caesar and cleopatra essay

History Cooperative

Julius Caesar and Cleopatra: The Ancient World’s Power Couple

Julius Caesar and Cleopatra played significant roles in ancient history, and their relationship, while short-lived, had a significant impact on both their lives and the course of history. While they even allegedly produced a child together, theirs was a relationship forged primarily in their mutual need to grab and hold power in their individual domains.

Their alliance solidified the unpopular queen’s position in Egypt, allowing her to claim her place in history as the last true Ptolemaic ruler of Egypt. Her wealth, meanwhile, gave Caesar the resources he needed to hold on to power in Rome after his term as consul expired in 48 B.C.E.

Table of Contents

Who Were Julius Caesar and Cleopatra?

Julius Caesar was an ambitious and fearless ruler who heralded the end of the Roman Republic and became known (posthumously) as the first Roman Emperor . Cleopatra was the last in a line of Greek rulers holding tenuous control over ancient Egypt .

In their time , these two figures – both separately and through their partnership – made giant marks on their respective nations. But who were they, and what in their individual stories set them on the path to their alliance?

Julius Caesar

Gaius Julius Caesar was born on July 12 th of 100 B.C.E. in the sprawling Suburra neighborhood of Rome . His father had been a praetor, or elected magistrate, of a wealthy province of modern-day Turkey, while his mother came from the influential Aurelia family which had produced a number of political leaders.

Though his was a patrician family, that meant relatively little by the 1 st Century B.C.E. – many of the old patrician families had gone extinct, and their political power was much diminished as compared to that of the plebs. Indeed, as it barred him from the immensely powerful office of tribune of the plebs, Caesar’s patrician heritage actually hindered his own political ambitions.

Exile and Rise

Just as Julius Caesar became head of his family (at the age of 16), Rome found itself in a civil war. The Roman general Sulla seized control of the Republic – the first to do so by force – and mercilessly began divesting and executing his enemies – a process known as “proscription.”

READ MORE: Roman Wars

Having married into the family of Sulla’s chief rivals, Julius Caesar was on that enemies list. Fortunately, his own family had many strong Sulla supporters, who intervened on his behalf and earned Julius Caesar a pardon and exile, which the young Roman spent in Asia Minor in the Roman Army .

He would return to Rome in 79 B.C.E. when Sulla died and began his political career by establishing himself as a prosecuting advocate. In the years that followed, he would rise through a number of offices and – after a stint as governor of Hispania Ulterior (the southern areas of modern-day Spain and Portugal) – Julius Caesar at last attained Rome’s highest elected office, consul, in 59 B.C.E.

Following his consulship, Julius Caesar took another post as governor – this time in the province of Gallia Narbonensis , in southern France. Here – on his own initiative – he spent the next eight years using the legions at his disposal to conquer Gaul, accumulating substantial wealth in the process.

In 52 B.C.E., Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, aka Pompey the Great, took advantage of rampant political violence to secure an unprecedented sole consulship. During his tenure, he made a number of moves seemingly calculated to disadvantage the popular Julius Caesar and perhaps open him to prosecution.

The animosity between the two came to a head when Julius Caesar brought a legion to the very borders of the Roman Republic, threatening to invade Rome if Pompey did not agree to a compromise that disarmed both forces. Pompey refused, and in January of 49 B.C.E., Julius Caesar crossed the shallow river called the Rubicon – the official border across which no army was to be brought – and set off the Roman civil war against Pompey in earnest and putting him on the path to his alliance with Cleopatra.

Cleopatra VII, also called Cleopatra Theo Philopater (“father-loving goddess”), was born around 70 B.C.E., the daughter of Egyptian pharaoh Ptolemy XII. She was part of the Ptolemaic line of rulers, descended from Ptolemy I, the Macedonian general who’d served under Alexander the Great and founded the dynasty about 304 B.C.E.

READ MORE: The Queens of Egypt: Ancient Egyptian Queens in Order 

She was the first Ptolemaic pharaoh to actually learn the Egyptian language (the Ptolemies, as a Macedonian line, spoke Koine Greek), and may have spoken as many as nine languages. A highly educated woman, she had studied math , philosophy, astronomy, and oratory.

While she is popularly remembered for her seductive beauty, that aspect of the queen is likely exaggerated. Rather, her power over men was more based on a shrewd charm and political savvy.

