Athanasius of Alexandria

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…

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…