Cleopatra: Part 13

Survival, Not Virtue

Historian Adrian Goldsworthy observes that it is difficult to identify any truly ‘good’ figures in the times of the Roman Republic. This was not a struggle between heroes and villains. By modern standards, almost all the major players might be considered ruthless, ambitious and often murderous.

Cleopatra and her family were no exception. The Ptolemies had a long tradition of killing rivals within their own dynasty, to the point that they occasionally ran short of heirs. Cleopatra’s father executed her elder sister. Cleopatra herself was responsible for the deaths of her sister Arsinoe and her two younger brothers. Had history taken a different course, her own children might well have faced similar choices.

For a novelist, this presents a challenge: readers must become invested in characters who, by our standards, are deeply flawed.

Why Cleopatra Endures

Most people in the Western tradition are already prepared for this complexity because of Shakespeare. In Antony and Cleopatra, she is not portrayed as a heroine but as a woman of extraordinary contradictions. Shrewd, charismatic, seductive, intelligent and politically ruthless, she remains one of the most demanding roles in English literature.

Like Elizabeth I, under whose reign Shakespeare wrote, Cleopatra is presented as a ruler whose brilliance sits alongside cruelty and pragmatism.

Caesar and Cleopatra

When Cleopatra met Julius Caesar, she was twenty-one years old and at the head of an army. Driven from Egypt by her brother’s advisers, she had raised mercenaries in Syria and returned to fight for her throne.

Winning Caesar’s support restored her to power. Their relationship was undoubtedly political, but it was also unusually close. Cleopatra bore Caesar a son, Caesarion, whom Caesar himself appears to have acknowledged. In Egyptian eyes, Cleopatra and Caesar were effectively husband and wife, even if Roman law never recognised such a marriage.

Whether Cleopatra truly loved Caesar is impossible to know. What is clear is that the relationship greatly strengthened Egypt’s position. A child who united the bloodlines of the ruler of Egypt and the most powerful man in Rome represented an extraordinary political possibility.

Kill or Be Killed

After Caesar’s assassination, Cleopatra returned to Egypt. Soon afterwards, her second husband and youngest brother disappeared from the historical record, leaving her to rule alongside Caesarion.

By then, Cleopatra’s death toll stood at three siblings. Yet judging her purely as a serial killer risks missing the reality of her world. For three centuries, the Ptolemaic dynasty had operated on a simple principle: kill or be killed. Cleopatra was not an exception to that system. She was its most successful survivor.

Further Reading

Readers interested in learning more about Cleopatra VII, the Ptolemaic dynasty, and the Roman figures who shaped her world may find the following references useful.

Historical References

• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Cleopatra-queen-of-Egypt
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Julius-Caesar-Roman-ruler
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mark-Antony
• World History Encyclopedia: Cleopatra VII Philopator
• World History Encyclopedia: Ptolemaic Dynasty
• World History Encyclopedia: Caesarion
• https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/ptol/hd_ptol.htm

Recommended Non-Fiction

• Adrian Goldsworthy, Cleopatra: A Life
  A balanced biography that places Cleopatra firmly within the brutal realities of her age.
• Stacy Schiff, Cleopatra: A Life
  A highly readable and award-winning account that strips away many of the myths surrounding Cleopatra.
• Duane W. Roller, Cleopatra: A Biography
  An accessible study emphasising Cleopatra’s achievements as a ruler and diplomat.
• Adrian Goldsworthy, Antony and Cleopatra
  A dual biography examining one of history’s most famous political partnerships.
• Mary Beard, SPQR
  Essential reading for understanding the Roman Republic and the world that produced Caesar, Antony and Augustus.

Recommended Fiction

• Margaret George, The Memoirs of Cleopatra
  An epic first-person retelling that vividly recreates the queen’s life and times.
• Colleen McCullough, The October Horse
  Part of the Masters of Rome series, covering Caesar’s final years and Cleopatra’s emergence on the Roman stage.
• Michelle Moran, Cleopatra’s Daughter
  The story of Cleopatra through the eyes of her daughter Selene after Egypt’s fall.
• Jack Lindsay, The Passionate Queen
  A classic historical novel portraying Cleopatra as both ruler and woman.
• Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra
  Not a novel, but arguably the most influential fictional portrayal of Cleopatra in the English-speaking world.