A previous pharaoh, Ptolemy X – the uncle of Cleopatra’s father – had written in his will that Egypt should go to Rome if the Ptolemaic line ever failed to produce an heir. This, coupled with the rising power of the Roman Republic, made Rome’s annexation of Egypt an increasingly likely threat (it had been openly suggested in the Senate as early as 65 B.C.E.).

Indeed, Rome annexed nearby Cyprus in 58 B.C.E., deposing the pharaoh’s brother who had ruled as king. So, when a rebellion in his country deposed him around 59 B.C.E. and installed his older daughter, Berenice, Ptolemy XII had little choice but to strike a deal with Rome (where, at the time, Julius Caesar was serving as consul) for military support to retake his throne – and for recognition of his right to rule, so he could keep it.

Cleopatra the Pharaoh

Ptolemy VII ascended the throne again, this time naming Cleopatra as his co-regent, with Egypt continuing as a client state under their rule but still answerable to the growing power of the Roman Republic. This is the Egypt that Cleopatra would inherit when her father died in 51 B.C.E.

Ptolemy XII’s will stated that Cleopatra and her 11-year-old brother, Ptolemy XIII, would marry and reign as co-rulers (sibling marriage was a longstanding tradition of Egyptian rulers which the Ptolemies continued). The more dominant Cleopatra swiftly took charge, and Egyptian documents soon began listing her as the sole ruler, ignoring the younger Ptolemy.

But her sibling, though young, still had influential supporters. With the help of a cabal of his advisors, chiefly the eunuch Potheinos, Ptolemy XIII reasserted himself and by 50 B.C.E. clearly had the upper hand, and Cleopatra and her supporters were forced to flee Alexandria for Thebes around the same time Julius Caesar was crossing the Rubicon.

She raised an army with help from Roman Syria but was unable to advance all the way to Alexandria. Stymied by her brother’s forces, she camped near the city Pelusium, near modern-day Port Said, where she would remain until Julius Caesar arrived in Egypt.

READ MORE: The Lighthouse of Alexandria: One of the Seven Wonders

Caesar and Cleopatra

In August of 48 B.C.E., Julius Caesar crushed the army of Pompey and his allies near Pharsalus (now Farsala) in southern Greece despite being outnumbered nearly two to one. Desperate, Pompey fled to what he believed was his only remaining ally – Ptolemy XIII, who for the moment had wrested the throne from his sister.

Pompey had been close with Ptolemy’s father, and the elder Ptolemy had fought beside Pompey in the past. He had expected to regroup and continue his war against Julius Caesar from the shelter of Ptolemy XIII’s Egypt.

But his assumed ally had other ideas. Ptolemy’s advisors had convinced him to be wary of allowing Pompey to turn Egypt into a base for his war against Julius Caesar – not to mention, the young ruler had no desire to draw the wrath of the victorious dictator.

When Pompey sought refuge in Egypt, Ptolemy feigned welcome. But no sooner had the Roman leader arrived in Alexandria than he was fallen upon by assassins acting on Ptolemy’s orders.

Just three days later, Julius Caesar arrived in pursuit. Ptolemy presented him with Pompey’s head, hoping the gesture would win Julius Caesar’s favor. In fact, it disgusted the dictator – foe or not, Pompey had been a fellow Roman who deserved a Roman funeral, not such a barbaric fate at the hands of the Egyptians.

His term as dictator was extended in absentia . Unable to leave immediately due to the strong seasonal winds in the Mediterranean, Julius Caesar installed himself in the country and decided to arbitrate the civil war between Ptolemy and his sister – assuming, in his typical fashion, the authority to do so.

Meeting of the Minds

To judge the conflict, Julius Caesar needed to speak to both contenders. But with Alexandria firmly in Ptolemy’s hands, Cleopatra didn’t dare try to enter the city, even with Julius Caesar’s legion in place.

So, the queen was smuggled into the city. Disguising her servant as a merchant, Cleopatra rolled herself up in a carpet. The “merchant” then rowed into the city, delivered the carpet to the dictator’s private room, and unrolled it to reveal the queen.

The cleverness of the ploy impressed the Roman leader immediately. And by the end of that first meeting, her wit and charm had put Julius Caesar firmly into Cleopatra’s camp and set the stage for both their partnership and their romance.

Mutual Needs

Cleopatra clearly needed help to wrest control from her brother and retake her place as queen of Egypt . And she recognized this arbitration – and, if need be, Julius Caesar’s military prowess – as the best available tools to that end.

