With help from our lectures, textbooks and the archeological remains we have covered quite a few women in our class from the ancient world. Even though our evidence is limited, certain women were much more visible then others due to their elevated statuses, being of a higher class such as royalty. We must also consider the fact through the evidence left to us, most if not all of the written accounts were by men and in most cases framed for a certain goal such as perpetuating a certain stereotype of women, usually in the negative context. As we go down the line of all the women we’ve learned about and begin to neatly label them as mythological (Demeter), fictional or pseudo-historical (Lysistrata) or historical like Sappho, we come to a standstill with the woman the world knows as Cleopatra. Cleopatra did, in fact, exist.
She did walk this earth and is perhaps one of the best documented female rulers of the ancient world. She is found on coins, she is found in stone. In fact, archeologists are still uncovering pieces of the ancient world connected to her or belonging to her court. We simply cannot attempt to place this woman into the “historical” box …show more content…
It is also a legacy that would be tainted by those who later conquered her kingdom; to portray her as subversive. “By the late (1900’s) twenties, Caesar’s description of Cleopatra is superior verse not only because it engages the reader in a metaphor bursting with energy, but because it captures the essence of a woman who is dangerously sexual, even in death” (McCombe). Cleopatra’s enemies sought to portray her as a threat to not just Rome and but also to the Roman way of life. She was quickly placed within the “modern woman” archetype who is wicked and not to be trusted. This archetype unfortunately placed more emphasis on her feminine body and what she damage she could wreck by using it to her
She did walk this earth and is perhaps one of the best documented female rulers of the ancient world. She is found on coins, she is found in stone. In fact, archeologists are still uncovering pieces of the ancient world connected to her or belonging to her court. We simply cannot attempt to place this woman into the “historical” box …show more content…
It is also a legacy that would be tainted by those who later conquered her kingdom; to portray her as subversive. “By the late (1900’s) twenties, Caesar’s description of Cleopatra is superior verse not only because it engages the reader in a metaphor bursting with energy, but because it captures the essence of a woman who is dangerously sexual, even in death” (McCombe). Cleopatra’s enemies sought to portray her as a threat to not just Rome and but also to the Roman way of life. She was quickly placed within the “modern woman” archetype who is wicked and not to be trusted. This archetype unfortunately placed more emphasis on her feminine body and what she damage she could wreck by using it to her