The Scourge of Cleopatra

Welcome back to Myths & Mischief! This is your Lovable Lord of Lore, today’s mischievous myth is about Cleopatra’s persistence in the pursuit of power.

Cleopatra II was scorned by her husband (who was also her brother) and spent the rest of her life attempting to regain that power and more.

Her story started well before her birth as Alexander the Great embarked on a campaign to conquer the known world. After starting in Macedonia, he conquered Greece, Egypt and marched his troops into modern day India. After 10 years of fighting, he was told that it would take another 10 years to get through China to the ocean. He turned back and died within days, leaving his newly conquered lands to be divided. One of those divisions, Egypt, was given to Alexander’s general Ptolemy. Over the next 250 years this was past on to his descendants including King Ptolemy VII, his son Ptolemy VIII and his daughter, Cleopatra. There are speculations that Cleopatra’s parents were brother and sister, and another one that claims that Cleopatra’s mother was of African descent.

When Cleopatra’s father died, she took the throne at age 18, and she married her brother who was 8 years her younger. As the two siblings ruled together, Egypt struggled with an unhealthy economy as well as flooding issues and famines that caused unrest. As pressure mounted on the rulers, there was a division, and Cleopatra was exiled to Syria. As a woman scorned by her younger brother, she attempted to amass an army to take back her throne.

Her timing worked out well, as the Romans had their own internal conflict raging. Pompey had traveled to Egypt with Julius Caesar in pursuit. Ptolemy VIII ordered Pompey to be killed, but Caesar took the side of Cleopatra anyway and helped her win the Alexandrian War and with Caesar’s assistance she retook the throne. In an attempt to flee, her brother attempted to cross the Nile River and failed. He drowned, which helped solidify Cleopatra’s claim to rule.

Cleopatra, then 23 years old, and Caesar fell in love and were welcomed in Rome as conquering heroes to great fanfare. The two of them possibly had a child named Caesarion, but it is unclear if he was the son of Julius Caesar. The lived in Rome for two years until the assassination of Julius Caesar and she returned to Egypt. Three years later, Mark Antony, part of the Second Triumvirate that ruled Rome after Caesar’s death, sent for Cleopatra to find out where she stood.

Their meeting was fruitful in numerous ways, not only did Cleopatra support Mark Antony, but their relationship blossomed and she bore him at least 3 children. Claims to be the next emperor came down to 2 favorites. Cleopatra and Antony claimed that Caesarion was the son of Julius Caesar and the rightful heir to the thrown. As muddled as the claims of the TV show Game of Thrones, Octavian (later known as Emperor Caesar Augustus), the adopted son and nephew of Julius Caesar and his pick to be ruler, also had a strong claim.

Octavian used Antony’s will to turn the public against him, since he gave up so much of his wealth and influence to Cleopatra as well as spreading a rumor about Antony’s desire for moving the capital away from Rome to Egypt. The 2 sides clashed and Cleopatra and Antony were defeated in a sea battle at Actium, off of the west coast of Greece. The 2 fled back to Egypt.

Within the next year, Antony killed himself after believing that Cleopatra was dead. Much like Romeo and Juliet, she then coaxed an asp to bite her with deadly results. There is some debate over how she died. According to legend, she was buried with Antony in an undisclosed location which still eludes us. After the death of Cleopatra, the last Pharaoh, made Egypt a province of the Roman Empire.

While living in a male dominated society, Cleopatra was known for her powers of seduction, largely due to movies and Shakespearian plays, but her plotting and resolve were also assets that she used to retaliate against her enemies and was as powerful as any of the male leaders at that time. Even in times of trouble, history’s teaches that there are rewards and punishments for those that overreach, regardless of gender as Cleopatra died at the age of 39.

That’s it for this week’s installment, this is your Lord of the Lore signing off.  

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