as a mother, Cleopatra identified
fully with the Goddess Isis. Even after her death, she remained a
ruler that Egypt would never have again. Octavian’s strength
could not compare with Cleopatra’s to die as a ruler. While
romantically involved with Caesar and Antony, she used her
relationships to benefit Egypt and her children, so they might have a
positive future. Her intention was to expand the Egyptian
boundaries with her children as rulers. She did not fail to
fulfill her dreams, but with her charm, possessed both of the Roman
rulers. As Isis was seen as central goddess of the time period,
who united humanity, so Cleopatra was an important figure in the
history of women because of her identity with Isis: a dedicated mother
to Egypt and to her children and a powerful Queen (Arthur 95).
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