Cultural depictions of Cleopatra VII Essays

In much of ancient Greek and Roman literature, the gods are important characters. They help to drive the plot along, either by being benevolent figures, helping the human main characters, or as vengeful monsters bent on obstructing the journey of the protagonist. The gods can have both human and divine qualities. Quite the same, the humans in these ancient texts can be portrayed as having divine qualities, especially protagonists. Virgil’s Aeneid and Ovid’s Metamorphoses, while different in styles

their lives. As such, Cleopatra and Lady Macbeth are to blame for Antony and Macbeth’s ruin, respectively. Such is the argument of many critics whose basis of accusation is far from grounded. Both women are powerful Shakespearean characters marked with a stain, not of guilt or crime in its entirety, but rather one of womanhood. Through the creation of double standards with their male counterparts, both female characters are subject to sexism and objectification. Cleopatra, albeit weakened by recent

When Tony Kushner first presented his play Homebody/Kabul to the public in a partial reading at the University of Pennsylvania’s Kelly Writers House in February 2001, the playwright, albeit somewhat tongue-in-cheek, emphasized the title and predicted that academics were going to “be very excited by the slash mark” (“Reading”) separating the two words, ‘Homebody’ and ‘Kabul’. Irony (directed at himself and at academic practice) apart, this remark suggests that Kushner had deeper implications in mind

In both ‘Antony and Cleopatra’ and ‘Macbeth’ sexuality is presented as a dangerous weapon that can cause great harm, it appears to frighten others however whilst Lady Macbeth is able to isolate her venomous sexual manipulation to her husband, Cleopatra is objectified for being an Egyptian woman – something that Antony is mocked for frequently by Ceaser. Cleopatra is viewed outrageously because of her sexuality. Cleopatra degrades herself when she refers to herself as “serpent of old Nile” which

Cleopatra VII and Ptolemy XIII have been portrayed to have a complicated relationship within ancient Roman sources, however, even more complicated is the differences between their individual portrayals in these sources. The treatment of Cleopatra VII and Ptolemy XIII in Roman sources vary from source to source due to the different biases held by the authors. Lucan’s Pharsalia treats the pair most harshly with obvious biases, while Cassius Dio’s Roman History and Hirtius’ Alexandrian War present the

of all the traits that Cleopatra should be remembered for, ‘beautiful’ should not be one of them. Cleopatra VII of the Ptolemic dynasty was Queen of the Nile for just over two decades between 51 and 30 BC. During her reign as Queen of Egypt she also ruled parts of Rome, Syria, Lebanon and Palestine, cunningly created alliances with powerful leaders, led a naval fleet at the Battle of Actium, became a renowned scholar and had four children. Despite all of this, Cleopatra has all too often been remembered

Most pharaoh-queens were named Cleopatra; however, when referenced, Cleopatra VII nearly always comes to mind. Modern day depictions of Cleopatra put a strong emphasis on her supposed beauty. Even Ancient Roman historians had much to say in this respect – “For she was a woman of surpassing beauty, and at that time, when she was in the prime of her youth, she was most striking; she also possessed a most charming voice and a knowledge of how to make herself agreeable with everyone.” However, while

Cleopatra VII ruled Ancient Egypt from ………………to ………………. / for 3 decades from ………………………to ………………………………. She was the last of the Macedonian rulers founded by Ptolemy during Alexander the Great’s conquest of Egypt in 332 B.C. She was clever and well-educated and could speak several languages. She had romantic as well as military alliances with the Roman leaders Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. Cleopatra VII is believed to have been born in 70 or 69 B.C., the daughter of Auletes (Ptolemy XII) and Cleopatra

All utopias are different. People have different concepts of utopias and they can be good or bad depending on their ideas. The examples of utopian societies that we read in class, like the well- known novel Animal Farm, and the lesser known short stories “The Most Dangerous Game” and “Harrison Bergeron” were all different examples of utopias, but none of them sounded fair or humane. One was murder, one was a twisted concept of equality and the other was taking advantage of blunt mindedness. In Animal

