Cleopatra

Index

Preface

We owe much of our knowledge of Cleopatra to her enemy Octavian, the man who would become Rome’s first emperor Augustus. Had her history not been so intertwined with that of Rome, a great deal less of it would have been preserved. Thus, while we are fortunate to have a wealth of information, particularly concerning the later part of her life, writing Cleopatra’s story becomes a task of freeing her from the identity that sources sympathetic to Octavian have imposed upon her.

Cleopatra’s story touches on many of the most significant events of the late Roman Republic and early Empire. As a result, an account of her life must explore the history and politics of Rome as well, for Cleopatra became, on more than one occasion, a tool in the hands of Roman politicians. Painted as a terrible eastern menace bent on destroying Roman civilization and values, Cleopatra was, in fact, a convenient foe for Octavian, whose real conflict was with Mark Antony for control of Rome, at the time the superpower of the Mediterranean.

Despite Roman attempts to co-opt her image, however, Cleopatra was a master of self-presentation, a skill her family had honed over generations. The Ptolemies, a Macedonian dynasty ruling in Egypt after the splitting of Alexander the Great’s empire, had successfully inserted themselves into Egyptian culture as the new pharaohs and Cleopatra was particularly adept at communicating with the diverse population that occupied Egypt in the first century BC. She knew how to exploit her Greek heritage as well and enjoyed great popularity in Athens.

Cleopatra became a legend in her own lifetime and has fascinated every age since. One of the most lasting impressions of the queen is as a great lover. Her powers of seduction quickly entered the realm of myth, thanks to her relationships with two of Rome’s most powerful leaders, Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. To be sure, her charisma must have been prodigious, even if the extent of her physical beauty is debated, as the ancient sources pay tribute to her charms.

This fascination with her talent for seduction comes at a price, however: her political acumen often is overlooked. As a ruler, Cleopatra succeeded in preserving her kingdom through massive political upheavals throughout the Mediterranean and the Middle East. At a time when power could shift overnight and the supply of ambitious men seemed infinite, a country like Egypt had to choose its allies carefully. While it required the protection of a larger power to avoid falling prey to ambitious imperialists, Egypt had impressive resources to offer its allies. For most of her 21-year reign, Cleopatra used these alliances to her maximum advantage. Had the conflict between Antony and Octavian ended differently, she would have become a partner in ruling the Roman Empire. Cleopatra did not, and probably could not, take the safe route and hedge her bets, but her political moves were right far more often than they were wrong.

This biography aims to uncover Cleopatra’s story, insofar as it is known. The ancient sources, which come primarily from the Greco-Roman tradition but include Egyptian material where it exists, must be our guide. This guide cannot be followed unquestioningly, however, as biases and even outright hostility may colour the accounts. These sources answer many questions about Egypt’s most famous queen, but the nature of the evidence ensures that the search for Cleopatra will continue.

The Ptolemies of Egypt

In 323 B.C., Alexander the Great died suddenly in Babylon, without naming a successor to rule his newly acquired empire. According to Diodorus Siculus, a first century B.C. historian, Alexander, when asked to whom he left his kingdom, said only, ‘To the best man, for I see as my funeral games a great contest among my friends.’¹ His words were prophetic, as many competed for Alexander’s power.

One member of Alexander’s inner circle, Ptolemy I, who founded the Ptolemaic dynasty of which Cleopatra would be the final ruler, was instrumental in the outcome of this competition. While Ptolemy was not one of Alexander’s top military commanders, he had a friendship with Alexander going back to their childhood in Macedonia. He accompanied Alexander on campaign and fought in the Battle of Issus. He also wrote an account of Alexander’s deeds, which, although it is no longer extant, influenced subsequent historians. Ptolemy opposed those who favoured placing Alexander’s half-brother Philip Arrhidaeus in charge of the empire. Instead, Alexander’s empire was divided into several kingdoms. Ptolemy took Egypt for himself, after arranging the assassination of Cleomenes, whom Alexander had appointed to govern that region.

