The life of Cleopatra was a unique one at best, commonly known for her beauty and lesser known for her strong leadership skills. One could argue that she was a strong female role model, but her actions contradict those arguments as she was quite the temptress when it came to powerful men. Cleopatra’s story starts when father Ptolemy XII Auletes who was given power over Egypt upon Alexander the Greats death. Oddly enough Cleopatra’s family wasn’t of Egyptian descent, they were of the Macedonian Greek dynasty. However, Cleopatra was born in Egypt in 69 B.C. and was said to be the only one in her family who could speak the Egyptian language (Watkins). One would think her younger siblings would also be able to speak the Egyptian language as they
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Ptolemy XIII died on the battlefield. Cleopatra then returned to Egypt and gets married to yet another younger brother Ptolemy XIV. At this time, Caesar returned to Rome and shortly after that Cleopatra gave birth to Caesars child, a son, and she named him Caesarion. Clearly this child didn’t mean much to Caesar, one would think if the child was important he would’ve stuck around. However, since Cleopatra wasn’t much to Caesar except a mistress and now an ally, one could say that’s why the child wasn’t so important. Granted Caesar is quite old at this point and the child poses no threat to him so long as he stays on good terms with Cleopatra. A short time after this once they’ve celebrated the victory of regaining Egypt Cleopatra and her brother-husband Ptolemy XIV join Caesar in Rome. Awhile into their stay Caesar was assassinated and upon Cleopatra’s orders her brother-husband Ptolemy XIV is poisoned. More strategic moves on her part, she did this because “she wanted to make her son, Caesarion, co-regent with her as Ptolemy XV” (Watkins). At this point her son isn’t that old yet, possibly two years old. By taking all of these steps she made it so she had complete control over Egypt. No more strings attached to any brother-husbands anymore, just her son who wouldn’t pose a threat to her …show more content…
She had to protect Egypt so she did just that by seducing the powerful men who could protect her. This proves her strategic mindset as “she was well aware of the significance of her relationships with male leaders, hence her relationships with Julius Caesar and Marc Antony” (Harold et al). She had the intellect to intrigue those powerful men and she used it to her advantage. The question of her beauty hardly mattered to these men, she very well could have been the most beautiful woman, but that’s not why she was thought to be attractive. Undoubtedly she was a powerful woman who knew what she was doing and how to do it. However, the way she ended her life was rather foolish, all because Antony’s death and not wanting to deal with the consequences of not being powerful anymore. Some might argue it was the best choice, but she didn’t have to die because of it. Her death was also selfish by leaving her children to fend for themselves. The only one she tried to save was Caesaroin, but obviously that didn’t work. It was almost as if she really didn’t care for them, this could be wrong she may have cared for them deeply, but clearly not enough to put them before herself. As for Cleopatra being a female role model I’m sure she inspired many young women in that time being a female Pharaoh who mostly ruled on her own, despite when she was forced to, which still
Ptolemy XIII died on the battlefield. Cleopatra then returned to Egypt and gets married to yet another younger brother Ptolemy XIV. At this time, Caesar returned to Rome and shortly after that Cleopatra gave birth to Caesars child, a son, and she named him Caesarion. Clearly this child didn’t mean much to Caesar, one would think if the child was important he would’ve stuck around. However, since Cleopatra wasn’t much to Caesar except a mistress and now an ally, one could say that’s why the child wasn’t so important. Granted Caesar is quite old at this point and the child poses no threat to him so long as he stays on good terms with Cleopatra. A short time after this once they’ve celebrated the victory of regaining Egypt Cleopatra and her brother-husband Ptolemy XIV join Caesar in Rome. Awhile into their stay Caesar was assassinated and upon Cleopatra’s orders her brother-husband Ptolemy XIV is poisoned. More strategic moves on her part, she did this because “she wanted to make her son, Caesarion, co-regent with her as Ptolemy XV” (Watkins). At this point her son isn’t that old yet, possibly two years old. By taking all of these steps she made it so she had complete control over Egypt. No more strings attached to any brother-husbands anymore, just her son who wouldn’t pose a threat to her …show more content…
She had to protect Egypt so she did just that by seducing the powerful men who could protect her. This proves her strategic mindset as “she was well aware of the significance of her relationships with male leaders, hence her relationships with Julius Caesar and Marc Antony” (Harold et al). She had the intellect to intrigue those powerful men and she used it to her advantage. The question of her beauty hardly mattered to these men, she very well could have been the most beautiful woman, but that’s not why she was thought to be attractive. Undoubtedly she was a powerful woman who knew what she was doing and how to do it. However, the way she ended her life was rather foolish, all because Antony’s death and not wanting to deal with the consequences of not being powerful anymore. Some might argue it was the best choice, but she didn’t have to die because of it. Her death was also selfish by leaving her children to fend for themselves. The only one she tried to save was Caesaroin, but obviously that didn’t work. It was almost as if she really didn’t care for them, this could be wrong she may have cared for them deeply, but clearly not enough to put them before herself. As for Cleopatra being a female role model I’m sure she inspired many young women in that time being a female Pharaoh who mostly ruled on her own, despite when she was forced to, which still