Cleopatra

Cleopatra was an Egyptian queen. At some point, the goddess Hathor gifted her a necklace. ("Unequivocal Success")

The obelisk, Cleopatra's Needle, was named after her (despite having nothing to do with her).

Appearances

• "Unequivocal Success" (Mentioned Only)

Real World Background

Cleopatra VII was a descendant of the Greek general, Ptolemy I, a companion of Alexander the Great. Her name (Κλεοπάτρα in Greek) translates to 'glory of her father'. She later adopted the title Theā́ Philopátōra (Θεά Φιλοπάτωρ) meaning 'Goddess who loves her father' or 'the Father-loving Goddess'. Cleopatra was the only Ptolemaic ruler believed to have learned the Egyptian language.

At eighteen, she ascended the throne as co-regent with her eleven year-old brother, Ptolemy XIII. A falling out between the two led to civil war for the throne, with Ptolemy XIII joining forces with their half-sister Arsinoë IV. In 48 BC, the two would lay siege to the Egyptian capital of Alexandria, trapping Cleopatra and the visiting Roman dictator Julius Caesar for months. Leading up to (and during) the conflict, Cleopatra and Caesar became romantically involved. By 47 BC, Ptolemy XIII and Arsinoë IV fell short of victory when reinforcements sympathetic to Caesar arrived from Syria. Ptolemy XIII died shortly after and Arsinoë IV was exiled to Ephesus. That summer, Cleopatra gave birth to Caesar's son, Caesarion.

During this time, Cleopatra visited Rome twice; the second trip in hopes of having Caesarion recognized as Caesar's successor, but these efforts failed – following Caesar's assassination in 44 BC, his grandnephew, Octavian, remained his designated choice. Denied a future for her son in Rome, Cleopatra declared Caesarion co-ruler of Egypt. By 42 BC, Cleopatra made her political alliance with Octavian and his brother-in-law, Mark Antony. Already acquaintances, Antony and Cleopatra began a relationship and Cleopatra ultimately gave birth to three more children: twins Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene in 40 BC, and Ptolemy Philadelphus in 36 BC. Antony also carried out the execution of Cleopatra's exiled half-sister, Arsinoë IV.

The alliance between Octavian and Antony eventually disintegrated (in part, due to Antony divorcing Octavian's sister in favor of Cleopatra), and Rome declared war on Egypt in 32 BC. Upon hearing the news in 30 BC that Octavian had defeated Antony's forces, the thirty-nine year-old Queen poisoned herself (although she is often depicted committing suicide with an asp, specifically an Egyptian cobra). Octavian ordered the execution of Caesarion while his sister, Octavia the Younger (Mark Antony's former wife) took in Cleopatra's surviving children.

Believed to have been buried with Mark Antony, the location of Cleopatra's tomb remains unknown. The end of her reign marked the end of Egypt's Hellenistic period, which lasted for more than three hundred years since the time Alexander the Great conquered the region.

She and Mark Antony are the eponymous subjects of William Shakespeare's 1608 play, Antony and Cleopatra. Despite her presence in Rome during Caesar's assassination, she is not a featured character in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.

See Also

• Cleopatra at Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia