Was Cleopatra a real person

Answer 1

Was she really real?

Absolutely! Cleopatra, born in 69 B.C., was made Cleopatra VII, queen of Egypt, upon the death of her father, Ptolemy XII, in 51 B.C. She was the last of the Macedonian Ptolemaic Pharaohs of Egypt who rose to power over Egypt after the death of Alexander the great in 323 B.C.

The Influence of the "Pax Romanus" and Julius Caesar

Cleopatra was an infamous temptress who seduced Julius Caesar and bore his child Caesarean, to gain his favour and the protection of the Roman Empire. Julius was assassinated in March 44 B.C. ("The Ides of March" Ref: Shakespeare) by members of the Roman Senate after he declared himself dictator ("Et tu Brutus?" (...and you (also) Brutus) Ref: Shakespeare).

The Death of Caesar

After his death to maintain her position she sought to seduce Mark Anthony who was a Roman General. After a torrid affair with him, he returned to Rome to marry Octavian's sister "Octavius" in an effort to patch their friendship and to bind their two houses more closely. Unfortunately this didn't last long and he separated from Octavia and returned to Cleopatra who by that time has given birth to non-identical twins, a girl and a boy (Which were allegedly his).

Marriage to a foreigner

He then made a decision which would prove to be fatal. He married Cleopatra! This broke Roman Law which stated that a Roman could not marry a foreigner. Back in Rome Octavian started a his own war, a propaganda war and it wasn't long before Cleopatra was being called the "Whore of Egypt". This didn't really bother Mark Anthony as he did what all good Roman Generals did at that time and disappeared off to Partha and Armenia on campaign.Finally, upset at the effective divorce of his sister Octavian declared war against Cleopatra, and therefore Mark Antony's family, in 31 B.C. Mark Anthony battled Anthony and initially lost the battles but eventually made his way to Cleopatras capitol city Alexandra.

The Shakespeare connection

In a scene "stolen" by William Shakespeare for his play "Romeo and Juliet", Cleopatra took shelter in her mausoleum against the encroaching forces of Octavian. Mark Anthony in a classic miscommunication heard that Cleopatra had been taken there because she was dead. As his forces faced defeat he decided that all was lost and committed suicide by "Falling on his sword". But then, as he lay dying a messenger reported that Cleopatra wasn't dead after all, and he was carried to the mausoleum to be with her where he eventually expired.

The breast and the viper

Cleopatra, being a pragmatic leader, attempted to seduce Octavian, but he was having none of it. So, rather than be dragged back to Rome to be executed in front of the Senate steps, she chose to take her own life. The Egyptian Asp was a sign of Egyptian Deity so it would have been entirely appropriate that she would have used this as reported later by historians, but in reality nobody really knows how she committed suicide but we do know when which was on August 30, 30 B.C. possibly by means of a bite from an Asp.

Revenge of Octavian

Octavian having the prize of having Mark Anthony and Cleopatra dragged around the streets of Rome from him sought revenge for their suicides and his attention turned to Casarean, Cleo's son from Julius whom he had murdered. to prevent any claim to the estate and title of of Julius Caesar (Who was still a hero in the eyes of the Plebeians (Roman common citizens)). He then took over the Egyptian Empire, effectively making Egypt an annexe of the Roman Empire.

Rise to power

The Roman people loved a conqueror and were probably looking for somebody of equal stature to their beloved dictator Julius Caesar. With all the wealth that Octavian made from his take over of Egypt and the fact that he gave the wealth of Cleopatra's treasury to the veterans of the war (Bribery perhaps?), He was exalted to position of Augustus, Emperor of Rome in 27.b.c.

Cleopatra today

Cleopatra was well documented by the Egyptians during her life and subsequently by the Roman historians after her death. It was these reports & documents that William Shakespeare used to to write Julius Caesar, and parts of the intrigue appears in Romeo and Juliet (as previously mentioned).

Cleopatra's Palace

The real Cleopatra's Palace and dockyards are fell into the sea during an earthquake a while after her death and was recently rediscovered in the Harbour and offshore area of Alexandra Egypt. These ruins have been put under a preservation order by the Egyptian authorities and are not permitted to be dived on by the public.