Cleopatra gained power in Egypt through the death of her father Ptolemy XII, so she became co-regent for her brother who took the dead king’s place. However, he was too young to be making decisions at the age of 10. At the time of Ptolemy XII’s death, he was in debt, and this carried over to Cleopatra. This made it very hard for Cleopatra to gain economic power, which was one of the keys to maintaining the power that she had. She looked for other ways to obtain gold in order to pay her army and keep her place on the throne. It was extremely difficult to do so because there were also political issues from outsiders. Cleopatra utilized her sexual abilities and capability to persuade others and formed an army elsewhere. She later returned to Egypt with a strong army that prospered. Cleopatra wanted to overpower her brother Ptolemy XIII, so she wanted to link herself to Roman warlords such as Julius Caesar and Marc Antony. These generals had one of the best military …show more content…
It typically contains a substance such as ointment or fragrances, but significance is held simply because Cleopatra is in the sight of the goddess Isis. It was rare that there is a depiction of, not only a elite woman, but a royal woman being shown face-to-face with a god or goddess of Egypt. It is usually males who are depicted, and even though a male pharaoh is shown, many believe that “Cleopatra is represented as a traditional male pharaoh, wearing the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt, and a triangular loincloth. Two vases are offered to the goddess Isis, who nurses her baby, Horus” (Bernadette). To have a female ruler encounter the goddess Isis in a commemorative pillar is groundbreaking. It showed that this slab emphasized the power that Cleopatra held at the time. It was also a sign that Cleopatra held that divine royal power with her depicted as a female ruler of Egypt, facing right in front of the goddess