To further consolidate his power, Ptolemy brought Alexander’s body to Egypt. After convincing the men who were returning the body to Macedonia to allow him to take it to Egypt, Ptolemy brought it to the Egyptian city of Memphis where he buried it with Macedonian rites. Possession of Alexander’s body was part of Ptolemy’s claim to Alexander’s legacy. All of Alexander’s successors wished to associate themselves with the legend of Alexander and they used various forms of propaganda to advertise their connections with Alexander. It became common for portraits of these powerful men to depict them with a striking resemblance to Alexander: in particular they emulated portraits of Alexander that show prominent locks of hair centred above the forehead (known as anastole). They also issued coinage employing iconography Alexander had used, including the ram’s horn of Ammon, the Egyptian god whom the Greeks associated with Zeus and who, it was rumoured, Alexander believed was his father. The Ptolemies even adopted the eagle, the bird associated with Zeus, as a symbol of their rule.

In Egypt, Ptolemy not only associated himself closely with Alexander, but also followed a tradition Alexander had begun. When Alexander conquered a region, he attempted to integrate the customs and people of the area with the Macedonians. He integrated local armies with his Macedonian military forces, at times appointed local officials as governors of conquered regions, and encouraged his soldiers to intermarry with the local population, even doing so himself.² Alexander’s wife, Roxane, was the daughter of Oxyartes, a Bactrian nobleman. For Ptolemy, this tradition meant assimilating the new dynasty he was establishing in Egypt with the pharaohs.

The Ptolemies adopted not only the iconography of the pharaohs, but also the custom of brother-sister marriage, which they believed the Pharaohs had practiced. It took only one generation for the Ptolemies to engage in what their Macedonian ancestors would have considered incest.³ Arsinoe II, daughter of Ptolemy I, had been married to Lysimachus, another member of Alexander’s army and the king of Thrace, and, after his death, to her half-brother Ptolemy Ceraunus. Finally, she married her full brother, Ptolemy II. It is possible that Arsinoe II, as the older of the two siblings, was the dominant partner in this marriage.⁴ At the very least, she seems to have enjoyed equality with her male counterpart in governing. Upon their marriage, Ptolemy II and Arsinoe II each took the title Philadelphus, or sibling-lover. Together, they were called Theoi Adelphoi, the sibling gods. The latter title suggests a possible motive for this marriage. Brother-sister marriage between Egyptian Pharaohs reflected a belief in the divinity of the Pharaoh. The Pharaohs’ marriages, therefore, were modelled on those of the gods. Egyptian deities like Isis and Osiris were siblings, as were Greek divinities like Zeus and Hera. Indeed, Arsinoe II resembles Egyptian female Pharaohs in other respects as well. She received the title ‘King of Upper and Lower Egypt’ and was worshipped as a goddess at Memphis.⁵

The Ptolemies based their rule in Alexandria, Egypt, one of several Alexandrias founded by Alexander during his campaigns. This city became the centre of trade, culture and learning in the Hellenistic world. Plutarch relates a story that attributes the location of Alexandria to a dream Alexander the Great had in which a grey-haired man appeared to him and recited lines from Homer’s Odyssey (4.354-5). The lines refer to Pharos, the island at the mouth of Alexandria’s harbour. Alexander had great reverence for Homer – he is supposed to have slept with a copy of the Iliad under his pillow – and, thus, immediately investigated the location. Finding that Pharos, located just offshore, was a strategic point for controlling access to the harbour, Alexander declared Homer the wisest of all builders and prepared to lay out the city.⁶

The ancient sources often mention such auspicious events attending the founding of cities. In addition, Plutarch reports that Alexander and his men, having no chalk to make lines on the ground, used barley to mark the location of the city walls. When birds descended to eat the grain, Alexander worried that the occurrence constituted an unfavourable omen. His soothsayers, however, assured him that the birds indicated that his city would be productive and would nurture many men.⁷ These tales of Alexandria’s beginnings reflect a view, common in ancient cities, that the gods supported the endeavours of the human community.

Because of changes to the coastline and the modern city of Alexandria, little remains of ancient Alexandria. Written descriptions allow reconstruction of the city’s layout. The streets formed a grid, as in Greek cities. The north-eastern part of the city contained the royal palaces and tombs of Alexander the Great and of the Ptolemies. The Greek population lived in the centre of the city, while the eastern part of the city was the Jewish quarter and the Egyptians lived on the western side of Alexandria. Lake Mareotis to the south provided water, as did the Nile, and served as a summer retreat for the wealthy. Alexandria’s location on the Mediterranean with access to both east and west ensured its importance as a trade hub through which essentials like grain cultivated in the soil made fertile by the Nile’s yearly flood as well as eastern luxuries like ivory and spices