Alexandria

Beginnings: Cleopatra VII Queen of Egypt was born around 69 B.C.E. (Cleopatra a Biography by Duane W. Roller pg. 15). She was born into a long line of Ptolemaic Kings and is considered to be the very last Macedonian Greek Queen to rule Egypt (Roller pg. 15). Her father was Ptolemy XII, no one is sure who her mother is and to this day she is still unknown, but she is thought to have been a part of the Egyptian Priestly Family of Ptah (Roller pg. 15). It is believed that it was her half Egyptian…

Cleopatra Ruler of Egypt by Kerrily Sapet was an interesting documentary to read, the life and rule of the mighty woman, Cleopatra. Sapet has written a few other historical documentaries and several other present documentaries in her career. She mostly focuses on children’s books on all types of subjects. In the book, she portrayed Cleopatra as a strong leader, even when most women were viewed as low class citizens and not leaders. Although this book would be considered more of a children’s…

Throughout time there have been many instances where a strong orator voices their opinion with power persuasive elements and lead to a drastic change, much like the case of Mark Antony in Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare. Before Antony gives his famous eulogy of his dead friend and future leader of Rome, Julius Caesar, Marcus Brutus gives his outlook on the situation first in front of a crowd of Romans. Brutus is also a close friend of Caesar but he believes that Caesar needed to die…

Rome in Panic: Mark Antony’s Rhetorical Response Within William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, the character Mark Antony uses a plethora of rhetoric devices to persuade the crowd towards his way of thinking. These devices include sarcasm, logical thinking, and crying to emit a sense of emotion appeal. William Shakespeare uses different rhetorical modes inside each section of Mark Antony’s speech, which includes: Logos, Logos with Ethos, and Pathos during section 1, Ethos and Ethos with Pathos…

Mark Antony's Secret Weapon “Friends Romans countrymen Lend me your ears; I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.” That was Mark Antony’s (a character and one of the main antagonist in William Shakespeare's tragedy Julius Caesar) first statement in his speech that completely turned a weeping mourning crowd into an angry mob. This crowd had just heard that news that their beloved leader Julius Caesar had been put to death. Brutus (a main protagonist in the tragedy) had spoke before Mark…

The play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, written by William Shakespeare, is written taking place with a very powerful and rogue ruler, Julius Caesar, and focuses on Brutus' struggle between the adverse demands of patriotism, honor, and friendship. Within the play, Shakespeare sympathizes with Caesar’s conspirators and is very much in favor of a democracy rather than one, powerful ruler as depicted in the play. And, as Shakespeare was writing this play, he was trying to convince the audience to…

In contrast, Soloman argues that Antony’s choice between Rome and Egypt is not clear and quite complicated. While duty instructs Antony to surrender himself to a life with Octavia, she is not presented as a perfect solution. Octavia does not inspire sympathy with her shrewish behaviour, as she steps outside of her feminine role, and tries to make Antony “her branded slave” (3.1.325). She does so by threatening Antony with her powerful brother, Octavius (3.1.327). Her actions depict her as a…

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…

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…