[179], Cleopatra's presence in Rome most likely had an effect on the events at the Lupercalia festival a month before Caesar's assassination. [161][162] Caesar could have had an interest in the Nile cruise owing to his fascination with geography; he was well-read in the works of Eratosthenes and Pytheas, and perhaps wanted to discover the source of the river, but turned back before reaching Ethiopia. By association with the renowned queen of Egypt, a woman of ravishing charms which are not unattainable. was cleopatra going to be named jillian. [3][413] These similar facial features followed an artistic convention that represented the mutually-observed harmony of a royal couple. He carried out the execution of Arsinoe at her request, and became increasingly reliant on Cleopatra for both funding and military aid during his invasions of the Parthian Empire and the Kingdom of Armenia. TOP DEFINITION Jillian With this name, there's not a set place to start. By adulthood she was well-versed in many languages, incl [381][382] The Roman History published by the official and historian Cassius Dio in the early 3rd century AD, while failing to fully comprehend the complexities of the late Hellenistic world, nevertheless provides a continuous history of the era of Cleopatra's reign. [note 5] A member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, she was a descendant of its founder Ptolemy I Soter, a Macedonian Greek general and companion of Alexander the Great. [270][269], In late 34 BC, Antony and Octavian engaged in a heated war of propaganda that would last for years. Publications on ancient Greek medicine attributed to her are,[376] however, likely to be the work of a physician by the same name writing in the late first century AD. [450][note 75] Adrian Goldsworthy writes that, despite these representations in the traditional Egyptian style, Cleopatra would have dressed as a native only "perhaps for certain rites" and instead would usually dress as a Greek monarch, which would include the Greek headband seen in her Greco-Roman busts. [154][155][156], Caesar's term as consul had expired at the end of 48 BC. She has become a pop culture icon of Egyptomania since the Victorian era, and in modern times, Cleopatra has appeared in the applied and fine arts, burlesque satire, Hollywood films, and brand images for commercial products. [395][396] Plutarch described Cleopatra as having had a stronger personality and charming wit than physical beauty. During her lifetime, "Africa" usually referred to a very specific portion of the North coast of the continent we call by that name. [470] Its popularity led to the perception that the 1885 painting by Lawrence Alma-Tadema depicted the meeting of Antony and Cleopatra on her pleasure barge in Tarsus, although Alma-Tadema revealed in a private letter that it depicts a subsequent meeting of theirs in Alexandria. Ridiculus sociosqu cursus neque cursus curae ante scelerisque vehicula. [300] Arguments in favor of it depicting Cleopatra include the strong connection of her house with that of the Numidian royal family, Masinissa and Ptolemy VIII Physcon having been associates, and Cleopatra's own daughter marrying the Numidian prince Juba II. Roman historiography and Latin poetry produced a generally critical view of the queen that pervaded later Medieval and Renaissance literature. [344][345][note 7] In January of 27 BC Octavian was renamed Augustus ("the revered") and amassed constitutional powers that established him as the first Roman emperor, inaugurating the Principate era of the Roman Empire. [334][333][335][note 55] No venomous snake was found with her body, but she did have tiny puncture wounds on her arm that could have been caused by a needle. [298][302] The couple then went their separate ways, Antony to Cyrene to raise more troops and Cleopatra to the harbor at Alexandria in an attempt to mislead the oppositional party and portray the activities in Greece as a victory. [469] Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra was considered canonical by the Victorian era. [445] Dated to the mid-1st century BC, it is perhaps the earliest depiction of Cleopatra as both a goddess and ruling pharaoh of Egypt. [314][315] Octavian advanced quickly to Alexandria, but Antony returned and won a small victory over Octavian's tired troops outside the city's hippodrome. [201][202] The meeting would allow Cleopatra to clear up the misconception that she had supported Cassius during the civil war and address territorial exchanges in the Levant, but Antony also undoubtedly desired to form a personal, romantic relationship with the queen. Cleopatra VII was born in 69 B.C. "The joy of her father," from the Greek kleo (to make known) and pater (father). [397][16][398][note 63], Cleopatra was depicted in various ancient works of art, in the Egyptian as well as Hellenistic-Greek and Roman styles. [292] They also lost the support of Malichus I, which would prove to have strategic consequences. All of Ptolemy's children hoped to eventually rule, which made them rivals. [467][468] The French dramatist Victorien Sardou and Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw produced plays about Cleopatra, while burlesque