Cleopatra VII was undoubtedly one of the most influential and impactful women to go down in history-and she certainly didn't go down without a fight. Cleopatra Thea Philopator was born in 69BC in Alexandria, Egypt though of Macedonian descent from a Greek family. She was a descendant of Ptolemy I Soter, a trusted commander of Alexander the Great who conquered Egypt in 322BC and left her ancestor the grounds of Egypt. When Cleopatra procured the throne at 18 with her 10-year-old brother Ptolemy

number of building projects and personally led military campaigns. If we glimpse into Egyptian History, the name Nefertiti (c. 1370 - c. 1336 BCE) comes up first. She was the wife of the pharaoh Akhenaten and together they shaped Egypt into most cultural and most powerful nation during that time. It is a well-known fact that her husband was very much devoted to her and such was her that she influenced monotheism towards Sun God Amon

alliances, and keeping her family's dynasty alive were all the key components Cleopatra needed to restore Egypt. According to Grochowski “Cleopatra used any means necessary to complete her goals and protect the country she loved, known as Egypt” (Grochowski 1). Cleopatra acquired a bad reputation because of her background but she did many things to make Egypt her top priority. Although she was not fit to be the ruler of Egypt, Cleopatra did restore Egypt to former glory because of her determination, strong

EGYPTIAN WOMEN FROM THE PTOLEMAIC TO THE COPTIC PERIOD 4.1 The Ptolemaic period Cleopatra VII gave more careful consideration than her ancestors to the local Egyptian population (Figure 2a and Figure 2d). Although, she was descended from a family of state decision makers, The Ptolemies, who were not Egyptians by blood, but rather Greek/Macedonian (The rulers succeeding Alexander the Great). She was the main Ptolemaic ruler who learnt the Egyptian language, and adopted all the religious customs to

Queen Victoria was placed on the English throne in 1837, shortly after the death of William IV. She would continue to reign over the United Kingdom until her death in 1876 as one of the longest reigning monarchs in world history. Young Victoria was only eighteen years old when she came to power over a rather large empire that was considered to be one of the most powerful in the world. A young lady who was barely eighteen and unmarried caused quite a stir among the English parliament and subjects

Hatshepsut as a pharaoh of Egypt from roughly 1479 to 1458 BCE. She not only had the long west reign of any Egyptian female, but is also regarded as one of the most successful rulers in Egyptian history. Under Hatshepsut, Egypt explored, built, and grew. Hatshepsut had many achievements, but the greatest of them all was being the first female pharaoh of Egypt to have full powers during the 18th dynasty when there was great opposition against the women leadership. She was the daughter of King Thutmose

With a strong voice one can change the entire outcome of a conflict and history as it is known. Speeches have been around for centuries and influences the growth and decline of countries, populations, and species. In many of William Shakespeare 's writings, he is able to emphasize the meaning of a persuasive speech which sets the basis for future orators. In one of Shakespeare 's most famous plays, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Marcus Brutus and Marc Antony both attempts to move the people with similar

An Orphaned eighteen year old Cleopatra, along with her 10 year old brother, was left to rule over Egypt. Born in 69 BC to the Macedonian Greek Ptolemy XII, Cleopatra was the second of the five children, three daughters followed by two sons. Cleopatra, a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, never put anything in her mouth that had not been tested for poison to ensure her forthcoming of the throne. She learned to read by chanting the Greek alphabet, once she passed pronunciation she then traced the letters

Good afternoon, Your Majesty. You've intrigued me since I was a child; I'd love to discuss your experiences as Pharaoh of Egypt. Call me Cleopatra, Katie. I’m thrilled to be here! How’d you know my- I got your invitation. The world is much different today! We thought the Library of Alexandria was impressive, but modern technology is incredible. Enough of me being ancient, let’s chat. My reign was filled with challenges; from power-hungry siblings to Octavius’ strengthening army, Egypt was

In the first part of my essay I am going to discuss how Cassis Dio characterises Cleopatra in the given passage. Throughout the extract there is an ongoing positive characterisation of Cleopatra, what strikes me most is the portrayal of her physical image. We are first introduced to the concept of Cleopatra being a ‘surpassing beauty’ (Cassius dio, page 20) in the opening sentence, it is then a reoccurring theme throughout the text. An interesting point made about her beauty is in the sentence, ‘and

Cleopatra VII: Face or Power Figure Some see her as the most powerful Pharaoh in all of the other rulers in ancient Egypt. Some see her as a petty, weak female ruler who gave up her dynasty to the Romans for her lovers. Although both sides hold some form of truth, Cleopatra was a ruler like none other. Even today, historians argue about this, possibly because, even though she had brought Egypt great power and political stability, she eventually lost it to the Romans. But all in all, Cleopatra had