Cleopatra VII Philopator (ancient Greek Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ). Born November 2, 69 BC - died on August 12, 30 BC The last queen of Hellenistic Egypt from the Macedonian dynasty of the Ptolemies (Lagids).

Cleopatra was born on November 2, 69 BC. NS. (officially 12th year of the reign of Ptolemy XII), apparently in Alexandria. She is one of the three (known) daughters of King Ptolemy XII Auletes, possibly from a concubine, since, according to Strabo, this king had only one legitimate daughter, Berenice IV, a queen in 58-55 BC. NS.

Nothing is known about Cleopatra's childhood and youth. Undoubtedly, she was deeply impressed by the troubles of 58-55, when her father was overthrown and expelled from Egypt, and his daughter (Cleopatra's sister) Berenice became queen.

Restored to the throne by the forces of the Roman governor of Syria Gabinius, Ptolemy XII threw himself into massacre, repression and murder (the victim of which, including Berenice, fell).

As a result, he turns into a puppet, retaining power only thanks to the Roman presence, which burdens the country's finances. The troubles of her father's reign taught a lesson to the future queen, who used every means to get rid of opponents and from everyone standing in her way - such as, for example, from her younger brother Ptolemy XIV in 44 BC. NS. and later from the sister of Arsinoe IV.

Cleopatra VII ruled Egypt for 21 consecutive years in co-government with her brothers(they are, by tradition, formal husbands) by Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV, then in de facto marriage with the Roman commander Mark Anthony. She was the last independent ruler of Egypt before the Roman conquest and is often, although not entirely correct, considered the last pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. She gained wide popularity thanks to her love affair with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. From Caesar she had a son, from Anthony two sons and a daughter.

Sources for Cleopatra - Plutarch, Suetonius, Appian, Dion Cassius, Josephus Flavius.

For the most part, ancient historiography is unfavorable to her. There is an opinion that the denigration of Cleopatra was carried out by the conqueror of Egypt, Octavian and his entourage, who strove with all their might to denigrate the queen, presenting her as not just a dangerous enemy of Rome and the evil genius of Mark Antony. An example is the judgment of Cleopatra by the Roman historian of the 4th century. Aurelius Victor: "She was so depraved that she often prostituted, and possessed such beauty that many men paid with their death for possession of her for one night."

Testament of Ptolemy XII, who died in March 51 BC. e., transferred the throne to Cleopatra and her younger brother Ptolemy XIII, who was then about 9 years old, and with whom she was combined in a formal marriage, since according to the Ptolemaic custom, a woman could not reign on her own.

She ascended the throne under the official title Θέα Φιλοπάτωρ (Tea Filopator), that is, the goddess who loves her father (from the inscription on the stele from 51 BC). The first three years of his reign were not easy due to a 2-year crop failure caused by insufficient flooding of the Nile.

With the accession of the co-rulers, a latent struggle between parties immediately began. Cleopatra first ruled alone, removing her young brother, but then the latter took revenge, relying on the eunuch Potin (who was something like the head of government), the commander Achilles and his tutor Theodotus (rhetorician from Chios).

In a document dated October 27, 50 BC. BC, the name of Ptolemy appears underlined in the first place.

In the summer of 48 BC. NS. Cleopatra, who fled to Syria and recruited an army there, set up a camp at the head of this army on the Egyptian border, not far from the fortress of Pelusius. Her brother also settled there with the army, blocking her path to the country.

The turning point was the flight of the Roman senator Pompey to Egypt and his assassination by Ptolemy's supporters.

Cleopatra and Caesar

At this moment, Rome intervenes in the struggle.

Pompey, defeated at Pharsalus, in early June 48 BC NS. appears at the Egyptian coast and asks the Egyptian king for help.

Young Ptolemy XIII, or rather his advisers, hoping to get generous favors from the victors, give the order to kill the Roman. This was done, as soon as Pompey set foot on Egyptian land, in front of his entire entourage (July 28, 48). But the king miscalculated: Caesar, who in pursuit of Pompey landed in Egypt two days later, was angry with this massacre and buried Pompey's head at the walls of Alexandria, where he erected the sanctuary of Nemesis.

Once in Egypt, Caesar tried to replenish his treasury with the help of debts that Ptolemy XII had made to the Roman banker Rabirius during his efforts to restore the throne, and which Caesar now chalked up to his own account.

He writes that Caesar "did not dare" to turn Egypt into a Roman province, "so that some enterprising governor would not be able to rely on a province with enormous resources for new troubles."

However, Caesar announced his intention to act as an arbiter in the dispute between the kings. Ptolemy XIII and without him was the de facto ruler, moreover, recognized by Pompey. Therefore, Caesar was interested in Cleopatra, who could become a puppet owed to him by power.

Soon after arriving, he summons Cleopatra to his place in Alexandria. Penetrating the capital, guarded by Ptolemy's people, was not an easy task - Cleopatra was helped to do this by her admirer, the Sicilian Apollodorus, who secretly took the queen in a fishing boat, and then carried her into Caesar's chambers, hiding it in a large bed bag (and not in the carpet, as it is embellished in films, see Cleopatra's Carpet). From this fact, we can conclude about the fragile physique of the queen. Throwing herself at the feet of the Roman dictator, Cleopatra began to bitterly complain about her oppressors, demanding the execution of Potin.

The 52-year-old Caesar was captured by the young queen, especially since the return to the will of Ptolemy XII was in line with his own political interests. When the next morning Caesar announced this to the 13-year-old king, he ran out of the palace in a rage and, tearing off his tiara, began to shout to the assembled people that he had been betrayed. The crowd was outraged, but Caesar at that moment managed to calm her down by reading the will of the king.

However, the situation became more complicated for Caesar. The detachment that accompanied him numbered only 7 thousand soldiers; supporters of the murdered Pompey gathered in Africa, and these circumstances aroused in Ptolemy's party the hope of getting rid of Caesar.

Potin and Achilles summoned troops to Alexandria. The execution of Potin by Caesar could no longer stop the uprising. The troops, supported by the townspeople, outraged by the extortion and willfulness of the Romans, received a leader when Ptolemy XIII and his sister Arsinoe fled to them. As a result, Caesar in September 48 BC. NS. was besieged and cut off from reinforcements in the royal quarter of Alexandria. Saved Caesar and Cleopatra only the approach of reinforcements led by Mithridates of Pergamon.

The rebels were defeated on January 15, 47 BC. NS. at the Mareotian lake, while fleeing, King Ptolemy drowned in the Nile. Arsinoe was captured and was then carried out in Caesar's triumph.

This was followed by a joint journey of Caesar and Cleopatra along the Nile on 400 ships, accompanied by noisy festivities. Cleopatra, formally combined with her other young brother Ptolemy XIV, actually became the undivided ruler of Egypt under the Roman protectorate, the guarantee of which was the three legions left in Egypt. Soon after Caesar's departure Cleopatra has a son on June 23, 47, who was named Ptolemy Caesar, but which went down in history under the nickname given to him by the Alexandrians Caesarion... Claimed that he looked a lot like Caesar and face and posture.

Caesar fought with the king of Pontus Pharnac, then with the last supporters of Pompey in Africa; immediately after the end of the wars, he summons Cleopatra and her brother to Rome (summer 46 BC), formally - to conclude an alliance between Rome and Egypt. Cleopatra was allocated Caesar's villa in his gardens on the banks of the Tiber, where she received noble Romans who were in a hurry to pay their respects to the favorite. This caused extreme irritation among the Republicans and became one of the reasons that precipitated the death of Caesar.

There was even a rumor (transmitted by Suetonius and indicative of the general mood) that Caesar was going to take Cleopatra as his second wife and move the capital to Alexandria. Caesar himself ordered to place a gilded statue of Cleopatra at the altar of Venus the Ancestor (Venus as the mythical ancestor of the Julian family, to which he belonged). Nevertheless, Caesar's official will did not contain any mention of Caesarion, whom he thus did not dare to recognize as his son.

