7 Facts About Cleopatra For People Who Appreciate Queens Who Changed the Game
Cleopatra Was An Iconic Queen From History
Cleopatra was one of the most iconic queens in history, ruling with brains and beauty. Her life was juicier than any drama series. Political power moves, plots to outwit emperors, and sizzling scandals brought her great success.
Here Are 7 Facts About Cleopatra’s Life
She was often reduced to a scheming seductress with precise eyeliner, but she was much more than that. Here are seven facts about Cleopatra’s life that help further explain how this woman was able to turn empires upside down.
1. She Married Two Of Her Brothers
When Cleopatra was 18 years old, she was married to Ptolemy XIII, who was 10 years old. In 48 B.C., he tried to depose her, forcing her to flee to Syria and Egypt.
Cleopatra defeated him with her armies. After his death, she married his younger brother, Ptolemy XIV. She was 22, and he was 12.
2. She Likely Did Not Die From A Snake Bite
In 30 B.C., Cleopatra and Antony took their own lives after Octavian’s forces pursued them all the way to Alexandria. Antony was said to have stabbed himself in the stomach, but the details surrounding Cleopatra’s death were less clear. According to legend, she enticed a venomous asp (snake) to bite her arm.
However, she was also known to be a skilled chemist and concealed deadly poison in one of her hair combs. She may have applied a fatal ointment in some form of toxin.
3. Beauty Was Not Her Biggest Asset
Roman propaganda painted Cleopatra as a divine beauty who used her appeal as a political tool, but there is no evidence that she was actually that beautiful. Her power truly came from her intelligence, charm, and wit.
She spoke about a dozen languages and was educated in mathematics, astronomy, and philosophy. Coins with her portrait depict her as having a large, pointed nose, narrow lips, and a sharp chin.
4. She Was Living In Rome When Caesar Was Killed
In 46 B.C., Cleopatra joined Julius Caesar in Rome and became his mistress. They made no effort to hide their relationship.
Caesar even had a statue of her erected in the temple of Venus Genetrix. Cleopatra fled Rome after Caesar was assassinated in the Roman senate in 44 B.C.
5. She Led A Fleet in A Naval Battle
Eventually, Cleopatra married Mark Antony. They had three children together. Their relationship was also scandalous because Antony’s rival, Octavian, accused him of being a traitor after falling for a seductress.
The Roman Senate waged war on Cleopatra in 32 B.C. She led several dozen warships in a famous naval battle at Actium, but they lost and had to flee to Egypt.
6. She Had Four Children
Cleopatra had one son with Julius Caesar named Caesarion. She had three children with Mark Antony: Ptolemy and twins named Cleopatra and Alexander.
None of her children lived to inherit Egypt. Caesarion was executed under orders from the Roman emperor Augustus after her death.
7. She Was Not Egyptian
Cleopatra may have been born in Egypt, but her family origins can be traced back to Macedonian Greece and Ptolemy I Soter, one of Alexander the Great’s generals.
After Alexander’s death in 323 B.C., Ptolemy ruled Egypt. Cleopatra was the first member of the Ptolemaic line to learn the Egyptian language. The Ptolemies were the last dynasty to rule Egypt.
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