The life of Cleopatra VII of Egypt (69 – 30 BC) is one of the most dynamic, tumultuous, and well-documented periods of Ancient History. The life of the last queen of the Ptolemaic Dynasty coincides with the twilight of the Hellenistic Period as well as the Roman Republic, and she ranks among the most influential figures in the ancient world whose legacy continues to fascinate us in the 21st century. As a Greek queen ruling over the ancient kingdom of Egypt and interacting with the expanding Roman Republic, Cleopatra is uniquely situated at the intersection of three fascinating and diverse ancient cultures. This paper uses Cleopatra VII as an anchor from which to explore the history and culture of Ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome, and how these worlds collided in the (in)famous figure of this queen.
This paper will thus give you a strong foundation in Egyptian, Greek, and Roman history, no prior knowledge of which is assumed. In the process we will explore the society of each through analysing a range of ancient source material including literature, archaeology, and coinage, and consider how our understanding of Cleopatra VII and her world have evolved in the millennia since her reign. The ancient and modern legacy of the queen and her impact on popular culture will be traced from Virgil to HBO’s Rome with an eye to separating her later repute from her historical persona; in other words, we will try to disentangle the myth of Cleopatra from the queen herself.