What makes cleopatra interesting

She was 22; he was During their marriage Cleopatra continued to live with Caesar privately and act as his mistress. She married Mark Antony in 32 BC.

The legend goes that Cleopatra had an asp smuggled into her room and allowed it to bite her, poisoning and killing her. Contrary to modern portrayals from Elizabeth Taylor and Vivien Leigh, there is no evidence among ancient historians that Cleopatra was a great beauty.

Contemporary visual sources show Cleopatra with a large pointed nose, narrow lips and sharp, jutting chin. Her reputation as a dangerous and seductive temptress was in fact the creation of her enemy Octavian.

Roman historians portrayed her as a harlot who used sex to bewitch powerful men into giving her power. Cleopatra believed herself to be a living goddess and was keenly aware of the relationship between image and power. The battle soon devolved into a rout, and Cleopatra and Antony were forced to break through the Roman line and flee to Egypt.

Cleopatra and Antony famously took their own lives in 30 B. It was the most expensive movie ever made at the time of its release, and nearly bankrupted its studio despite raking in a fortune at the box office. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Twice a week we compile our most fascinating features and deliver them straight to you.

Live TV. This Day In History. History Vault. Following humiliating defeat at the Battle of Actium by Octavian later Augustus and a subsequent battle in Alexandria, Mark Antony attempts suicide. Unable to contemplate life as a prisoner of Rome, and without the protection of her Roman lover, Cleopatra takes her own life. According to legend, she is bitten by a poisonous snake, which kills her. Sign in. Back to Main menu Virtual events Masterclasses. Her life, her love affairs and her children, plus 6 little-known facts.

Cleopatra: what is the real legacy of the last pharaoh? Cleopatra made an ally of Julius Caesar, who helped to establish her on the throne. A coin with the head of Cleopatra. Cleopatra was living in Rome, as the mistress of Julius Caesar, at the time that he was assassinated.

Cleopatra was a mother as well as the ruler of Egypt. The head went on show in Los Angeles in More on: Cleopatra. Cleopatra popularized the idea of ruler worship , influencing the way Rome and other western empires would be governed in the future. There are clear indications that she had convinced two of the most powerful Roman generals and her consorts Julius Caesar and Mark Antony to rule as her partner in the guise of Greek and Egyptian Gods Dionysus — Isis.

After his victory over Armenia in 34 B. Antony held a Roman style victory parade in Alexandria dressed as Dionysus and riding into the city on a chariot to present the royal prisoners to Cleopatra, who was seated on a golden throne. The idea of ruler worship was in a way soon adopted by Octavian when he became the first emperor of Rome taking the title of Augustus The Majestic. Centuries after her death Cleopatra still captivates historians, storytellers, artists and the public in general.

It was the work of the masterful playwright that immortalized Cleopatra , making her into the popular cultural icon that she is. Many plays, poetry, paintings, operas and movies have since been made on the Egyptian queen. Her image of being an exotic seductive queen are still used to sell a wide range of products. Hi this was the only helpful article after hours of searching! Thank you so much!