Order 962938: roman empire

Cleopatra And The Power of Seduction

The Egyptian pharaoh known as Cleopatra has been one of the most misunderstood characters throughout history. Many of the records to this date was written by her enemies who portrayed her as a conniving seducing manipulator. To fully understand Cleopatra we must look at her life in great detail and understand how she used many of her personal relationships to bring peace and prosperity to the country that she ruled. Many see her as a vicious enemy while others see her as a one of the greatest and courageous rulers of Egyptian history, who was the last of the Ptolemaic empire, which lasted for roughly 300 years.

During the time of Cleopatra Egypt was at an unstable with several rulers fighting for the throne. At a young age Cleopatra's father Ptolemy the 12th Auletes, was exiled from Egypt and her older sister seized power. When Ptolemy returned from exile with the help of Rome he had the teenaged Cleopatra appointed as a co ruler. After his death he left Cleopatra to rule alongside her younger ten year old brother also known as Ptolemy.

As customary with Egyptian culture at the time women co rulers were supportive to the male ruler but Cleopatra had plans of her own. Soon after Cleopatra became ruler she deleted her brother from Egyptians official records and coinage. However a coup in 48bc drove Cleopatra into exile in Syria. The dispute between Ptolemy and Cleopatra plunged Egypt into another civil war.

During the chaos of the civil war Julius Caesar took the opportunity to seize Alexandria stating that he would mediate between the two parties, Cleopatra and her brother Ptolemy.This action subjecting Egypt to the will of Rome. This action gave Cleopatra an opportunity since Julius Caesar was a known womanizer. She decide to take a risky move to regain control of her throne. Being a beautiful intelligent young girl she arranged a way to sneak into Caesar’s bedchamber and convince him to support her claim.

Cleopatra's risky planned worked out and Caesar convinced Ptolemy to share power with her. The supporters of Ptolemy were not pleased; his royal army marched to Alexandria to restore his sole rule to the throne. Unfortunately for Ptolemy he drowned while his army fought Caesar's army and the royal army was defeated.

After defeating the army of Ptolemy Caesar restored Cleopatra to her throne and allowed her to rule once again. Even though the first two years of her control in power were racked with many eternal issues she was able to prove herself a capable and powerful leader. Cleopatra was able to mend the various political groups across the kingdom.

During her rule Cleopatra was able to calm the tensions Egypt was having by making various alliances with political factions in nearby Syria while maintaining her father's pro Roman policies. The population of Egypt was supportive of Cleopatra she made great efforts in attempt to gain the public's support, she was the first Ptolemaic ruler to actually speak Egyptian. Her royal courts were well renowned with various intellectuals of the region working under her. Cleopatra was able to advance the educational system in Egypt by promoting science and arts within her kingdom. She was credited by many historians for writing various books on medicines, cosmetics, weights and philosophy.

Once in control of her throne Cleopatra was able to stabilize Egypts economy, managed the vast burceracy and abolished corruption within the kingdom. During her reign there was no more revolts or civil wars until the end of her time in power. The major changes she was able to make to the kingdom won the accolades of her peers.

Caesar became intrigued with Egyptian culture and their way of life, he spent months in Egyptian learning about their ways with Cleopatra. Eventually during the return of Caesar to Rome Cleopatra gave birth to his son, Caesarion.During his time within Egypt Caesar made plans on how to change Rome based upon culture influences within Egypt.

Upon returning to Rome Caesar brought about many new changes within the kingdom based upon Egyptian culture and knowledge. One of the things Caesar did that was influenced by Egyptian culture was to reform the calendar. He was also able to commisened a census.

Caesar was intrigued by the Egyptians libraries he planned on making a new public library in Rome and proposed many new infrastructures. Many historians believe that many of these ambitions plans for Rome was one of the reasons that led up to Caesar's assassination. On march 15th 44 bc Caesar was assassinated by Roman senators led by Gaius Cassius Longinus, Decimus Junius Brutus, and Marcus Junius Brutus.

After the death of Caesar Cleopatra sought out protection and affection under from Mark Antony. Mark Antony requested Cleopatra to form an alliance in avenging the death of Caesar. In 42 bc Mark Antony and the allies eventually won the battle to avenge Caesar. Mark Antony summons Cleopatra to him to tell her how important her role was during the battle.

Once Mark Antony set his eyes on Cleopatra when she came to him dressed in her elegant clothing he was dazzled by her and tells her he will reinstate her queenship within Egypt. Mark Antony leaves his wife Octavia and their children to go to Egypt and be with Cleopatra. In 34bc Mark Antony claims Cleopatra's son Caesarion as the rightful era of Caesar’s throne and awards land to Cleopatra and all of their children that they had together.

Octavian was furious with the decisions of Mark Antony and proclaimed that he was nothing but a puppet of Cleopatra and would eventually forget about Rome and only care about Egypt. In 32 bc Octavian declared war on Cleopatra . Octavian eventually was able to defeat the forces of Cleopatra. During the battle Cleopatra and Mark Antony fled Egypt and were separated.

During 30 bc Mark Antony heard rumors about how Cleopatra had commited suicide after the war was lost. Right before the rumors were eventually found to be false Mark Antony committed suicide by stabbing himself to death out of grief. Eleven days later Cleopatra found out about Mark Antony's death. In a dramatic turn of events Cleopatra locked herself in a chamber with two serpents and eventually also commits suicide. Histories are still not certain to this day the method she used to committed suicide but speculators believe that it was when she put a poisonous snake to her wrist to have it bite her.

Cleopatra's power of seduction and charisma was able to bring empires to their knees. She was able to rejuvenate her kingdom and reclaim her throne from her enemies. There will always be two sides to a coin each different perspective to look at but there is no doubt that Cleopatra's seductive power was a force to be reckoned with.

Works Cited

Delaney , Angelica E. “Reading Cleopatra VII: The Crafting of a Political Persona .” Https://Digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/, digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1024&context=kjur.

“The Great Seducer : Cleopatra, Queen and Sex Symbol.” Seduction and Power : Antiquity in the Visual and Performing Arts, doi:10.5040/9781472555748.ch-014.

Gwyn, Griffiths J. “The Death of Cleopatra VII.” The Death of Cleopatra VII, journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/030751336104700113?journalCode=egaa.

Moore, Chamara. A Queen ’s Reputation: A Feminist Analysis of The Cultural Appropriations of Cleopatra, aquila.usm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1308&context=honors_theses.

Roller, Duane W. “Obo.” Cleopatra - Classics - Oxford Bibliographies, 15 Feb. 2018, www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195389661/obo-9780195389661-0130.xml.

Watterson, Barbara. Women in Ancient Egypt. Amberley, 2013.