Patrick Sweeney

[Duane Thomas]

Possibly more information than you really wanted, but Cleopatra Philopater VII (more commonly known to us simply as "Cleopatra") was a full-blooded Greek, and as best I can ascertain probably had red hair.

When Alexander the Great died at Babylon in 323 BC, just before his 33rd birthday and after conquering the then-known civilized world, he had not yet consolidated his new Macedonian Empire. The empire immediately began to crumble. One of the great questions of history is: had Alexander not died, could he have held the Empire together? The general consensus is no, is was simply too vast. However, robbed of his victorious presence, there was simply no way. Thus his most able generals split the Empire among themselves. Egypt was the plum, at that time the only region in the known world so fertile it could actually have two growing seasons a year. Also, it was a very, for lack of a better term, cohesive geographical entity - easy to rule.

Egypt was claimed by the Greek general Ptolemy. Six months after Alexander's death, Ptolemy was in Egypt proclaiming himself Ptolemy I, ruler of Egypt. It was Egyptian tradition that their rulers were descended from the gods, and gods did not produce children with mere mortals. There was also strong precedence for this belief in Hellenistic (Greek) culture. Because Cleopatra was associated intimately with two of the most famous men in history, Julius Caesar and Mark Antony (she had one child by Caesar, three by Antony) and likewise because she was a member of a great ruling dynasty, her family tree survives to this day. It is an unbroken line of Greek brothers marrying Greek sisters, Greek fathers marrying Greek daughters, etc.

There are coins bearing Cleopatra's likeness, minted during her lifetime, that survive even today. There is also the head of a statue of Cleopatra, recovered from the ruins of her daughter's sculpture garden, that tell us what she looked like. And what we see is a woman of almost stereotypically Greek features, curly hair, thin and hooked nose. No, she didn't look like Elizabeth Taylor. Though in her time she was considered incredibly good looking, and with an intelligence, strength of character, personal charisma and sex appeal second to none - certainly good enough, at the age of 16, to seduce and enthrall Caesar when his army entered Egypt.

[Patrick Sweeney]

And what's wrong with the way Greek women look?  As for Cleopatra, shw could have been a hnchback, and Ceaser would have struck an alliance with her.  Egypt produced so much wheat that he'd have been silly not to.

Jumping her bones, etc. was optional.  From that point, it was very exciting history, an extravagant movie, and legend that will last quite a long time.

[Duane Thomas]

Cleopatra was not in power when Caesar entered Egypt in 47 BC. Cleopatra's father, King Ptolemy XII, had willed the throne to his son, Ptolemy XIII, and his daughter, Cleopatra, with the intention they rule jointly as husband and wife. However Ptolemy forced Cleopatra from the throne and attempted to seize total political power. When Caesar entered Egypt, Cleopatra saw a chance to return to her throne. She had herself smuggled into Caesar's rooms inside a carpet, a "gift" for Caesar, and when the carpet was unrolled....theeeeere she was! Caesar was totally charmed, by her audacity among other things.

So it wasn't simply a matter of Caesar wanting Egypt's natural resources. If that were all he wanted, he could have dealt with the ruler already on the throne. Instead (beginning a love affair with Cleopatra that would eventually lead to the birth of their child, Caesarian) Caesar used his army to defeat Ptolemy's forces and reinstalled Cleopatra on the throne. Ptolemy XIII drowned in the Nile River trying to escape Caesar's army, leaving Cleopatra sole ruler of Egypt.

(Edited by Duane Thomas at 3:55 pm on June 1, 2002)