Cleopatra: Part 12
Cleopatra’s Closest Companions
The novel explores Cleopatra through her relationships with the people closest to her: Charmian and Iras, Julius Caesar, and Mark Antony.
Historically, Charmian and Iras are usually described as Cleopatra’s handmaidens. Yet Charmian appears to have been considerably more than a lady-in-waiting. Ancient sources suggest she occupied a position of influence and trust.
In Plutarch’s account of Mark Antony in Parallel Lives, Charmian is described almost as a state councillor, while Iras is remembered as Cleopatra’s hairdresser.
Both women later appeared in Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra. Once again, Charmian is given the larger role. It is she who speaks the famous lines after Cleopatra’s death:
“It is well done, and fitting for a princess
Descended of so many royal kings.”
Shakespeare drew directly from Plutarch, who records the exchange:
“And when one that came in said angrily, ‘Was this well done of your lady, Charmian?’ ‘Extremely well,’ she answered, ‘and as became the descendant of so many kings’; and as she said this, she fell down dead by the bedside.”
Why Did Cleopatra Trust Them?
In the upcoming novel, both Charmian and Iras serve as advisers to Cleopatra. She keeps them close, and there is a reason for that.
After all, Cleopatra was no ordinary ruler. She spoke at least nine languages and, like Hatshepsut before her, was not simply a queen but the monarch of Egypt. Even when ruling alongside her brother, she was clearly the dominant partner, overseeing administration and placing her image on coinage. It was hardly surprising. Ptolemy XIII was only ten years old when he came to the throne.
A woman as intelligent as Cleopatra would have surrounded herself with people she trusted. That inevitably raises questions about Charmian and Iras. Why these two? Why have they survived in the historical record when so many others have disappeared?
Perhaps they were merely servants. Perhaps not.
Maybe they offered useful advice. Maybe they were educated alongside Cleopatra. Maybe they were among the few people she could genuinely trust. Whatever the truth, they would have known a great deal about the woman they served.
Young Women in the Ancient World
In the novel, they are portrayed as young women. In the ancient world, girls could be considered marriageable at fourteen. Today, we would regard them as little more than children. Yet some things do not change.
Young women across cultures and centuries have shared many of the same qualities: energy, curiosity, laughter, loyalty, and often a surprising degree of insight. Anyone who has one in the family knows that they can be lively, entertaining, and remarkably astute.
Beneath the banter and friendship, Charmian and Iras are intelligent young women navigating a dangerous world of court politics, shifting loyalties, and growing Roman influence. They are moving steadily toward the climax of the story and its final twist.
Nothing is quite as it seems.
Iras and the Mystery of the Needlework
If you notice Iras constantly sewing and embroidering throughout the story, pay attention.
She is not doing it merely to pass the time. There is a reason she spends so much time with needle and thread. Like many things in this novel, what appears ordinary may prove to be anything but.
In a royal court filled with secrets, appearances can be deceptive. Every action serves a purpose, and every detail matters. If Iras seems unusually devoted to her sewing, there is a reason. Take note.
Did Charmian and Iras Have Families?
One detail that fascinates me is that neither Charmian nor Iras appears in the historical record as having a husband or children.
Of course, they may have had families and simply gone unrecorded. Ancient history is full of silences. Nevertheless, the absence is striking.
The two women closest to Cleopatra are remembered because they remained with her until the end. There is no mention of husbands waiting for them, no children left behind, and no family connections that have come down to us through the sources.
That raises an interesting question.
If they did have husbands and children, why did they die with Cleopatra rather than return to their families?
History provides no answer. Perhaps there is a perfectly ordinary explanation. Perhaps there is not. The silence itself is intriguing and was one of the things that influenced the way I approached their characters in the novel.
Light in a Dark Story
The lively nature of Charmian and Iras serves another purpose in the novel.
Their humour, friendship, and occasional mischief cast a little light into an otherwise dark story. Without them, the tale of Cleopatra becomes almost relentlessly tragic.
They provide moments of warmth amid political intrigue, betrayals, and approaching disaster. In many ways, they allow the reader to see a more human side of Cleopatra herself.
Cleopatra’s World Was Not One of Heroes
Because this is, ultimately, a story of tragedy.
When one investigates the major figures of the period, it quickly becomes apparent that they do not fit neatly into categories of heroes and villains. As historian Adrian Goldsworthy has observed, this is not a world of good people versus evil ones.
They are all, in one way or another, ruthless, ambitious, and dangerous.
And that is precisely what makes them so fascinating.