shows such as F. C. Burnand's Antony and Cleopatra offered satirical depictions of the queen connecting her and the environment she lived in with the modern age. [41][42] The three younger children of Ptolemy XII, Cleopatra's sister Arsinoe IV and brothers Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator and Ptolemy XIV,[38][39][40] were born in the absence of his wife. The Latinized form Cleopatra comes from the Ancient Greek Kleoptra (), meaning "glory of her father",[6] from (klos, "glory") and (patr, "father"). [363][238] Octavia arranged the betrothal of Cleopatra Selene II to Juba II, son of Juba I, whose North African kingdom of Numidia had been turned into a Roman province in 46 BC by Julius Caesar due to Juba I's support of Pompey. [5][90][91][note 26] Cleopatra faced several pressing issues and emergencies shortly after taking the throne. [2], The inscriptions on the coins are written in Greek, but also in the nominative case of Roman coins rather than the genitive case of Greek coins, in addition to having the letters placed in a circular fashion along the edges of the coin instead of across it horizontally or vertically as was customary for Greek ones. . [372][373] A cult dedicated to Cleopatra still existed as late as 373 AD when Petesenufe, an Egyptian scribe of the book of Isis, explained that he "overlaid the figure of Cleopatra with gold. [484], Cleopatra belonged to the Macedonian Greek dynasty of the Ptolemies,[8][487][488][note 76] their European origins tracing back to northern Greece. Arsinoe IV was forcefully paraded in Caesar's triumph in Rome before being exiled to the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus. Cleopatra managed to clear her name as a supposed supporter of Cassius, arguing she had really attempted to help Dolabella in Syria, and convinced Antony to have her exiled sister, Arsinoe IV, executed at Ephesus. [211] Her rival Herod was occupied with civil war in Judea that required heavy Roman military assistance, but received none from Cleopatra. These included famine caused by drought and a low level of the annual flooding of the Nile, and lawless behavior instigated by the Gabiniani, the now unemployed and assimilated Roman soldiers left by Gabinius to garrison Egypt. [188][189][191] A few months later, Cleopatra had Ptolemy XIV killed by poisoning, elevating her son Caesarion as her co-ruler. [338][339][340][note 2] Octavian was convinced by the advice of the philosopher Arius Didymus that there was room for only one Caesar in the world. [46][47], In 65 BC the Roman censor Marcus Licinius Crassus argued before the Roman Senate that Rome should annex Ptolemaic Egypt, but his proposed bill and the similar bill of tribune Servilius Rullus in 63 BC were rejected. The early life of Cleopatra VII of Ptolemaic Egypt began with her birth in early 69 BC to reigning pharaoh Ptolemy XII Auletes and her unknown mother, and lasted until her accession to the throne by March 51 BC. For instance, The observation that the left cheek of the, For further information about the painting in the House of Giuseppe II (Joseph II) at Pompeii and the possible identification of Cleopatra as one of the figures, see, For further information on Cleopatra's Macedonian Greek lineage, see, For further information and validation of the foundation of Hellenistic Egypt by Alexander the Great and Cleopatra's ancestry stretching back to Ptolemy I Soter, see, For the Sogdian ancestry of Apama, wife of Seleucus I Nicator, see, For further information on the identity of Cleopatra's mother, see, The family tree and short discussions of the individuals can be found in, Reign of Cleopatra Egypt under the monarchy of Cleopatra, Cleopatra Testing Poisons on Condemned Prisoners, Death of Cleopatra Depictions in art and literature, a life-sized Roman-style statue of Cleopatra, the white skin of her face and neck set against a stark black background, "Radio 4 Programmes A History of the World in 100 Objects, Empire Builders (300 BC 1 AD), Rosetta Stone", the other sculpted head from Cherchel featuring a veil, "Cleopatra Couldn't Spell (And Neither Can We! Otherwise, the girl who grew up a half orphan, wouldn't have had a chance to create such an incredible life. [409][note 64] Cleopatra was also the first foreign queen to have her image appear on Roman currency. [170][171][172], Cleopatra and her nominal joint ruler Ptolemy XIV visited Rome sometime in late 46 BC, presumably without Caesarion, and were given lodging in Caesar's villa within the Horti Caesaris. [381], Cleopatra is barely mentioned in De Bello Alexandrino, the memoirs of an unknown staff officer who served under Caesar. Berenice was killed in 55 BC when Ptolemy returned to Egypt with Roman military assistance. [458] Works of Islamic historiography written in Arabic covered the reign of Cleopatra, such as the 10th-century Meadows of Gold by Al-Masudi,[459] although his work erroneously claimed that Octavian died soon after Cleopatra's suicide. [279] In 32 BC, the Antonian loyalists Gaius Sosius and Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus became consuls. [298][296][299], While Octavian occupied Athens, Antony and Cleopatra landed at Paraitonion in Egypt. Most