Read the Following Paragraph About the Day Marc Gave Some Surprising News to His Family
1. Cleopatra was not Egyptian.
While Cleopatra was born in Egypt, she traced her family origins to Macedonian Greece and Ptolemy I Soter, i of Alexander the Swell's generals. Ptolemy reigned Egypt later on Alexander's death in 323 B.C., and he launched a dynasty of Greek-speaking rulers that lasted for well-nigh iii centuries. Despite not beingness ethnically Egyptian, Cleopatra embraced many of her country'south ancient community and was the get-go fellow member of the Ptolemaic line to larn the Egyptian language.
2. She was the product of incest.
Like many royal houses, members of the Ptolemaic dynasty often married within the family to preserve the purity of their bloodline. More than a dozen of Cleopatra's ancestors tied the knot with cousins or siblings, and it's likely that her own parents were blood brother and sister. In keeping with this custom, Cleopatra somewhen married both of her adolescent brothers, each of whom served as her ceremonial spouse and co-regent at dissimilar times during her reign.
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three. Cleopatra's dazzler wasn't her biggest asset.
Roman propaganda painted Cleopatra as a debauched temptress who used her sexual practice appeal as a political weapon, only she may have been more renowned for her intellect than her appearance. She spoke every bit many every bit a dozen languages and was educated in mathematics, philosophy, oratory and astronomy, and Egyptian sources later described her as a ruler "who elevated the ranks of scholars and enjoyed their company." There's too evidence that Cleopatra wasn't equally physically striking equally once believed. Coins with her portrait bear witness her with manly features and a large, hooked nose, though some historians contend that she intentionally portrayed herself as masculine as a brandish of strength. For his part, the ancient writer Plutarch claimed that Cleopatra'south dazzler was "non altogether incomparable," and that information technology was instead her mellifluous speaking voice and "irresistible amuse" that made her so desirable.
iv. She had a paw in the deaths of three of her siblings.
Power grabs and murder plots were as much a Ptolemaic tradition as family matrimony, and Cleopatra and her brothers and sisters were no different. Her first sibling-husband, Ptolemy XIII, ran her out of Egypt after she tried to have sole possession of the throne, and the pair later faced off in a civil state of war. Cleopatra regained the upper paw past teaming with Julius Caesar, and Ptolemy drowned in the Nile River after existence defeated in battle. Post-obit the war, Cleopatra remarried to her younger brother Ptolemy 14, but she is believed to take had him murdered in a bid to make her son her co-ruler. In 41 B.C., she also engineered the execution of her sister, Arsinoe, who she considered a rival to throne.
five. Cleopatra knew how to make an archway.
Cleopatra believed herself to be a living goddess, and she often used clever stagecraft to woo potential allies and reinforce her divine condition. A famous instance of her flair for the dramatic came in 48 B.C., when Julius Caesar arrived in Alexandria during her feud with her brother Ptolemy XIII. Knowing Ptolemy's forces would thwart her attempts to meet with the Roman general, Cleopatra had herself wrapped in a carpet—some sources say it was a linen sack—and smuggled into his personal quarters. Caesar was dazzled by the sight of the young queen in her imperial garb, and the two soon became allies and lovers.
Cleopatra later employed a similar bit of theater in her 41 B.C. run into with Mark Antony. When summoned to see the Roman Triumvir in Tarsus, she is said to take arrived on a golden barge adorned with purple sails and rowed by oars made of silver. Cleopatra had been fabricated upward to await like the goddess Aphrodite, and she sat beneath a aureate canopy while attendants dressed as cupids fanned her and burned sweet-smelling incense. Antony—who considered himself the embodiment of the Greek god Dionysus—was instantly enchanted.
Credit: DeAgostini/Getty Images
6. She was living in Rome at the time of Caesar's bump-off.
Cleopatra joined Julius Caesar in Rome beginning in 46 B.C., and her presence seems to accept caused quite a stir. Caesar didn't hide that she was his mistress—she even came to the city with their lovechild, Caesarion, in tow—and many Romans were scandalized when he erected a aureate statue of her in the temple of Venus Genetrix. Cleopatra was forced to flee Rome after Caesar was stabbed to death in the Roman senate in 44 B.C., but by then she had made her mark on the city. Her exotic hairstyle and pearl jewelry became a style trend, and co-ordinate to the historian Joann Fletcher, "so many Roman women adopted the 'Cleopatra wait' that their statuary has frequently been mistaken for Cleopatra herself."
7. Cleopatra and Marker Antony formed their ain drinking lodge.
Cleopatra beginning began her legendary love thing with the Roman full general Marking Antony in 41 B.C. Their relationship had a political component—Cleopatra needed Antony to protect her crown and maintain Egypt's independence, while Antony needed admission to Egypt's riches and resources—but they were also famously fond of each other's company. According to ancient sources, they spent the winter of 41-40 B.C. living a life of leisure and backlog in Egypt, and even formed their own drinking society known as the "Inimitable Livers." The grouping engaged in nightly feasts and wine-binges, and its members occasionally took office in elaborate games and contests. I of Antony and Cleopatra'due south favorite activities supposedly involved wandering the streets of Alexandria in disguise and playing pranks on its residents.
viii. She led a fleet in a naval battle.
Cleopatra eventually married Marker Antony and had three children with him, but their relationship besides spawned a massive scandal in Rome. Antony's rival Octavian used propaganda to portray him as a traitor under the sway of a scheming seductress, and in 32 B.C., the Roman Senate declared war on Cleopatra. The conflict reached its climax the post-obit year in a famous naval battle at Actium. Cleopatra personally led several dozen Egyptian warships into the fray alongside Antony's armada, merely they were no match for Octavian'due south navy. The boxing soon devolved into a rout, and Cleopatra and Antony were forced to break through the Roman line and abscond to Egypt.
9. Cleopatra may not have died from an asp bite.
Cleopatra and Antony famously took their ain lives in 30 B.C., after Octavian's forces pursued them to Alexandria. While Antony is said to have fatally stabbed himself in the tummy, Cleopatra's method of suicide is less sure. Fable has it that she died by enticing an "asp"—most probable a viper or Egyptian cobra—to seize with teeth her arm, but the ancient chronicler Plutarch admits that "what really took place is known to no i." He says Cleopatra was also known to conceal a deadly toxicant in one of her hair combs, and the historian Strabo notes that she may have applied a fatal "ointment." With this in mind, many scholars at present suspect she used a pin dipped in some form of strong toxin—ophidian venom or otherwise.
READ More than: Did Cleopatra Actually Die by Ophidian Bite?
10. A 1963 film about her was 1 of the most expensive movies of all time.
The Queen of the Nile has been portrayed on the silverish screen by the likes of Claudette Colbert and Sophia Loren, but she was virtually famously played by Elizabeth Taylor in the 1963 sword-and-sandal ballsy "Cleopatra." The motion picture was plagued by production problems and script issues, and its budget somewhen soared from $2 million to $44 million—including some $200,000 just to cover the price of Taylor'southward costumes. It was the most expensive movie e'er made at the time of its release, and almost bankrupted its studio despite raking in a fortune at the box function. If aggrandizement is taken into account, "Cleopatra" remains one of the priciest movies in history even today.
Source: https://www.history.com/news/10-little-known-facts-about-cleopatra
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