And while Julius Caesar was taken with the young queen’s charisma and intellect, her wealth was equally appealing. The death of Pompey was only one more step in his own quest for power. He still had enemies to defeat, provinces to subdue, and various political machinations to enact once he returned to Rome in order to secure his own power.

All of that would require money and no small sum of it. And the charming young queen that needed his help to take back her throne was, at the time, the richest woman in the world. So it was that the two most powerful people in the region came together at just the right time to help each other reach their goals.

Judgment and the Siege of Alexandria

In the aftermath of his meeting with Cleopatra, Julius Caesar made a ruling that she and Ptolemy should return to their original status as co-rulers. Potheinos – the same advisor that had played an instrumental part in turning Ptolemy against his sister in the first place – protested that the terms of this restored arrangement leaned too heavily in favor of Cleopatra.

Other Ptolemy supporters agreed, and in short order, the forces of the young king had laid siege to the palace. Julius Caesar and Cleopatra, along with approximately 4000 Roman troops, were trapped inside the palace complex for some four months, until January of 47 B.C.E.

That was when reinforcements finally came – approximately 13,000 Roman-trained troops from Asia Minor under the command of Julius Caesar’s ally Mithridates of Pergamum. Mithridates entered Egypt, took Pelusium then continued through the Nile Delta.

Once word reached Alexandria that Mithridates’ army was on the way, Ptolemy redeployed a portion of his forces in an unsuccessful attempt to stop them at the Nile Delta. With this army defeated Ptolemy had no choice but to lift the siege and head eastward to meet Mithridates himself. Leaving a garrison in control of Alexandria, Julius Caesar likewise led his forces out to meet up with the reinforcements for a battle that would decide Egypt’s civil war.

The Battle of the Nile

While Ptolemy headed overland with his forces, Caesar took his by sea, reaching Mithridates’ army at their fortified camp on the eastern bank of the Nile before Ptolemy’s combined forces could stage an attack. Ptolemy joined with the remnants of his earlier force on the western side of the Nile, who’d been brutally routed when they’d previously attempted to cross the Nile and attack the much more organized force of Roman allies.

Now, Julius Caesar’s and Mithridates’ combined forces numbered some 20,000 men, all trained and equipped in Roman military style. Across the river, they faced a slightly larger force of Greek-equipped Egyptians.

Ptolemy set a detachment to prevent the Romans from fording the river, though he dispatched them too late. Julius Caesar had already sent his Germanic cavalry across the river undetected, even as his main force began constructing simple log bridges to cross the Nile.

Once ready, the Roman forces began their crossing – and the Alexandrian invaders suddenly found themselves attacked from the flanks by Julius Caesar’s advance cavalry. As before, the Alexandrian forces were routed.

Many of the broken army attempted to flee in boats, including Ptolemy himself. But his overloaded ship capsized, and the young ruler was killed, finally ending the Egyptian civil war.

After the Battle

In the aftermath of the war, Julius Caesar again announced Cleopatra as co-ruler of Egypt – this time with another brother, Ptolemy XIV, who was only twelve years old at the time. With his ally now firmly ensconced in power, Caesar’s work in Egypt was done – but he didn’t leave just yet.

Despite his own continuing civil war, Julius Caesar would stay in Egypt for another two months, not leaving the country until April. He and the queen carried on their affair in earnest during this time – even supposedly taking a cruise on the Nile together – and it would result in Julius Caesar’s only known biological son – Ptolemy XV, nicknamed Caesarion, or “little Caesar,” born that June.

Julius Caesar would never officially acknowledge the paternity of the child – perhaps because he was married at the time to a noblewoman named Calpurnia – and some allies in Rome even authored pamphlets attempting to prove the boy could not be his. It must be noted, though, that he also never publicly disputed paternity or objected to the boy’s nickname.

Cleopatra in Rome

After leaving Egypt, Julius Caesar hurried to Zela in modern-day Turkey to battle the army of Pharnaces II, ruler of the Bosporan Kingdom of modern-day Crimea, who had taken the opportunity of the Roman civil war to try and retake the Roman province of Pontus on the Black Sea. Julius Caesar swiftly defeated Pharnaces, marking the occasion with one of his most famous quotes – “ veni, vidi, vici ,” or “I came, I saw, I conquered.”