people automatically associate the name Cleopatra with one person, but she actually wasn't the first or the last to bear the name. [376] Despite not being a biography of Cleopatra, the Life of Antonius written by Plutarch in the 1st century AD provides the most thorough surviving account of Cleopatra's life. [151][152][153] Cleopatra was conspicuously absent from these events and resided in the palace, most likely because she had been pregnant with Caesar's child since September 48 BC. The identity of her mother is a mystery, but some have speculated . While Cleopatra is a striking and singular figure in history, she was the latest in a long line. [442], The Bust of Cleopatra in the Royal Ontario Museum represents a bust of Cleopatra in the Egyptian style. [227] Herod had been installed as a tetrarch there by Antony, but he was soon at odds with Antigonus II Mattathias of the long-established Hasmonean dynasty. [195][199], By the end of 42 BC, Octavian had gained control over much of the western half of the Roman Republic and Antony the eastern half, with Lepidus largely marginalized. [478] Colbert's character of Cleopatra served as a glamour model for selling Egyptian-themed products in department stores in the 1930s, targeting female moviegoers. [385][393][note 62] The fragmentary Libyka commissioned by Cleopatra's son-in-law Juba II provides a glimpse at a possible body of historiographic material that supported Cleopatra's perspective. [265][266][267] Cleopatra Selene II was bestowed with Crete and Cyrene. Unfortunately, fans should expect to wait awhile before the new Cleopatra premieres. [215] With his powers as a triumvir, Antony also had the broad authority to restore former Ptolemaic lands, which were currently in Roman hands, to Cleopatra. [188][189][190] However, Caesar's will named his grandnephew Octavian as the primary heir, and Octavian arrived in Italy around the same time Cleopatra decided to depart for Egypt. [223] Fulvia and Antony's brother Lucius Antonius were eventually besieged by Octavian at Perusia (modern Perugia, Italy) and then exiled from Italy, after which Fulvia died at Sicyon in Greece while attempting to reach Antony. [303] It is uncertain whether or not, at this time, she actually executed Artavasdes II and sent his head to his rival, Artavasdes I of Media Atropatene, in an attempt to strike an alliance with him. There is academic disagreement on whether the following portraits are considered "heads" or "busts". [205] The Esquiline Venus is generally thought to be a mid-1st-century AD Roman copy of a 1st-century BC Greek original from the school of Pasiteles. [83][76], Ptolemy XII died sometime before 22 March 51 BC, when Cleopatra, in her first act as queen, began her voyage to Hermonthis, near Thebes, to install a new sacred Buchis bull, worshiped as an intermediary for the god Montu in the Ancient Egyptian religion. [58][62][note 20] Berenice IV sent an embassy to Rome to advocate for her rule and oppose the reinstatement of her father Ptolemy XII, but Ptolemy had assassins kill the leaders of the embassy, an incident that was covered up by his powerful Roman supporters. [233] Since the authority of Antony and Octavian as triumvirs had expired on 1January 37 BC, Octavia arranged for a meeting at Tarentum, where the triumvirate was officially extended to 33 BC. After losing the 48 BC Battle of Pharsalus in Greece against his rival Julius Caesar (a Roman dictator and consul) in Caesar's Civil War, the Roman statesman Pompey fled to Egypt. [149][126][150][note 39] Ganymedes may have been killed in the battle. [326] When a spy informed her that Octavian planned to move her and her children to Rome in three days, she prepared for suicide as she had no intentions of being paraded in a Roman triumph like her sister Arsinoe IV. [48][49] In it she wears a royal diadem, red or reddish-brown hair pulled back into a bun,[note 74] pearl-studded hairpins,[441] and earrings with ball-shaped pendants, the white skin of her face and neck set against a stark black background. [365][238] Cleopatra Selene II imported many important scholars, artists, and advisers from her mother's royal court in Alexandria to serve her in Caesarea, now permeated in Hellenistic Greek culture. [367][369] However, Ptolemy was eventually executed by the Roman emperor Caligula in 40 AD, perhaps under the pretense that Ptolemy had unlawfully minted his own royal coinage and utilized regalia reserved for the Roman emperor. [310] Thyrsos advised her to kill Antony so that her life would be spared, but when Antony suspected foul intent, he had this diplomat flogged and sent back to Octavian without a deal. [281] Octavian's legal standing was also improved by being elected consul in 31 BC. [245], In 36 BC, Cleopatra accompanied Antony to the Euphrates in his journey toward invading the Parthian Empire. [151] Wary of repeating the mistake of Cleopatra's sister Berenice IV in having a female monarch as sole ruler, Caesar appointed Cleopatra's 12-year-old brother, Ptolemy XIV, as joint ruler with the 22-year-old Cleopatra in a nominal sibling marriage, but Cleopatra continued living privately with Caesar. 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