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Two thousand years before Madonna, the original queen of controversy,
Cleopatra, reigned supreme. Madge has nothing on the ancient Egyptian ruler,
who governed with a strong hand despite being threatened by the Roman Empire,
married her brothers (and son) and had a fiery fling with a bad boy (Mark
Antony) that caused the downfall of her kingdom. And like Madonna, Cleopatra did
whatever she had to do, or wanted to do, to protect her empire.
Cleopatra VII, the eldest daughter of Ptolemy Auletes, was born in 69 B.C. in
Alexandria, Egypt. Following her father's death, she became ruler of an
imperiled Egypt at age 18 in 51 B.C. Prior to his death, Ptolemy had
allied with the Roman empire, whose holdings were on the rise even as
Ptolemy's grip on power was fading.
Strong of will and well read (she was fluent in nine languages), Cleopatra
ignored many ruling conventions during her time. Because of an Egyptian law
that forced her to have a male co-ruler, Cleopatra married her 12-year-old
brother, Ptolemy XIII, but struck his name from all official documents. She
also left her husband/brother off of the state's official coins, on which she
placed her own portrait. With her country suffering through a famine and her
kingdom threatened by the Romans, Cleopatra shocked the officials of
Alexandria by having assassins take out a Roman governor in 48 B.C. The brash
act led to her overthrow and the installation of her more easily influenced
younger brother/husband.
The young Ptolemy immediately struck out against his sister, banning
shipments of grain to anywhere but Alexandria, which was aimed at starving
Cleo and her supporters gathered outside the city. Not easily defeated,
Cleopatra moved to Syria and gathered an army consisting of Arab tribes while
her brother was driven out of Alexandria by Rome's ruler, Caesar. Still
wanting to be in the mix, Cleopatra snuck back into Alexandria rolled up in a
carpet and appeared before Caesar — who that night became her lover. During
the Alexandrian War that ensued, Ptolemy drowned in the Nile while fleeing
Caesar's soldiers and Cleopatra got what she ultimately wanted — sole
control of Egypt.
Times being what they were, Caesar forced Cleopatra to marry another of her
younger brothers — 11-year-old Ptolemy XIV — to appease the Egyptian
priests. Adding a bit of old-school Jerry Springer chaos to the mix, Cleo
became pregnant with Caesar's child and the pair took a romantic two-month
honeymoon up the Nile. Caesar split just weeks before their son, Caesarion
(Ptolemy Caesar), was born in June of 47 B.C.
When Caesar brought Cleopatra to Rome a year later, her manners and bearing
offended many of the conservative Republicans, who were particularly put off
by the high-living Egyptian queen referring to herself as the "New Isis." It
didn't help matters when an already married Caesar admitted Caesarion was his
son and announced plans to marry Cleo, despite strict rules against bigamy
and marrying foreigners.
Their bliss was short-lived, as Caesar was assassinated on the Ides of March
in 44 B.C., after which Cleopatra quickly left Rome and returned to
Alexandria with nothing to show for her vida loca, as Caesar had not
mentioned her or their son in his will. Things went from bad to worse when
her other husband, Ptolemy XIV, was assassinated and her kingdom fell
victim to a devastating famine. The queen had to resort to naming her
4-year-old son as her co-ruler.
Working her feminine wiles, Cleopatra attempted to woo the hard-drinking,
womanizing new Roman co-leader, Mark Antony, by gathering her meager
resources and putting on an erotic girlie show. In a sailboat with silver
oars, purple sails and a group of attendants dressed as sea nymphs fanning
her, Cleo — dressed as the goddess of love, Venus — sailed up to Antony's
place and, not surprisingly, got her man. While the queen worked the smitten
Antony over for a few years during their affair — including having her sister
assassinated by his troops — Antony did his own dirty work, snatching control
of Cyprus from his lover and draining her coffers. Rome's senators did not
approve of the relationship and they accused Cleopatra of being an evil
sorceress.
Antony left Alexandria in 40 B.C., leaving behind his pregnant lover, who
gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. Despite being a married
father of two girls, Antony brought Cleopatra to Rome and officially
recognized their twins (Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene). When Antony's
campaign to overthrow the Parthians failed, Cleopatra — now mother to their
third child — was back in the driver's seat. She and Antony returned to
Alexandria in 35 B.C., and, following Antony's successful routing of Armenia
a year later, the pair celebrated with an elaborate public ceremony. With
Cleopatra again taking on the title of the New Isis and Antony the new
Dionysus, the couple paraded through the city and named Ptolemy XV/Caesarion
the co-ruler of Egypt (a.k.a. "The King of Kings"), alongside Cleopatra
("Queen of Kings").
With all of her children given royal designations, Cleopatra was closer than
ever to her dream of becoming the empress of the world. Antony divorced his
wife in 31 B.C., officially recognizing his relationship with Cleopatra and
putting her name and face on a Roman coin. The latter caused a rift with the
Roman empire, which declared war against Cleopatra, accusing her of being a
woman of loose morals. Roman forces easily defeated Antony's army, driving
Antony to commit suicide by falling on his sword in 30 B.C.
Her kingdom in shambles, Cleopatra was summoned to Rome by Octavian, who
threatened to display her in chains as a slave on her home turf. Rather than
suffer this humiliation, Cleopatra had an Egyptian cobra smuggled into her
cell hidden in a basket of figs and died on August 12, 30 B.C. at age 39. By
Egyptian religious rules, death by snakebite meant immortality, securing
Cleopatra a place in history, which was her dying wish. With her died the
Egyptian dynasties, as Rome declared Egypt a province of its empire.
With more plot twists than a season of "Survivor," Cleopatra's life was a
model of Shakespearean drama mixed with determination. A quick-witted, wily
ruler, Cleopatra led an adventurous, tumultuous life which — except for the
marrying her brother part — still serves as an inspiration to anyone who has
dreams of having it all.
By Gil Kaufman
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