He then returned to Italy to peacefully quell the riots that had risen against the unpopular magister equitum he’d left to run things in his absence, Mark Antony. His stay was brief, however, as he had to set out for Africa to vanquish the forces of Metellus Scipio, Pompey’s father-in-law, and Cato the Younger, a longtime critic in the Senate, who had set themselves in Utica, in modern-day Tunisia.

With these enemies defeated Julius Caesar returned to Rome once more in June of 46 B.C.E. Later that year, he was joined by Cleopatra, who came to Rome as a visiting client queen and was giving accommodations at Julius Caesar’s villa.

She would remain in Rome for two years, though it is uncertain if her son Caesarion joined her. While there, she met with members of the Senate and other dignitaries, and the Greek astronomer Sosigenes (a member of her court) aided Julius Caesar in his creation of the Julian calendar. A golden statue of the queen was even cast and placed in the Temple of Venus Genetrix in the Forum of Caesar.

Little else is known of her time in Rome. It is possible, even likely, that her affair with Julius Caesar continued, though – as Julius Caesar was still married and conscious of his public opinion for political reasons – it was almost certainly much more discreet.

Julius Caesar departed Rome again in 45 B.C.E., this time heading to Spain where two of Pompey’s sons and Caesar’s former lieutenant, Titus Labienus, had seized control. In a pitched battle near present-day Montilla that June, Julius Caesar narrowly defeated these last enemies, leaving no remaining opposition to his rule.

Unlike Sulla, Julius Caesar pardoned most of his enemies and faced no real direct opposition in public sentiment. He celebrated triumphs upon his return for defeating “foreign” enemies – though the fact that many of these enemies had actually been Roman opponents on foreign soil left a bad odor on the whole affair for many Romans.

At the Lupercalia festival of 44 B.C.E. (held in mid-February), Mark Antony had made a public show of attempting to place a crown on Julius Caesar’s head, with the dictator refusing – an almost certainly staged performance to assess public sentiment on the institution of a monarchy. It was, in any case, an empty gesture – Julius Caesar had previously given himself a number of unique and far-reaching powers, had worked to centralize power in Rome to an unprecedented degree, and around the same time as the festival had been named dictator in perpetuity, making him a king in all but name.

Just a month later, on March 15 th , Julius Caesar came to appear at a session of the Senate when he was ambushed and attacked by a conspiracy of several Senators. The dictator would be stabbed some 23 times, and – after a lifetime of military and political conquest – died on the floor of the Senate just as he had achieved his loftiest goal.

READ MORE: How Did Julius Caesar Die? Betrayed and Stabbed to Death

But while they saw themselves as liberators, the assassins were coldly received by the public. And while they avoided punishment for their actions, they failed to reinstate the Republic – instead plunging Rome into a new series of civil wars that would ultimately see Julius Caesar’s adopted son, Octavian , officially founding the Roman Empire .

The End of the Ptolemies

Cleopatra remained in Rome just long enough to be convinced there was no chance of Caesarion being named Julius Caesar’s successor. By April, she had set out for Egypt again.

Shortly after her return, she poisoned her brother and co-regent, Ptolemy XIV. Her son now ascended to be her co-ruler, as Ptolemy XV.

Julius Caesar’s ally, Mark Antony, had entered into a short-lived Second Triumvirate with Octavian and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus to try and stabilize the Republic. But just over a year later it had degenerated into a division of Roman territory between Mark Antony, who controlled the eastern half, and Octavian, who held the western half.

Cleopatra forged a romantic/political alliance with Antony as she previously had with Julius Caesar. Their relationship, though originating in the same sort of mutual need as her fling with Julius Caesar, would be remembered much more as a love story, immortalized first by the Greek historian Plutarch and later by the playwright William Shakespeare.

The two would produce three children together – Alexander Helios, Cleopatra Selene II, and Ptolemy Philadelphus. And their relationship would go on for a decade, ending only when Octavian invaded Egypt and defeated Antony’s forces once and for all.

In the wake of the defeat, Antony – spurred on by a message from Cleopatra claiming her own intention to commit suicide, drew his sword and took his own life. Refusing to give Octavian the victory of capturing her and parading her in a tribute, Cleopatra did ultimately commit suicide, on August 10 th , 30 B.C.E. – according to legend, either by allowing a cobra to bite her or otherwise poisoning herself with its venom.