Sovereign rule of Cleopatra

Caesar was killed in a conspiracy on March 15, 44 BC. NS. A month later, in mid-April, Cleopatra left Rome and arrived in Alexandria in July.

Ptolemy XIV, 14, died shortly thereafter. According to Josephus, he was poisoned by his sister: the birth of a son gave Cleopatra a formal co-ruler. In this situation, the growing up brother was completely redundant to her.

In 43 BC. NS. famine struck Egypt and the Nile did not flood for two years in a row. The queen was concerned above all with the supply of her capital, which was prone to rebellion. The three Roman legions left behind by the late Caesar rampaged until their withdrawal.

The war between the assassins of Caesar, Cassius and Brutus on the one hand, and on the other hand, his heirs Antony and Octavian, demanded resourcefulness from the queen.

The east was in the hands of Caesar's assassins: Brutus controlled Greece and Asia Minor, and Cassius settled in Syria. The viceroy of Cleopatra in Cyprus, Serapion, helped Cassius with money and the fleet with the undoubted consent of the queen, no matter what feelings she had for the murderers of her Roman patron. She later formally renounced Serapion's actions. On the other hand, Cleopatra equipped the fleet, ostensibly, as she later assured, to help the Caesarians.

In 42 BC. NS. the republicans were defeated at Philippi. For Cleopatra, the situation changed immediately.

Cleopatra and Mark Antony

Cleopatra was 28 years old when she was 41 BC. NS. met a 40-year-old Roman general. It is known that Antony, as the commander of the cavalry, participated in the restoration of Ptolemy XII to the throne in 55, but it is unlikely that they met at that time, although Appian cites a rumor that Antony was carried away by 14-year-old Cleopatra at that time. They could have met during the queen's stay in Rome, but before meeting in 41, they apparently did not know each other well.

During the division of the Roman world, carried out after the defeat of the republicans, Antony got the East. Antony decides to implement Caesar's project - a great campaign against the Parthians. Preparing for the campaign, he sends officer Quintus Dellius to Alexandria to demand Cleopatra to him in Cilicia. He was going to accuse her of helping Caesar's assassins, apparently hoping under this pretext to get as much money from her as possible for the campaign.

Cleopatra, having inquired through Dellius about Antony's character and above all about his amorousness, vanity and love for outward splendor, arrives on a ship with a gilded stern, purple sails and silvered oars; She herself sat in the attire of Aphrodite, on either side of her stood with fans in the form of eroths, and maids in the robes of nymphs steered the ship.

The ship moved along the Kidn River to the sound of flutes and kifar, enveloped in the smoke of incense. Then she invites Antony to her place for a sumptuous feast. Antony was completely fascinated. The queen easily dismissed the prepared accusations, stating that Serapion acted without her knowledge, and she herself equipped a fleet to help the Caesarians, but this fleet, unfortunately, was delayed by opposite winds. As the first show of courtesy to Cleopatra, Antony, at her request, ordered the immediate execution of her sister Arsinoe, who had sought refuge in the temple of Aphrodite in Ephesus.

Thus began a ten-year romance, one of the most famous in history - even though we cannot judge how much of a political calculation Cleopatra needed in her relationship with Antony to carry out her plans. For his part, Antony only with the help of Egyptian money could maintain his huge army.

Anthony, leaving the army, followed Cleopatra to Alexandria, where he spent the winter of 41-40. BC e., indulging in drinking and entertainment. For her part, Cleopatra tried to bind him as tightly as possible.

Plutarch says: “with him she played dice, drank together, hunted together, was among the spectators when he practiced with weapons, and at night, when he, dressed as a slave, wandered and wandered around the city, stopping at the door and windows of houses and showering with her usual jokes the owners - people of simple rank, Cleopatra was here next to Antony, dressed to match him. "

Once Anthony, planning to amaze Cleopatra with his fishing abilities, sent divers, who constantly put a new "catch" on his hook. Cleopatra, quickly unraveling this trick, sent a diver on her part, who planted a dried fish on Antony.

While they were having fun in this way, the Parthian prince Pacorus went on the offensive, as a result of which Rome lost Syria and the south of Asia Minor with Cilicia. Antigonus Mattathius, a prince hostile to the Romans from the Hasmonean (Maccabean) dynasty, was confirmed by the Parthians on the throne of Jerusalem. Mark Antony launched a short counterattack from Tire, but was then forced to return to Rome, where, after a clash between his wife Fulvia and Octavian's supporters, a peace agreement was concluded in Brundisium. The clashes were caused by Fulvia, who, according to Plutarch, hoped in this way to tear Antony away from Cleopatra.

At this time Fulvia died, and Antony was married to Octavian's sister, Octavia. At the same time in 40 BC. NS. Cleopatra in Alexandria gave birth to twins from Antony: a boy Alexander Helios ("The Sun") and a girl Cleopatra Selena ("Moon").

For 3 years until the fall of 37 BC. NS. there is no information about the queen. When Antony returned from Italy, the lovers meet in Antioch in the fall of 37, and from that moment a new stage begins in their politics and their love. Anthony's legate Ventidius expelled the Parthians.

Antony replaces the Parthian henchmen with his own vassals or direct Roman rule. Thus, the famous Herod, with his support, becomes king of Judea. Something similar is happening in Galatia, Pontus and Cappadocia. Cleopatra directly benefits from all this, as her rights to Cyprus, which she actually owned, as well as to the cities of the Syrian and Cilician coasts are confirmed. Mediterranean Sea, the kingdom of Halkidiki in present-day Lebanon.

Thus, Cleopatra was able to partially restore the state of the first Ptolemies.

Cleopatra ordered to count from this moment a new era of her reign in documents. She herself took the official title Θεα Νεωτερα Φιλοπατωρ Φιλοπατρις (Thea Neotera Philopator Philopatris), that is, "the younger goddess who loves her father and fatherland." The title was intended for the annexed Syrians, who already had a queen (senior goddess) of Ptolemaic blood, Cleopatra Thea in the II century BC. BC, the title also indicated, according to historians, the Macedonian roots of Cleopatra, which was a powerful argument for the Greco-Macedonian ruling class of Syria.

Children of Cleopatra and Mark Antony

In 37-36 BC. NS. Antony launched a disastrous campaign against the Parthians, mainly due to the harsh winter in the mountains of Armenia and Media. Antony himself narrowly escaped death.

Cleopatra remained in Alexandria, where in September 36 BC. NS. gave birth to her third child from Anthony - Ptolemy Philadelphus. In Rome, they began to view the alliance of Antony and Cleopatra as a threat to the empire and personally to Octavian. The latter, in the early spring of 35, sent his sister Octavia, the lawful wife of Anthony and the mother of his two daughters, Antonia the Elder (future grandmother of Emperor Nero) and Antonia the Younger (future mother of Germanicus and Emperor Claudius), to join her husband.

However, as soon as she reached Athens, Antony ordered her to return immediately. This happened with the participation of Cleopatra, who threatened Antony with suicide if he accepted his wife.

Anthony wanted to take revenge for the defeat in the war with the Parthians: in 35 BC. NS. he captured the king of Armenia Artavazd II, made an alliance with another Artavazd - the king of Media Atropatena and celebrated a triumph, but not in Rome, but in Alexandria with the participation of Cleopatra and their common children.

A little later, Caesarion received the title of king of kings. Alexander Helios was proclaimed king of Armenia and the lands beyond the Euphrates, Ptolemy Philadelphus received (nominally, since he was about 2 years old) - Syria and Asia Minor, and, finally, Cleopatra Selene II - Cyrenaica.

Not all of the territories granted were under the real control of Anthony. Flavius ​​Josephus claims that Cleopatra also demanded Judea from Antony, but was refused.

The news of the distribution of land caused the strongest indignation in Rome, Anthony clearly broke with all Roman traditions and began to play himself a Hellenistic monarch.

Battle of Actium

Anthony still enjoyed considerable popularity in the Senate and the army, but with his Eastern-Hellenistic antics, which defied Roman norms and traditional ideas, he himself gave Octavian a weapon against himself.

By 32 BC. NS. it came to a civil war. At the same time, Octavian proclaimed it a war of "the Roman people against the Egyptian queen." The Egyptian, who enslaved the Roman commander with her charms, was portrayed as the focus of everything Eastern, Hellenistic-royal, alien to Rome and "Roman virtues."

From the side of Antony and Cleopatra, a fleet of 500 ships was prepared for the war, of which 200 were Egyptian. Anthony waged the war sluggishly, indulging, together with Cleopatra, feasts and festivities in all the passing Greek cities and giving Octavian time to organize the army and navy.

While Antony was pulling troops to the western coast of Greece, intending to cross over to Italy, Octavian himself swiftly crossed over to Epirus and imposed a war on Antony on its territory.

Cleopatra's stay in Antony's camp, her constant intrigues against everyone in whom she saw her ill-wishers, did Antony a disservice, prompting many of his supporters to defect to the enemy. Characteristic is the story of an ardent supporter of Antony Quintus Dellius, who was nevertheless forced to flee to Octavian, since he was warned that Cleopatra was going to poison him for a joke, which she considered offensive to herself.

The defectors informed Octavian of the content of Anthony's will, it was immediately removed from the temple of Vesta and published. Antony officially recognized Cleopatra as his wife, her sons as his legitimate children, and bequeathed to bury himself not in Rome, but in Alexandria next to Cleopatra. Anthony's will completely discredited him.

Octavian, who was not a major military leader, found in Mark Vipsanius Agrippa a competent commander who successfully waged the war. Agrippa managed to drive the fleet of Antony and Cleopatra into the Ambracian Gulf and blockaded it. Their troops began to feel a lack of food.

Cleopatra insisted on a sea breakthrough. At the council of war, this opinion prevailed.

The result was the naval battle of Actium on September 2, 31 BC. NS. When Cleopatra feared victory was slipping away, she decided to flee with her entire fleet, trying to save something else. Antony ran after her. His defeated fleet surrendered to Octavian, and after that the demoralized land army surrendered without a fight.

Death of Cleopatra and Mark Antony

Antony returned to Egypt and did nothing to continue the struggle with Octavian. However, he did not have any real resources for this. He wasted his energies in drinking and lavish festivities, and together with Cleopatra announced the creation of the "Death Rows Union", whose members vowed to die together. Their confidants had to join this union. Cleopatra tested poisons on prisoners, trying to find out which poison brings a faster and more painless death.

Cleopatra was concerned about saving Caesarion. She sent him to India, but he then returned back to Egypt. She herself at one time pondered a plan of flight to India, but when trying to transport ships across the Isthmus of Suez, the Arabs burned them. These plans had to be abandoned.

In the spring of 30 BC. NS. Octavian moved to Egypt. Cleopatra tried to protect herself from treason with cruel measures: when the commandant of Pelusia Seleucus surrendered the fortress, she executed his wife and children. By the end of July, Octavian's troops appeared near Alexandria. The last parts that remained with Anthony, one after another, went over to the side of the winner.

It was all over on 1 August. Cleopatra, with her trusted maids Irada and Charmion, locked herself in the building of her own tomb. Antony was given the false news of her suicide. Antony threw himself on his sword. Soon he, dying, was dragged into the tomb by the women, and he died in the arms of Cleopatra, who was sobbing over him.

Cleopatra herself, holding a dagger in her hand, showed readiness for death, but entered into negotiations with the messenger of Octavian, allowed him to enter the tomb building and disarm her. Apparently, Cleopatra still retained a faint hope of seducing Octavian, or at least agreeing with him, and keeping the kingdom. Octavian showed less malleability to female charms than Caesar and Antony, and the charms of a woman in her thirties and mother of four may have weakened somewhat.

The last days of Cleopatra are described in detail by Plutarch according to the memoirs of Olympus, her physician. Octavian allowed Cleopatra to bury her beloved; her own fate remained unclear. She said she was sick and made it clear that she would starve herself - but Octavian's threats to deal with the children forced her to accept treatment.

A few days later, Caesar (Octavian) himself visited Cleopatra in order to somehow console her. She lay on the bed, depressed and dejected, and when Caesar appeared at the door, jumped up in one tunic and threw herself at his feet. Her hair, which had not been tidied up for a long time, hung in tufts, her face went wild, her voice trembled, her eyes went out.

Octavian admonished Cleopatra with encouraging words and departed.

Soon, the Roman officer Cornelius Dolabella, who was in love with Cleopatra, informed her that in three days she would be sent to Rome for the triumph of Octavian. Cleopatra ordered a letter written in advance to be delivered to him and locked herself in with the maids. Octavian received a letter in which he found complaints and a request to bury her with Antony, and immediately sent people. The messengers found Cleopatra dead, in a royal dress, on a golden bed. Since before that a peasant with a pot of figs went to Cleopatra, who did not arouse suspicion among the guards, it was decided that a snake was carried in the pot to Cleopatra.

It was claimed that two light bites were barely visible on Cleopatra's hand. The snake itself was not found in the room, as if it had immediately crawled out of the palace.

According to another version, Cleopatra kept the poison in a hollow head hairpin. This version is supported by the fact that both of Cleopatra's maids died with her. It is doubtful that one snake would kill at once three people... According to Dion Cassius, Octavian tried to revive Cleopatra with the help of psillas, an exotic tribe who could suck poison harmlessly to themselves.

The death of Cleopatra on August 12, 30, deprived Octavian of the brilliant captive at his triumph in Rome. In the triumphal procession, only her statue was carried.

Caesar's adopted son Octavian executed Caesar's own son by Cleopatra Ptolemy XV Caesarion in the same year. Children from Anthony walked in chains at the triumphant parade, then were brought up by Octavian's sister Octavia, Anthony's wife, "in memory of her husband."

Subsequently, Cleopatra's daughter Cleopatra Selena II was married to the Moorish king Yuba II, due to which a bust of Cleopatra from Sherchell appeared.

The fate of Alexander Helios and Ptolemy Philadelphus remained unknown. It is assumed that they died early.

Egypt became one of the Roman provinces.

Cleopatra's appearance

The true appearance of Cleopatra is not easy to discern because of the romantic flair that surrounds her and the numerous films; but there is no doubt that she was of a manly and tough enough character to trouble the Romans.

There are no reliable images that accurately, without idealization, would convey its physical appearance.

A damaged bust from Shershell in Algeria (the ancient city of Caesarea of ​​the Moor), created after the death of Cleopatra on the occasion of the marriage of Cleopatra Selena II, her daughter to Mark Antony, with the king of Mauretania Juba II, conveys the appearance of Cleopatra in her last years. Although sometimes this bust is attributed to Cleopatra Selene II, daughter of Cleopatra VII.

Cleopatra VII is credited with Hellenistic busts, depicting young attractive women with typically Greek faces, but the persons from whom the bust was made are not precisely identified.

It is believed that the busts depicting Cleopatra VII are kept in the Berlin Museum and the Vatican Museum, but the classic appearance makes one suspect an idealization of the image.

The profiles on the coins show a woman with wavy hair, large eyes, a prominent chin, and a crooked nose (inherited from the Ptolemies).

On the other hand, it is known that Cleopatra was distinguished by powerful charm, attractiveness, she perfectly used this for seduction and, in addition, had a charming voice and a brilliant, sharp mind. As he writes, having seen the portraits of Cleopatra: "For the beauty of this woman was not what is called incomparable and strikes at first sight, but her appeal was distinguished by an irresistible charm, and therefore her appearance, combined with rarely convincing speeches, with a huge charm shining through in each word, in every movement, firmly cut into the soul. The very sounds of her voice caressed and delighted the ear, and the language was like a multi-stringed instrument, easily tuned to any mood - to any dialect. "

While the Greeks generally neglected the upbringing of daughters, even in royal families, Cleopatra clearly had a good education, which, superimposed on her natural intelligence, gave excellent results.

Cleopatra became a real polyglot queen, speaking, in addition to her native Greek language, Egyptian (the first of her dynasty made efforts to master it, maybe only with the exception of Ptolemy VIII Fiscon), Aramaic, Ethiopian, Persian, Hebrew and the language of the Berbers (the people who lived in southern Libya).

Her linguistic abilities did not bypass Latin, although the enlightened Romans, such as Caesar, themselves were fluent in Greek.

Name Cleopatra - symbols, hieroglyphic spelling, transliteration

Cleopatra in the movies:

♦ Cleopatra (Cléopâtre, France, 1899) - silent black-and-white film, directed by Georges Méliès, as Cleopatra Jeanne D'alsi;
♦ Cleopatra (Cléopâtre, France, 1910) - a silent black-and-white film based on the play by William Shakespeare "Antony and Cleopatra", directors: Henry Andreani and Ferdinand Zekka, as Cleopatra Madeleine Roche;
♦ Cleopatra (USA, 1912) - silent black and white film, directed by Charles L. Gaskill, as Cleopatra Helen Gardner;
♦ Cleopatra (Cleopatra, USA, 1917) - silent black and white film, directed by J. Gordon Edwards, as Cleopatra Ted Bara, the film is considered lost;
♦ Cleopatra (film, 1934) - Oscar nominee, as Claudette Colbert;
♦ Caesar and Cleopatra (film, 1945) - in the role;
♦ Antony and Cleopatra (film, 1951) - as Pauline Letts;
♦ Two Nights with Cleopatra (film) (1953) - in the role;
♦ Cleopatra (film, 1963) - Oscar nominee, as Cleopatra Elizabeth Taylor;
♦ Me, Cleopatra and Antony (film) (1966) - in the role of Stavras Paravas;
♦ Legions of Cleopatra (1959) - as Linda Crystal;
♦ Asterix and Cleopatra (cartoon, 1968) - voiced Cleopatra Micheline Dax;
♦ Antony and Cleopatra (film, 1974) - as Janet Sazman;
♦ Caesar and Cleopatra (1979) - in the role;
♦ Cleopatra's Crazy Nights (film) (1996) - in the role of Marcella Petrelli;
♦ Cleopatra (film, 1999) - in the role of Leonor Varela;
♦ Asterix and Obelix: Mission Cleopatra (film, 2002) - performed the role of Cleopatra;
♦ Julius Caesar (film, 2002) - the role of Cleopatra was performed by Samuel Sardo;
♦ Roman Empire. August (film) (2003) - as Anna Valle;
♦ Rome (2005-2007) - HBO / BBC television drama as Cleopatra Lindsay Marshal

Cleopatra in art:

Poems "Cleopatra" (Pushkin, Bryusov, Blok, Akhmatova);
Alexander Pushkin "Egyptian Nights";
William Shakespeare Antony and Cleopatra;
Bernard Shaw "Caesar and Cleopatra";
Georg Ebers "Cleopatra";
Henry Ryder Haggard "Cleopatra";
Margaret George The Cleopatra Diaries (1997);
Davtyan Larisa. "Cleopatra" (poetry cycle);
A. Vladimirov "Cleopatra's Rule" (musical drama);
Maria Hadley. "The Queen of Queens";
N. Pavlishcheva. Cleopatra;
Théophile Gaultier "The Night Given by Cleopatra"

Name Cleopatra shrouded in mysteries: it is often said about her lovers that they paid with their lives for possessing her for one night, legends are made about her beauty, and her dramatic suicide still excites the minds of both romantics and historians. By the way, the death of the last queen of Hellenistic Egypt is a moot point. Until now, scientists doubt whether it was really suicide?

Cleopatra was born in 69 BC and spent her entire life in Alexandria. For more than three centuries, her family ruled Egypt. Cleopatra had an excellent education, spoke seven languages. Amazingly, there were no cases of suicide among her ancestors, but there were plenty of violent deaths. Perhaps it was this fact that made historians doubt the queen's voluntary death.

According to historians, Cleopatra had an explosive character, she was very cruel. So, at the age of 18, she married her younger brother Ptolemy XIII, but did not want to share the throne with him. Soon after Ptolemy matured and claimed his rights, Cleopatra turned to Julius Caesar for help to help her become the only ruler of Egypt. Having entered into a formal marriage with another brother, Ptolemy XIV, Cleopatra gave birth to a son by Caesar, who received the name Caesarion. Having a formal co-ruler, the fearless queen poisoned Ptolemy XIV.

A turning point in the life of Cleopatra was the acquaintance with the Roman commander Mark Anthony. The queen charmed the Roman with her beauty; at her request, he even executed Arsinia, Cleopatra's sister (in those cruel times, such were the manifestations of sympathy). A few years after they met, Cleopatra gave birth to Mark Antony, a son, Alexander Helios ("The Sun") and a daughter, Cleopatra Selena ("Moon"). Happy life rulers in love did not last long: a civil war was brewing, in which Octavian spoke against Mark Antony. According to historical records, after the defeat at the Battle of Actium, Mark Antony committed suicide when he received the false news of Cleopatra's suicide. The queen herself followed his example a few days later.

According to the most common version, Cleopatra died from a snakebite, having passed a suicide note to Octavian before that. Scientists believe that the effect of the poison would take at least several hours, while the note was delivered to Octavian immediately and he could well have time to save the queen.

A more likely version seems to be that Octavian himself became the killer of Cleopatra. Using the queen as a pawn to unleash a war with Mark Antony, who controlled the east of the Roman Empire, Octavian achieved the desired result. To save Caesarion, Cleopatra sent him to Ethiopia, but Octavian tracked down the heir to the throne and gave the order to kill him. On the way to the throne, Octavian was left with only Cleopatra.

According to recent studies, Cleopatra may not have died from a snakebite, but from taking a poisonous cocktail. The Egyptians knew a lot about poisons, the mixture that the queen took contained opium, aconite and hemlock. And today it is completely unclear whether the decision to poison oneself was voluntary, or whether someone else was involved in it.

The mystery of Cleopatra's death has not yet been solved. Scientists can only speculate, because we are no longer able to return to the events that occurred 2,000 years ago. True, the history of Ancient Egypt reminds of itself from time to time. So, in 1992 it was. However, wasn't this event also a grandiose hoax?

Cream. Mix 40 ml of aloe juice with 40 ml of distilled water, 20 ml of rose water or rose petal infusion and 1 teaspoon of honey. Put the mixture in a water bath and gradually add 100 g of melted pork fat. Transfer the finished cream to jars, cork tightly and store in the refrigerator. Apply in a thin layer once a day.

Milk bath The most important recipe for Cleopatra's beauty is, of course, the famous milk bath. To make Cleopatra's milk bath, dissolve a small cup of honey in 1 liter of hot (not boiled) milk and pour the mixture into the tub. The bath temperature should be the same as the body temperature, that is, 36-37 ° C, take a bath for 10-15 minutes. Modern followers of Cleopatra's beauty sometimes suggest replacing fresh milk with dry milk, at the rate of 1-2 kg per bath.

Speaking about the beauty of Cleopatra, we note that the effect of Cleopatra's bath was enhanced by a scrub. 300 g of ground sea salt was mixed with half a cup of heavy cream and rubbed over the body of the queen. They rubbed before or after the bath - opinions differ, but, as practice shows, it’s good as it is, but it’s better to use a scrub before the bath: it will cleanse the skin, and milk with honey will bring a greater effect on the beauty of the skin.

Aromatherapy Why do you think Cleopatra chose milk and honey as the basis of her beauty recipes? Smell is another component of her feminine appeal. The smell of honey in deep esoteric beliefs is personified with the smell of nature, it is "sweet" by nature, and milk smells like a child, youth, youth. Therefore, milk and honey, if you look at the philosophy of faith, mean a combination of natural sweetness and youth, literally "young delicious woman." It is no coincidence that both Caesar and Mark Antony could not resist the spell of such a deeply subconscious natural beauty of Cleopatra.

In addition to these smells, Cleopatra loved incense and myrrh: mysterious and attractive, they simultaneously soothed her strong, but often unrestrained and quick to kill men.

Internal flushing According to legend, the queen performed “internal washing” twice a month. To do this, she mixed equal proportions of lemon juice, water and olive oil. This mixture should be drunk on an empty stomach, in small sips. Then you need to do 15-20 abdominal exercises - the abdomen is pulled to the spine, held for a few seconds in this position, and only then the muscles relax. This is nothing more than a cleansing of the liver and intestines. A very useful and common procedure to this day.

Water bioenergy method Our body is almost 80 percent water. And the purity of our biofield, the state of the chakras, the color of the aura and the general state of the organism will depend on its fine structure. Cleopatra was well aware of the energetic potential of "special" water.

Making Silver Water Pour into an earthen vessel melt water... (You can take ice cubes from the refrigerator and let them melt.) Melt water is neutral, all information is erased. Dip a silver object into the water. For example, a ring, spoon or brooch. And put it at the window at night. It is advisable to do this on a full moon so that the light of the moon falls on the vessel with water. And an even greater effect is achieved if there is a night thunderstorm. Such water will have a wonderful energy that can erase negativity and heal wounds.

Making golden water Pour melt water into an earthenware vessel, dip a gold ring, chain or other object into it. It is desirable that the fineness of gold be as high as possible. The container should be placed by the window on a sunny day. The rays of the daylight must illuminate the water. She will be charged with life-giving energy that can work miracles with the body.

Store water in sealed bottles in the refrigerator. It should be used like this. First, drink seven sips of silver water, and after a few minutes - seven sips of gold water. It is also useful to wipe the face and body, first with silver and then with gold water. Silver water will take away negative energy, "Smooth out" hotbeds of tension in the body, relieve stress, destroy bad bacteria, "clog" energy holes. And the golden water, in turn, will fill the entire body with healing power, rejuvenate it, harmonize it, and give it vigor and charm.

The Queen of Egypt Cleopatra was born in 69 BC. e, and died in 30 BC. NS. She lived a relatively short but bright life, leaving behind many secrets and mysteries. 2 thousand years have passed since the death of this amazing woman, and humanity cannot forget her name.

The origin of Cleopatra was the most noble. She belonged to the Ptolemaic dynasty, who ruled Egypt for 300 years. The founder of the dynasty was Ptolemy Lag or Ptolemy I, son of Lag. He was a military leader under Alexander the Great, and after his death he founded a separate state in Egypt - the so-called Hellenistic Egypt with its capital in the city of Alexandria.

Under Ptolemy Lage, the Library of Alexandria began to be created and the Alexandria Lighthouse was almost completely built, which is considered today one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The descendants continued the parent's work. They breathed into Ancient Egypt a new life and turned it into a strong and rich power with an educated and highly cultured population.

In the Ptolemaic dynasty, it was considered compulsory to enter into marriages between siblings. That is, there was incest. At the time, it was considered a common practice among the pharaohs and Macedonian kings. So the Ptolemies did not invent anything new. They, having taken possession of the royal crown, adopted this tradition from the crowned persons who practiced this for millennia.

It is believed that with incest, the genus gradually degenerates. But, as practice has proved, nothing of the kind happened among the Ptolemies. For three hundred years, the closest relatives gave birth to each other. At the same time, no terrible hereditary diseases were observed. All the crowned persons were healthy in body and head. Clear proof of this is Cleopatra - the product of 300 years of incest.

Childhood of Cleopatra

When she was born, Hellenistic Egypt was already in decline. The dynasty was torn apart by endless strife for the throne, and the Roman Republic was rapidly gaining strength in the north. Reigned at this time Ptolemy XII- the father of our heroine. He became very close with the Romans, which later became the cause of the death of the power entrusted to him.

Cleopatra had two sisters: the elder Berenice and the younger Arsinoe. They played a certain role in the fate of our heroine. It all began in 58 BC. e, when the Roman legions landed in Cyprus. The island had close ties with Egypt, as it was also ruled by representatives of the Ptolemaic dynasty. But Ptolemy XII, bound by obligations with the Roman Republic, did not support the people of Cyprus.

This caused a storm of indignation in Alexandria. The angry people were ready to tear to pieces the king, and he fled to Rome, taking Cleopatra with him. The eldest daughter Berenice remained in the capital. She proclaimed herself a queen, becoming Berenice IV in 58 BC. NS. Ancient historians note that this woman had a very beautiful appearance, but her intelligence left much to be desired.

In 55 BC. NS. Egypt was invaded by Roman troops led Aulus Gabinius- a prominent political figure of the republic, but a bribe-taker and a rogue. His task was to return power to Ptolemy XII. Alexandria was taken by storm, and the exiled king again received power. With the support of Gabinius, he staged a massacre in Alexandria and destroyed all his political opponents.

Berenice IV was cut off by the Roman legionnaires and brought to his father on a gold tray. Ptolemy XII took only one look at what was left of his daughter. But our heroine, who was hiding very close at that time, examined her head very carefully. The bloody scene made an indelible impression on the 14-year-old girl.

The beginning of the reign

The future queen had very good relations with her father. In 51 BC. NS. the king fell seriously ill. Feeling close to the end, he appointed Cleopatra co-ruler. At this time she turned 18 years old. Having received the title of queen, the girl began to be called Cleopatra VII.

Soon Ptolemy XII died, and her younger brother became the co-ruler of the young queen. Ptolemy XIII... At the time of coming to power, the boy was 10 years old. Subsequently, the brother and sister were to give birth to heirs so that they would continue the royal family. But fate decreed quite differently.

The newly-made queen had no feelings for her younger brother. He also treated his sister with coolness. A circle of ambitious subjects formed around the boy. Their desire was quite understandable - to rule the country on behalf of the child. But our heroine confused all the cards.

Coin with the image of Cleopatra

The Queen of Egypt Cleopatra was distinguished by an extraordinary mind and strong character... There was no way to push her around. The girl strove for absolute power. She also wanted to rid the country of Roman dependence and turn Egypt into a strong power, which it was under the first Ptolemies.

Surrounded by the young tsar, the eunuch Potin and the boy's teacher Theodat set the tone. They had a tremendous influence on Ptolemy XIII and dreamed of uncontrolled and absolute power. Skillfully playing on the ambition of other subjects, these people organized a conspiracy. His goal was to kill Cleopatra. But the young queen found out in time about the impending crime. In 48 BC. NS. she, together with her younger sister Arsinoe, fled by ship to the lands of Syria.

Here the queen managed to gather a mercenary army, borrowing money from local rulers and merchants. The girl had an amazing charm and eloquence. Men were thrilled in front of her and could not refuse money. As a result, Cleopatra VII stood at the head of a fairly strong military unit.

Her fighting detachments marched quickly towards Alexandria. They reached the Nile delta and ended up near the fortress of Pelusius, where the troops of Ptolemy XIII blocked their way. But while the opponents were preparing for battle, fate made its own adjustments.

In the Roman Republic at this time there was a struggle for power between Gnei Pompey and Julius Caesar. Once these two men were allies and fought together against the Senate. But everything flows, everything changes. Pompey and Caesar found themselves on opposite sides of the barricades, as they became leaders of completely different political forces. The first expressed the interests of the wealthy aristocracy (nobility), and the second defended the plebs.

In the summer of 48 BC. NS. the battle of Pharsalus took place between these political opponents. Gnaeus Pompey suffered a crushing defeat. He fled from the winner. First he ended up on the island of Lesvos, then in Cyprus, and from there he went to Egypt, counting on his military assistance.

At that moment, when the troops of the exiled Egyptian queen and her younger brother were about to enter into a bloody confrontation, the unfortunate Roman commander appeared on a ship near Pelusium. He was met by those close to Ptolemy XIII: Potin, Theodatus and the commander Achilles.

But Pompey hoped for help in vain. They don't like the losers, and they always bow their heads to the winners. Therefore, to earn Caesar's affection and sympathy, the Egyptians killed the once formidable and great Pompey.

After 3 days, Gaius Julius Caesar himself appears in Alexandria. The Egyptian king's associates obligingly presented him with the severed head of a former political enemy. They counted on the Roman leader's favor, but the reaction was exactly the opposite.

Only Caesar could decide what to do with Pompey. The Egyptians, on the other hand, showed an unhealthy initiative and did not at all take into account the character of a proud and domineering person. With their shortsighted and stupid actions, they irritated the dictator. But he was an experienced politician, so he did not show his anger outwardly. He had to first understand the political situation in Egypt, and only then make specific decisions.

According to Roman custom, the body and head of the slain were cremated and buried with honors. They buried the ashes at the walls of Alexandria, and on this site they erected a sanctuary dedicated to Nemesis. V ancient greek mythology Nemesis is the goddess of vengeance. The Romans also worshiped this goddess, leaving her name unchanged, although the names of others Greek gods renamed in their own way. By erecting the sanctuary, they seemed to emphasize that they would take revenge on the Egyptians for the death of Pompey.

The love affair of Caesar and Cleopatra

Soon, Caesar understands the prevailing opposition in the country. He declares that he will take on the role of arbiter and will try to sort out the feuds between the king and queen. A messenger is sent to Cleopatra with a proposal to come to Alexandria and meet with the Roman dictator. The girl has no choice but to consent. But she cannot openly appear in the city, as she is afraid of being killed by her brother's henchmen.

The way out, however, is found quickly. The queen gets into a boat with her devoted admirer Apollodorus and thus ends up in Alexandria. But you still need to get into the palace and see the formidable Roman commander. This task is rather difficult, since there are a lot of people of Ptolemy XIII in the palace chambers, and they all know the girl by sight.

Cleopatra climbs into a large bag intended for bed linen, Apollodorus puts it on his shoulder and passes unhindered into the rooms where Gaius Julius Caesar is.

Cleopatra appears before Caesar with a carpet at her feet. Allegedly, in it the queen was carried to the palace by her faithful man. In reality, she was carried in a bedding bag.

The young queen appears before a formidable dictator and makes an indelible impression on a mature man who has already exchanged a fifty dollar bill. The Roman is fascinated, but political interests come first. However, he had long ago decided to bet on the queen, moreover, this is fully consistent with the royal will of the late Ptolemy XII.

The next morning, the dictator declares to the young king that he considers Cleopatra the legitimate heir to the throne and sees no reason to deprive her of the royal dignity. The crowned boy is furious. He runs out of the palace and shouts to the crowd standing in the square that the Romans have betrayed him. People start to worry. But Caesar comes out to them and reads the will of the deceased king. The people calm down and disperse.

Ptolemy XIII has no choice but to come to terms with the decision of the dictator, but the eunuch Potin decides to turn the tide. He, on behalf of the young king, raises the Egyptian troops to fight the Romans. It all pours into fighting both on land and at sea. The result is a big fire in Alexandria. At the same time, most of the priceless manuscripts stored in the Library of Alexandria are burned.

Roman legionaries ruthlessly suppress the uprising, and the eunuch is captured and brought to the dictator. He orders him to be executed, and the political situation in the city is temporarily normalized. But soon a new uprising flared up, as the locals were not happy with the behavior of the legionnaires. They openly rob the population, rape women, that is, they behave like real invaders, not allies.

This uprising is already led by a young king. The people press the legionnaires, and they find themselves surrounded in the royal palace. Caesar gets into a very difficult situation... Cleopatra is with him, since the relationship between the dictator and the young queen has long ceased to be official and turned into close and intimate.

The Romans are rescued by legions who arrived in time from the province of Asia. This is the territory of the former Kingdom of Pergamon, located in the northwest of Asia Minor (today it is known as the historical region of Mizia).

Fresh Roman troops force the Egyptians to retreat from the city. They camp near the Nile River, which is a strategic mistake. Legionnaires attack the place of deployment of the troops of the young king, and they suffer a crushing defeat.

it historical event takes place in mid-January 47 BC. NS. Ptolemy XIII with his surviving adherents tries to flee the country. They have several ships, but the main Egyptian fleet recognizes Cleopatra VII as queen. Rebel ships cannot break the blockade and sink. Together with everyone, the young king also perishes. At the time of his death, he is not yet 15 years old.

Power over Egypt is concentrated in the hands of the young queen. She appoints her youngest sibling as her co-regent. Ptolemy XIV... In 47 BC. NS. he is just turning 13 years old.

The new rulers are throwing lavish celebrations. A huge fleet of 400 festively decorated ships sails along the Nile. The crowned brother and sister and Julius Caesar are on the deck of one of them. The people rejoice and rejoice. Finally, the Queen of Egypt, Cleopatra, gains full power. True, it is limited by the Roman protectorate, but this only plays into the hands of a young woman. At its disposal are 3 legions (a legion is a military unit numbering about 5 thousand people).

Guy Julius Caesar

At the beginning of June, the dictator leaves for Rome, and literally 3 weeks later, the young queen starts fighting. She gives birth to a boy and calls him Ptolemy Caesar... The entire royal environment understands whose child this is. He is given a nickname Caesarion... It is with him that the boy goes down in history.

A year passes, and Julius Caesar summons his crowned brothers and sister to Rome. There is a formal reason for this. Conclusion of an alliance between the Roman Republic and Egypt. But the real reason is that the dictator missed his beloved.

In the capital, visitors are given full disposal of a luxurious villa immersed in gardens on the banks of the Tiber River. Here the dictator's beloved takes over the Roman nobility. Everyone is in a hurry to pay their respects to the queen, because this also means reverence for Caesar.

But there are many people in Rome who are very irritated by this. The situation is aggravated by the fact that an elderly lover ordered to make a statue of his favorite. He ordered to place it next to the altar of the goddess Venus.

A happy existence lasts a little over two and a half years. In mid-March 44 BC. NS. Roman dictator killed by conspirators... A month later, the Egyptian king and queen leave Rome. They return to Alexandria in July, and at the end of August Ptolemy XIV dies at the age of 16. The death of the young man is directly associated with Cleopatra. She had a son from Caesar who could legally become a co-ruler. Therefore, my brother was no longer needed. It can be assumed that this is really so, given the mores of those distant times.

The love affair of Mark Antony and Cleopatra

After the assassination of Julius Caesar in the Roman Republic, a struggle began between two political forces. On the one hand, the assassin of the dictator, Mark Junius Brutus, and one of the main organizers of the conspiracy, Gaius Cassius, fought for power, and on the other, the Caesarians: Mark Antony and future first Roman emperor Octavian Augustus.

This internecine war could not but affect Egypt, since the hostilities took place in the eastern Mediterranean. Even a relatively young queen had to show political flexibility and wisdom in order not to be mistaken in her choice and to support those forces that could later win.

At first, Cleopatra relied on Caesar's killers and supported Guy Cassius. But she did this not openly, but through her governor in Cyprus. However, in 42 BC. NS. the conspirators' troops were defeated at the Battle of Philippi. Cassius committed suicide, and 3 weeks later Brutus did the same on himself.

The supporters of the killed dictator won the victory. The queen of Egypt, Cleopatra, could not stand aside and wait for what policy Rome would begin to pursue towards her. In 41 BC. NS. she gets on a ship and sails to Cilicia. This is the southeastern region of Asia Minor. Mark Antony is in it with his legions. He is preparing to march against the Parthians.

While living in Rome, the queen occasionally met with this man, since he was part of Caesar's entourage. Cleopatra is good at understanding people. About Anthony, she long ago made general idea... He is extremely vain, loves external brilliance and does not let a single pretty woman pass by.

Mark Antony

Mark Antony is younger than Caesar. In 41 BC. NS. he is 42 years old. Cleopatra is 28 years old. By age, they are perfect for each other. The queen arranges the first meeting very luxuriously. She did not spare money for the expensive decoration of the ship, to which she invited the Roman leader.

From this meeting, a passionate love affair between Anthony and the Egyptian queen begins. It has been going on for almost 11 years, but it is difficult to say what prevailed in it: love or sober political calculation. The woman needed the political loyalty of Rome, and her lover needed money to support her legionnaires.

But be that as it may, the feelings of the Roman were so strong that he abandoned the army in Asia Minor, and he himself left for Alexandria with his beloved. For 6 months they indulged in an idle life, enjoying feasts and amorous amusements.

However, feelings are feelings, and politics is politics. In 40 BC. NS. the Parthians invaded the lands of the Roman Republic. They captured the south of Asia Minor and Syria. Mark Antony leaves his mistress and hurries to the place of hostilities, but is defeated by the Parthians and leaves for Rome. In the "eternal city" he decides political and personal affairs, while Cleopatra is entering a new stage in her life.

The fact is that in 40 BC. NS. she gives birth to two twins from her new lover: a boy and a girl. The first one gets a name Alexander Helios, and the second is called Cleopatra Selena... Helios means "Sun" and Selena means "Moon".

Only at the end of 37 BC. NS. the beloved meet again. Mark Antony begins a campaign against the Parthians and comes to Antioch (a city in the southeastern part of Asia Minor). The queen of Egypt, Cleopatra, is also in a hurry there. This time, her lover is in luck. He defeats the troops of the Parthians, liberates the territories they occupied and establishes Roman rule in them. In particular, the Great Herod becomes king of Judea with the full support of Anthony.

Egypt also benefits from this. Cleopatra is transferred to the previously selected Cyprus, as well as several large cities on the Syrian and Cilician coast. The possessions of the Ptolemaic dynasty are expanding significantly and are almost approaching the borders that were under Ptolemy Lage. That is, the cherished dream of a woman is being fulfilled - to gain absolute power and make the state as powerful as it was under the first Ptolemies.

But the further course of events negates a lot. At the end of 37 BC. NS. Anthony begins a campaign against the Parthians, which ends with the complete defeat of the Roman army by the spring of the following year.

Cleopatra at this time gives birth to another child from Anthony. A boy is born and gets a name Ptolemy Philadelphus... All this does not like Rome at all. The future first Roman emperor Octavian Augustus sends his wife Octavia, who is Augustus's sister, to Mark Antony. But it only reaches Greece. Here she is met by a messenger from her husband, who demands that the wife immediately return to Rome. The reason for such a categorical demand was the Egyptian queen. She told her lover that she would commit suicide if his wife came.

In 35 BC. NS. Mark Anthony attacks Armenia, inflicts a crushing defeat on the troops of Tsar Artavazd II and places his protege Atropatena on the Armenian throne. But the victorious triumph (the solemn procession of the victors) celebrates not in Rome, but in Alexandria. At the same time, the mistress and their common children walk alongside the winner.

After that, the situation gets even worse. An overdone lover proclaims his son Ptolemy Philadelphus the king of Armenia. Alexander Helios is assigned the lands of Asia Minor and Syria. Cleopatra Selene is given by a mad father to Cyrenaica (a region in North Africa), and Caesarion is proclaimed king of kings.

All this causes in Rome at first indignation, and then rage. It can already be seen with the naked eye that Anthony is breaking with the republic and is following the lead of the Egyptian queen.

The further course of events characterizes the love couple only from the negative side. They behave defiantly and completely cease to reckon with the Roman Republic. Apparently Cleopatra was dizzy with success, and she lost her political flair. Her lover was generally stunned by an excess of feelings. Trampling on all Roman traditions and norms, he recognizes the Egyptian queen as his wife and bequeathed to bury himself after death in Alexandria. This act discredits Antony in the eyes of Roman citizens, and his authority falls sharply.

Octavian August

In 32 BC. NS. Octavian Augustus declares war on the Egyptian queen... He loudly declares that this insidious woman sexually enslaved their former faithful companion and is the concentration of all earthly evil. The statement of the future emperor evokes understanding and approval among the Romans.

Legions from the outskirts of the republic are called in to defend Roman virtue. At the head of this army becomes Mark Vipsanius Agrippa... This is August's closest friend and peer. They were born in the same year - 63 BC. NS. These people are 6 years younger than Cleopatra, but they understand politics more and have not lost their heads from success.

Lovers equip a large army, since the financial capabilities of the Egyptian queen are in no way inferior to those of Rome. They have a huge fleet of 700 ships and strong ground forces. But Antony acts sluggishly and hesitantly. He is concentrating his military forces on the shores of Western Greece in order to strike from there on Italy. However, Agrippa's troops landed a little further north in Epirus (western lands Ancient Greece) and thwarted all the plans of the lovers.

Agrippa blockaded the Egyptian fleet in the Ambracian Gulf. Lovers decide for a breakthrough. In early September 31 BC. NS. the famous naval battle at Cape Actium... The task of the Egyptians was to break through the Roman blockade. In general, they succeeded. The queen and her lover managed to sail out into the open sea with some of the ships. But the main part of the fleet failed to break through. The ground forces were also left without support. All these forces surrendered to Agrippa, and went over to his side.

The further course of events indicates that Mark Antony is completely morally decayed. He lost all desire to resist the troops of Augustus. He has turned into a lethargic and weak-willed person who has crossed the 50-year mark. At that time, this age was considered already respectable and almost senile.

In the early spring of 30 BC. NS. Roman troops landed in Egypt. Immediately began a massive transition to their side of the regular troops of the queen. Nobody resisted the invaders. Even the death penalty of some military leaders and their family members did not help.

It all ended on August 1, 30 BC. BC when the Roman legions entered Alexandria. The queen of Egypt, Cleopatra, locked herself with 2 maidservants in a recently built tomb for herself. Mark Antony, upon learning of this, thought that his mistress had committed suicide and, according to Roman tradition, threw himself on the sword. However, he did not die immediately and managed to reach the tomb, where, as it seemed to him, he would find the corpse of his beloved. But she, in full health, rushed to the mortally wounded Anthony, and he expired in her arms.

After that, the woman who had lost the royal power took a dagger in her hands, demonstrating her readiness to die. But she was stopped by the voices of the Roman legionnaires. Augustus ordered them to bring Cleopatra to him safe and sound. The uncrowned queen did not resist the soldiers. She gave them her weapon and resigned herself to fate.

Most likely, in her soul there was a glimmer of hope to come to an agreement with August. Perhaps she hoped to keep the kingdom behind her. But at five minutes, the emperor turned out to be more resistant to female charms than Caesar and Antony. It should also be borne in mind that the woman was already 38 years old. She gave birth to 4 children. All this negatively affected her appearance.

Octavian did not succumb to the spell of our heroine, but behaved calmly and politely with her. He allowed Anthony to be buried, and then ordered him to be in the royal chambers with a doctor and maids. However, he did not say a word about her future future.

The dethroned Queen of Egypt had many admirers and admirers. One of them told her in great secrecy about Octavian's plans. He planned to go to Rome in a few days and take the seductress Anthony with him in order to lead her during the triumph in shackles through the streets of the "eternal city".

For an arrogant and domineering woman, such a shame was considered worse than death. In addition, it was the collapse of all her hopes, and life lost all meaning. A proud representative of the Ptolemaic dynasty decides to commit suicide.

Suicide of Cleopatra and her loyal maids

August 30, 30 BC NS. Queen of Egypt Cleopatra Takes Poison, which was prudently hidden many days ago in personal belongings. She dies on a luxurious bed, and two devoted maids are sent with her to another world.

The legionnaires who burst into the chambers find only lifeless bodies. August falls into despair, because now the victorious triumph is losing all its charm. He orders to make a statue of a woman from clay. It goes 2 months later in a cart through the streets of Rome to the enthusiastic shouts of the crowd.

The fate of the children of the Egyptian queen is unenviable. Augustus Octavian ordered the execution of Caesar's son Caesarion (Ptolemy XV). The act is not very beautiful, since August himself was the adopted son of the dictator. The young man died at the age of 17 a week earlier than his mother. Ptolemy XV is officially considered the last pharaoh of Ancient Egypt.

The children of Mark Antony were led in shackles through the streets of Rome during their triumph. Among the citizens of Rome, such a mockery of small and weak people aroused indignation. Augustus, in order to justify himself in the eyes of the people, had no choice but to give them to the upbringing of Octavia - his own sister and widow of the late Mark Anthony.

In 29 BC. NS. at the age of 11, Alexander Helios dies from an unknown disease. After 3 months at the age of 7, Ptolemy Philadelphus leaves for another world. Only Cleopatra Selena lives to be 46 years old. In 20 BC. er, when she becomes an adult 20-year-old girl, she is married off to the ruler of Mauritania (not to be confused with Mauritania). This is a state in North Africa - today the western regions of Algeria. Selena becomes a queen, like her mother. Her profile is immortalized on coins.

The further course of history is filled with different important events... Egypt loses its independence and turns into a Roman province. In 27 BC. NS. power in the Roman Republic is undergoing significant restoration. Octavian August founds principate and, in fact, becomes the first emperor Ancient rome... About 15 years later, Jesus Christ is born. Then a new era of human civilization begins, in which people remain to this day.

Conclusion

The Queen of Egypt, Cleopatra, was undoubtedly an outstanding person. At the same time, contemporaries are rather restrained in describing her appearance. The woman had a large nose and a heavy chin. But the figure was slender and graceful. Added to this is a deep voice and intelligent, discerning eyes.

As a child, the representative of the Ptolemaic dynasty received an excellent education. She was fluent in 6 languages, well versed in poetry, knew medicine and mathematics. All this speaks of the desire for self-knowledge, since the ancient Greeks never sought to give daughters versatile knowledge.

This Cleopatra is presented in Hollywood

Our heroine was well versed in men and possessed great charm, which successfully compensated for some of the flaws in her appearance. But, along with intelligence, the woman had an extremely developed vanity. It, in the end, and ruined an outstanding personality. She wanted to become the queen of the entire Mediterranean, betting on Mark Antony.

He turned out to be unable to implement the plans of his mistress into reality. And the Roman Republic, which was in its prime, would never bow its head to a proud Egyptian woman with Greek heritage. All this became the reason for the death of an ambitious woman.

If she directed the energy of her lover in a different direction, then the story could be completely different. But in this case, the current generations of people would not know anything about the mysterious queen of fabulous antiquity. It is very difficult to achieve the memory of descendants. To do this, you need to do something grand and unusual. Cleopatra succeeded in this to the fullest, so she has been remembered for 2 thousand years.

No one remembers the names of the pharaohs of Egypt, but Cleopatra is on everyone's lips. Someone considered her a courtesan, a woman of rare cunning, who became the cause of a number of civil wars, others, on the contrary, took her for the standard of virtue.

Egyptian aphrodite

Cleopatra came from the Greek dynasty of the Ptolemies, which was founded by the colleague and commander of Alexander the Great - Ptolemy. After the conquest of Egypt, he was appointed satrap (ruler) of this country.

Today the name of Cleopatra has become synonymous with beauty, but scientists cannot say anything definite about her appearance. They begin to write about her unprecedented beauty only a couple of hundred years after her death. The most famous is the description of it by Plutarch, given in the Comparative Biographies. The Roman historian characterized Cleopatra as the owner of an irresistible charm, whose appearance, combined with rarely convincing speeches, firmly cut into the soul: “The very sounds of her voice caressed and delighted the ear, and the language was like a multi-stringed instrument, easily tuned to any mood, to any dialect ".

The historian Sextus Aurelius Victor, negatively disposed towards Cleopatra, wrote about her: "She was so depraved that she often prostituted, and possessed such beauty that many men paid with their death for possession of her for one night."

Since the mummy of Cleopatra has not been found, busts are considered the most reliable source for her appearance. The most famous is the damaged bust from Shershell in Algeria, created after the death of the queen on the occasion of her daughter's wedding. A typical Greek face with the same hooked nose and wavy hair tied up in a bun.

Femme fatale

This was exactly what Cleopatra was for all husbands and cohabitants, starting with her brother and first husband - Tsar Ptolemy XIII, who at the time of accession to the kingdom was only 9 years old, while Cleopatra was already 17 years old. For some time she ruled virtually alone, but then the courtiers seized power. Julius Caesar returned Cleopatra to the throne. When he was in Alexandria, the queen, in an attempt to enlist his support, penetrated to him in a very original way.

Plutarch says that “Cleopatra, taking with her only one of her friends, Apollodorus of Siculus, got into a small boat and, at nightfall, moored near the royal palace. To remain unnoticed, she climbed into the bed bag and stretched herself out to its full length. Apollodorus carried him across the courtyard to Caesar. They say that already this cleverness of Cleopatra seemed courageous to Caesar and captivated him. "

In the dynastic struggle between sister and brother, he stood up for his sister. Civil war ensued, during which the young king Ptolemy XIII drowned in the Nile in an attempt to escape.

Under Caesar

Thus begins the reign of Cleopatra under the Roman protectorate and her romance with Caesar, despite the fact that, in accordance with tradition, she was married to her other brother, Ptolemy XIV.

From the great commander, she had a son - Caesarion ("little Caesar"), to whom she prophesied a great future. In the summer of 46 BC. Caesar summons Cleopatra to Rome, ostensibly to conclude a formal peace treaty between Rome and Egypt. He erects a luxurious villa for her in his gardens on the banks of the Tiber. Such veneration for the Egyptian queen, which could lead to the proclamation of Caesar as king, did not like the Roman senators. On March 15, 44 BC, Julius Caesar was killed in a conspiracy.

Cleopatra left Rome and returned to Alexandria. According to the historian Josephus Flavius, there she poisoned her brother-husband, fearing the absence of the patron of the overthrow.

Antony and Cleopatra

The novel of Antony and Cleopatra is in the top of the most legendary and tragic novels the ancient world... After Caesar's death, a struggle for power broke out in Rome between two groups: the dictator's assassins - Cassius, Brutus, and his associates - Octavian and Mark Antony. Octavian and Antony defeated the conspirators. Antony needed the wealth of Egypt. Having found out through the confidants about the amorous and simple-minded Anthony, who was more a brave soldier than a cunning politician, she arrived to him on a luxurious ship with a gilded stern and silvered oars, where she herself sat in the outfit of Aphrodite, accompanied by maids in the attire of nymphs and boys in the attire of cupids ... Antony soon left the army and went with Cleopatra to Alexandria.

From him, Cleopatra gave birth to three children: twins - a boy Alexander Helios, a girl Cleopatra Selena and Ptolemy Philadelphus. Antony, who himself was married to the sister of his ally Octavian, left his lawful wife and began distributing lands to his illegitimate heirs. Caesarion receives the title of king of kings, Alexander receives Armenia, Ptolemy - Syria and Asia Minor, Cleopatra Selene - Cyrenaica. He made this decision not without the influence of the queen. This signed a death warrant for him and Cleopatra.

"Suicide Union"

The noble couple lost the decisive battle with Octavian. In the midst of the naval battle of Actium, Cleopatra left the battlefield with her fleet. Antony ran after her, leaving his soldiers behind. Returning to Alexandria, they awaited Octavian's invasion, spending their time in endless feasts and amusements. Their vow to die together dates back to this time. They even organized a "suicide union" whose members pledged to prefer death to captivity.

True, when the legions of Octavian entered Alexandria, only Mark Antony fulfilled his oath, throwing himself on the sword. Cleopatra allowed herself to be taken prisoner, obviously in the hope that she would be able to find an approach to the new winner. This was the end of Cleopatra's story. Not wanting to repeat the fate of her sister Arsinoe, whom her ally Julius Caesar once held through the streets of Rome in gold chains, she decided to commit suicide. It is believed that even before Octavian's invasion, she was looking for a poison that brings an easy and painless death by testing prisoners. According to the official version, her choice fell on the poison of the Egyptian cobra.