Alexandria, Virginia

Cleopatra’s family ruled Egypt for more than 100 years before she was born August 69 B.C. Cleopatra was a queen of Egypt but she was not Egyptian. She was the last of the Macedonian Greek dynasty that ruled Egypt from the time of Alexander the Great's death in 323 BCE to about 30 BCE. She was a talented and resourceful individual of great charm but ruthless when she felt she had to be. Cleopatra was the only one of her family that learned to speak the Egyptian (Coptic) language. She knew a half…

Long ago in ancient Egypt, there was a powerful queen by the name of Nefertiti who ruled during one of Egypt’s most prosperous periods: the end of the 18th dynasty. Her life is shrouded in mystery, for in those times was not recorded as accurately and in detail as it is today. One of the most important events of her rule was her sudden disappearance from Egyptian history. In Nefertiti: Egypt’s Sun Queen, Joyce Tyldesley uses archeological evidence and excerpts from articles written by trusted…

In times of despair and panic, people look to a leader to help them out of their darkest times. Often when people are faced with tragedy, they ponder why a terrible event could occur, looking for answers to their questions. When people are in distress, they believe almost anything said to them, in an effort to ease their uncertainty. Shakespeare depicts the crowd believing anything they are told, because they want clarity. William Shakespeare writes the play Julius Caesar to prove how easy it is…

In August of 30 B.C., Cleopatra entered a mausoleum in Alexandria and committed suicide. She had spent the last two decades as the last independent Pharaoh of Egypt. Cleopatra battled her siblings ruthlessly for power, engaged the Roman emperor in military action, and had more than one passionate and well-known affairs. She is one of the most loved figures in ancient history, constantly defying gender roles and female stereotypes, and her life was steeped in adventure and mystery. Best of all,…

After stabbing her own brother in the back, Cleopatra was able to become the only pharaoh that ruled Alexandria, which allowed her to become the primary dictator. Since Egypt and Rome were able to become allies, it gave more power to Cleopatra who becomes a leader in Rome while also ruling over Egypt. Although Alexander the Great ruled over Cleopatra, she was a more influential leader in Alexandria, during her rule she was able to become allies with Rome, advance the role of…

ancient philosopher in Alexandria who lived from approximately 100 BCE to 170 CE. While Ptolemy is considered Greek in terms of ethnicity, he is also considered a “Hellenized Egyptian”(http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Ptolemy) as he was born in Alexandria, Egypt. There is evidence suggesting that Ptolemy was granted Roman citizenship since his first name is Claudius, which is a Roman name. Many historians conclude that Ptolemy spent the entirety of his life in Alexandria. Very little is…

Caesar arrived in Alexandria, Egypt in 48 B.C.E., during a civil war between Cleopatra and her brother. Caesar was not a well-liked man by the Egyptians, they believed that he was “an enemy of the gods and polluter of their sanctuaries” (Volkmann 63). Cleopatra wished to see…

Another stance often taken on this issue is that Cleopatra was plain in appearance until she opened her mouth and exhibited her charm, wit, and vast knowledge across many topics. Under this viewpoint, Cleopatra’s beauty did not lead to her success, but rather she achieved it through other means. A primary source, Plutarch, describes when Cleopatra first met Mark Antony. On her journey she took money, gifts, other objects of great wealth, as well as her most valuable trait: her charm. Plutarch…

Imagine living in an empire where your leader was assassinated by his close friend. What would you do? In Rome’s case, the death of Julius Caesar brought fear and chaos. Many Romans anxiously demanded reasons for Caesars death from two people, Brutus, who planned and carried out the assassination of Caesar and a close friend of Caesar, and Mark Antony, who was a high ranking official and also a close friend of Caesar. Both Brutus and Mark Antony had different views on the death of Julius Caesar…

Tannor Saberon-Dover In the play Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare it can be agreed that Brutus was the noblest man in all of Rome. Many people cannot see past the fact that he killed Caesar. Everything that Brutus did was for the best interest of his country Brutus was noble because he cared about the well-being of his country. Brutus did all of the things that he did for the love of his country, not to be bad, but because he saw it as bettering his country. In the play Julius…