Cleopatra: A BiographyFew personalities from classical antiquity are more famous--yet more poorly understood--than Cleopatra VII, queen of Egypt. In this major biography, Duane Roller reveals that Cleopatra was in fact a learned and visionary leader whose overarching goal was always the preservation of her dynasty and kingdom. Roller's authoritative account is the first to be based solely on primary materials from the Greco-Roman period: literary sources, Egyptian documents (Cleopatra's own writings), and representations in art and coinage produced while she was alive. His compelling portrait of the queen illuminates her prowess as a royal administrator who managed a large and diverse kingdom extending from Asia Minor to the interior of Egypt, as a naval commander who led her own fleet in battle, and as a scholar and supporter of the arts. Even her love affairs with Julius Caesar and Marcus Antonius--the source of her reputation as a supreme seductress who drove men to their doom--were carefully crafted state policies: she chose these partners to insure the procreation of successors who would be worthy of her distinguished dynasty. That Cleopatra ultimately lost to her Roman opponents, Roller contends, in no way diminishes her abilities. "Roller tells his tale smoothly and accessibly....The resulting portrait is that of a complex, many-sided figure, a potent Hellenistic ruler who could move the tillers of power as skillfully as any man, and one far and nobly removed from the 'constructed icon' of popular imagination." --The New York Times Book Review "A rich account of late Ptolemaic culture." --The New Yorker "Offers a superb panorama of the society and culture of late Ptolemaic Egypt, with vivid sketches of the (remarkably vigorous) intellectual life of Cleopatra's Alexandria and the structural instabilities of the late Ptolemaic state." --Times Literary Supplement "Besides providing a compelling story and breathing fresh air into a heretofore two-dimensional caricature from history, Roller's 'Cleopatra' provides an interesting commentary on the attitudes still prevalent towards women who rule." --Christian Science Monitor "Compulsively readable." --Bookslut "A definitive account of a queen of remarkable strength." --Publishers Weekly |
Contents
| 1 | |
1 Cleopatras Ancestry and Background | 15 |
2 The Ptolemaic Heritage and the Involvement with Rome | 29 |
3 Cleopatras Youth and Education | 43 |
4 Becoming Queen 5147 BC | 53 |
5 Consolidating the Empire 4740 BC | 69 |
6 The Peak Years 4034 BC | 89 |
7 The Operation of the Kingdom | 103 |
9 Downfall 3430 BC | 129 |
Epilogue | 151 |
Appendices | 157 |
Abbreviations | 185 |
Notes | 189 |
| 219 | |
| 231 | |
| 239 | |
Common terms and phrases
Actium Alexander Alexander Helios Alexander’s ancient Antioch Antonius Antonius’s Appian Archelaos Arsinoë Arsinoë II Athenaios Athens Augustan Augustus became Berenike Caesarion career Cassius Cicero Civil Cleopatra and Antonius Cleopatra of Egypt Cleopatra Selene Cleopatra VII coinage coins court Cyprus Cyrene daughter death Diodoros Dionysos divine dynasty early Eastern Royalty Egyptian Ephesos famous father FGrHist Forum Julium Geography Greek heir Hellenistic Herod History Hölbl Isis Italy Jewish Antiquities Josephus Juba II Julius Caesar kingdom known late later marriage married monarchs mother Museum Nile Octavian palace Parthian expedition perhaps Pliny Plutarch political Pompeius portrait Potheinos probably Ptolemaic Alexandria Ptolemaic Empire Ptolemy XII Ptolemy’s queen reign returned role Roller Roman Rome royal Royalty and Rome rule ruler scholars second century b.c. seems Seleukid sent siblings status Strabo Suetonius surviving Syria Tarsos Temple territory throne tion tomb triumvir Walker and Higgs World of Juba