READ MORE: How Did Cleopatra Die? Bitten by an Egyptian Cobra

Caesarion, aka Ptolemy XIV, became the sole pharaoh of Egypt upon his mother’s death, but his reign lasted only 18 days. Lured back to Alexandria by Octavian’s promise that he would be allowed to rule Egypt, the boy was instead executed on the Roman leader’s orders – bringing an end to both the Ptolemaic dynasty and the story of Julius Caesar and Cleopatra.

How to Cite this Article

There are three different ways you can cite this article.

1. To cite this article in an academic-style article or paper , use:

<a href=" https://historycooperative.org/julius-caesar-and-cleopatra/ ">Julius Caesar and Cleopatra: The Ancient World’s Power Couple</a>

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Home — Essay Samples — History — Cleopatra — Cleopatra: A Fascinating Life in Ancient Egypt

Cleopatra: a Fascinating Life in Ancient Egypt

• Categories: Ancient Egypt Cleopatra

About this sample

Words: 746 |

Published: Mar 1, 2019

Words: 746 | Pages: 2 | 4 min read

Works Cited

• Roller, D. W. (2010). Cleopatra: A biography. Oxford University Press.
• Walker, S. (2008). Cleopatra: A life. Ballantine Books.
• Bowman, A. K., & Champlin, E. (2008). Cleopatra reconsidered. University of California Press.
• Burstein, S. M. (2004). The reign of Cleopatra. Greenwood Publishing Group.
• Grant, M. (1972). Cleopatra. Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
• Hughes-Hallett, L. (2007). Cleopatra: Histories, dreams, and distortions. HarperCollins.
• Pomeroy, S. B. (1984). Women in Hellenistic Egypt: From Alexander to Cleopatra. Wayne State University Press.
• Schiff, S. (2010). Cleopatra: A life. Little, Brown and Company.
• Tyldesley, J. (2008). Cleopatra: Last queen of Egypt. Profile Books.
• Whitehorne, J. E. G. (1994). Cleopatras. Routledge.

Cite this Essay

Let us write you an essay from scratch

• 450+ experts on 30 subjects ready to help
• Custom essay delivered in as few as 3 hours

Get high-quality help

Verified writer

• Expert in: History

+ 120 experts online

By clicking “Check Writers’ Offers”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy . We’ll occasionally send you promo and account related email

No need to pay just yet!

Related Essays

5 pages / 2258 words

3 pages / 1447 words

4 pages / 1869 words

2 pages / 1065 words

Remember! This is just a sample.

You can get your custom paper by one of our expert writers.

121 writers online

Still can’t find what you need?

Browse our vast selection of original essay samples, each expertly formatted and styled

Related Essays on Cleopatra

In conclusion, Cleopatra's journey to power was a remarkable one, filled with political intrigue, strategic alliances, and personal sacrifice. Despite the challenges she faced as a woman in a patriarchal society, Cleopatra's [...]

Cleopatra VII was one of the most remarkable rulers of Egypt, known for her cleverness and originality. Many consider her one of the most prominent female political figures in history, and she has been dramatized in countless [...]

Although Cleopatra was successful in life, you must know that you shouldn’t do things how she did. What things did she do? What She Looked Like Historians don’t know for sure how Cleopatra really looked like. She is often [...]

This is a very clean and clear-cut timeline based around the life of Cleopatra VII. The page points out important events throughout Cleopatra’s history and includes photos depicting her likeness. The article even makes note to [...]

In both ancient Egypt and ancient Mesopotamia, we can find many similarities and differences between their cultures. The laws of the two varied quite a bit, their literature was relatively similar, and the way women were [...]

The Neolithic Revolution was the transition of human beings from a Paleolithic hunter-gatherer species to an agricultural one. It began approximately 10,000 years ago amongst various people groups around the world, not having [...]

Related Topics

By clicking “Send”, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement . We will occasionally send you account related emails.

Where do you want us to send this sample?

By clicking “Continue”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy.

Be careful. This essay is not unique

This essay was donated by a student and is likely to have been used and submitted before

Download this Sample

Free samples may contain mistakes and not unique parts

Sorry, we could not paraphrase this essay. Our professional writers can rewrite it and get you a unique paper.

Please check your inbox.

We can write you a custom essay that will follow your exact instructions and meet the deadlines. Let's fix your grades together!

Get Your Personalized Essay in 3 Hours or Less!

We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .

• Instructions Followed To The Letter
• Deadlines Met At Every Stage
• Unique And Plagiarism Free

Caesar and Cleopatra

43 pages • 1 hour read

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Act Summaries & Analyses

Character Analysis

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Discussion Questions

Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar was the dictator of the Roman Republic and led the Roman army in campaigns of conquest that expanded Roman territory. Shaw once referred to Caesar as the “greatest of all protagonists.” At the beginning of the play, Caesar has chased Pompey, his son-in-law and former ally who he is now at war with, into Egypt. Then he meets the child queen Cleopatra and decides to resolve the dispute for the throne between Cleopatra and her younger brother.

Shaw’s Caesar approaches conflict, violence, and life-or-death decisions with unsentimental logic. He frustrates his lieutenants by offering clemency to those who have betrayed him and destroying evidence of betrayal rather than pursuing it. He is disturbed by what he views as unnecessary killing. In contrast to the ambitious, power-hungry reputation that precedes him in Egypt, Caesar is both disciplined and vulnerable, as he is self-conscious about his age and wears laurel wreaths on his head to hide his receding hairline.

Related Titles

By George Bernard Shaw

Arms and the Man

Heartbreak House

John Bull's Other Island

Major Barbara

Man And Superman

Mrs. Warren's Profession

The Doctor's Dilemma

Featured Collections

View Collection

Childhood & Youth

Colonialism & Postcolonialism

Dramatic Plays

Historical Fiction

Politics & Government

• History & Society
• Science & Tech
• Biographies
• Animals & Nature
• Geography & Travel
• Arts & Culture
• Games & Quizzes
• On This Day
• One Good Fact
• New Articles
• Lifestyles & Social Issues
• Philosophy & Religion
• Politics, Law & Government
• World History
• Health & Medicine
• Browse Biographies
• Birds, Reptiles & Other Vertebrates
• Bugs, Mollusks & Other Invertebrates
• Environment
• Fossils & Geologic Time
• Entertainment & Pop Culture
• Sports & Recreation
• Visual Arts
• Demystified
• Image Galleries
• Infographics
• Top Questions
• Britannica Kids
• Saving Earth
• Space Next 50
• Student Center
• Introduction & Top Questions

Life and reign

• Cleopatra through the ages

Why is Cleopatra famous?

How did cleopatra come to power, how did cleopatra die.

• How did Caesarion die?
• Who was the first king of ancient Rome?

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

• King College - Women's History Resource Site - Cleopatra VII
• Encyclopedia Romana - The Beauty of Cleopatra
• Jewish Virtual Library - Biography of Cleopatra
• CNN - Who was the real Cleopatra?
• Ancient Origins - The Enigma of Cleopatra's Death: Was it Suicide or Murder?
• LiveScience - Cleopatra: Facts and Biography
• GlobalSecurity.org - Cleopatra VII
• World History Encyclopedia - Biography of Cleopatra VII
• Spartacus Educational - Biography of Cleopatra
• Cleopatra - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
• Cleopatra - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)
• Table Of Contents

While queen of Egypt (51–30 BCE), Cleopatra actively influenced Roman politics at a crucial period and was especially known for her relationships with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony . She came to represent, as did no other woman of antiquity, the prototype of the romantic femme fatale. Cleopatra inspired numerous books, plays, and movies.

When her father, Ptolemy XII , died in 51 BCE, Cleopatra and her brother, Ptolemy XIII , coruled until she was forced to flee, about 50 BCE. Aided by Julius Caesar , her lover, she returned to power upon her brother’s death in 47. She ruled with her brother-husband, Ptolemy XIV , and then with her son Caesarion .

What was Cleopatra like?

Cleopatra was charismatic and intelligent, and she used both qualities to further Egypt's political aims. She was also ruthless, reportedly killing several family members in order to solidify her power. The only member of her house to learn Egyptian, she was said to be a popular ruler.

With the arrival of the conquering Octavian (the future Roman emperor Augustus ), Cleopatra’s husband, Mark Antony , committed suicide under the false impression that she was dead. After burying him, the 39-year-old Cleopatra took her own life, though how is uncertain. Some claim it was by means of an asp , the symbol of divine royalty.

Cleopatra (born 70/69 bce —died August 30 bce , Alexandria) was an Egyptian queen of the Ptolemaic dynasty , famous in history and drama as the lover of Julius Caesar and later as the wife of Mark Antony . She became queen on the death of her father, Ptolemy XII , in 51 bce and ruled successively with her two brothers Ptolemy XIII (51–47) and Ptolemy XIV (47–44) and her son Ptolemy XV Caesar (44–30). After the Roman armies of Octavian (the future emperor Augustus ) defeated their combined forces, Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide, and Egypt fell under Roman domination. Cleopatra actively influenced Roman politics at a crucial period, and she came to represent, as did no other woman of Classical antiquity , the prototype of the romantic femme fatale .

