Cleopatra VIII

The Last Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, Cleopatra is a historical figure that is remembered for her life, her love and especially her death. The great Egyptian Queen, Cleopatra is often seen as a symbol of female power in the ancient world, which in some ways she was. She is also remembered for her dramatic death and love affairs with foreign politicians.

Although she became the Pharaoh of Egypt, she and her family were not actually of Egyptian decent. They were really Macedonians who had immigrated to Egypt during the time of Alexander the Great.

 Cleopatra was actually the third Daughter in her Family and therefore there was no expectation that she would ever receive the throne. However after the deaths of her two elder sisters, Cleopatra became pharaoh at the age of 17. Her reign lasted 21 years, between 51 and 30 BCE. Because of how infamous she became it often assumed that she was the one and only Cleopatra, but in fact there were 7 other women of the same name in the Ptolemaic dynasty and therefore she is officially Cleopatra VIII. Her Full name was Cleopatra VIII Thea Philopator.

Cleopatra had 3 different husbands throughout her life, her younger brother Ptolemy XIII, who was only 12 at the time. They were married for approximately 4 years before his premature death (drowning). She also married her other younger brother her other younger brother Ptolemy XIV, and Marc Anthony. However these were not the only love affairs Cleopatra had during her lifetime. Cleopatra also had a widely publicized affair, and possibly marriage with Julius Caesar, which produced a son: Caesarian, who was later strangled.

Cleopatra also had 3 other Children from Mark Anthony. Alexander Helios, Cleopatra Selene II who were twins, in addition to Ptolemy Philadelphus.

Cleopatra was a very intelligent individual, a fact that is often overlooked. She was fluent in at least 9 languages, and was the only individual in the Ptolemaic Dynasty that could speak Egyptian. She was also a very charismatic individual, she had the power to persuade as well as seduce others.

The Queens death is seen by many as a tragic ending to a great love story. Her husband, Mark Anthony committed suicide on the battlefield after being deceived into believing that Cleopatra herself was dead. Once this news came to Cleopatra, she took an asp (an Egyptian cobra) and got it to bite her in the breast. This type of death, by Egyptian beliefs would ensure immortality

However this is not the entire story, what is lacking in this tale is that Octavian was also in the process of invading Egypt. Cleopatra and her children had been taken as prisoners. It is more likely that Cleopatra realized that she had been defeated and did not want to be made an example of by the Romans now that her husband was no longer around to protect her. She was the last Pharaoh of Egypt because following her Suicide Egypt became a Roman territory.

Her love life, charisma, and her political moves ensured that Cleopatra would go down as one of the most famous queens in history. Her story is still celebrated today through movies, books and myth.