Daughter of King Ptolemy XII Auletes , Cleopatra was destined to become the last queen of the Macedonian dynasty that ruled Egypt between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 bce and its annexation by Rome in 30 bce . The line had been founded by Alexander’s general Ptolemy, who became King Ptolemy I Soter of Egypt. Cleopatra was of Macedonian descent and had little, if any, Egyptian blood, although the Classical author Plutarch wrote that she alone of her house took the trouble to learn Egyptian and, for political reasons, styled herself as the new Isis , a title that distinguished her from the earlier Ptolemaic queen Cleopatra III, who had also claimed to be the living embodiment of the goddess Isis. Coin portraits of Cleopatra show a countenance alive rather than beautiful, with a sensitive mouth, firm chin, liquid eyes, broad forehead, and prominent nose. When Ptolemy XII died in 51 bce , the throne passed to his young son, Ptolemy XIII , and daughter, Cleopatra VII. It is likely, but not proven, that the two married soon after their father’s death. The 18-year-old Cleopatra, older than her brother by about eight years, became the dominant ruler. Evidence shows that the first decree in which Ptolemy’s name precedes Cleopatra’s was in October of 50 bce . Soon after, Cleopatra was forced to flee Egypt for Syria , where she raised an army and in 48 bce returned to face her brother at Pelusium , on Egypt’s eastern border. The murder of the Roman general Pompey , who had sought refuge from Ptolemy XIII at Pelusium, and the arrival of Julius Caesar brought temporary peace.

Cleopatra realized that she needed Roman support, or, more specifically, Caesar’s support, if she was to regain her throne. Each was determined to use the other. Caesar sought money for repayment of the debts incurred by Cleopatra’s father, Auletes, as he struggled to retain his throne. Cleopatra was determined to keep her throne and, if possible, to restore the glories of the first Ptolemies and recover as much as possible of their dominions, which had included southern Syria and Palestine . Caesar and Cleopatra became lovers and spent the winter besieged in Alexandria . Roman reinforcements arrived the following spring, and Ptolemy XIII fled and drowned in the Nile . Cleopatra, now married to her brother Ptolemy XIV, was restored to her throne. In June 47 bce she gave birth to Ptolemy Caesar (known to the people of Alexandria as Caesarion, or “little Caesar”). Whether Caesar was the father of Caesarion, as his name implies, cannot now be known.

It took Caesar two years to extinguish the last flames of Pompeian opposition. As soon as he returned to Rome, in 46 bce , he celebrated a four-day triumph—the ceremonial in honour of a general after his victory over a foreign enemy—in which Arsinoe , Cleopatra’s younger and hostile sister, was paraded. Cleopatra paid at least one state visit to Rome, accompanied by her husband-brother and son. She was accommodated in Caesar’s private villa beyond the Tiber River and may have been present to witness the dedication of a golden statue of herself in the temple of Venus Genetrix, the ancestress of the Julian family to which Caesar belonged. Cleopatra was in Rome when Caesar was murdered in 44 bce .

Soon after her return to Alexandria, in 44 bce , Cleopatra’s coruler, Ptolemy XIV, died. Cleopatra now ruled with her infant son, Ptolemy XV Caesar. When, at the Battle of Philippi in 42 bce , Caesar’s assassins were routed, Mark Antony became the heir apparent of Caesar’s authority—or so it seemed, for Caesar’s great-nephew and personal heir, Octavian , was but a sickly boy. Antony, now controller of Rome’s eastern territories, sent for Cleopatra so that she might explain her role in the aftermath of Caesar’s assassination. She set out for Tarsus in Asia Minor loaded with gifts, having delayed her departure to heighten Antony’s expectation. She entered the city by sailing up the Cydnus River in a barge while dressed in the robes of the new Isis. Antony, who equated himself with the god Dionysus , was captivated . Forgetting his wife, Fulvia , who in Italy was doing her best to maintain her husband’s interests against the growing menace of young Octavian, Antony returned to Alexandria, where he treated Cleopatra not as a “protected” sovereign but as an independent monarch.

In Alexandria, Cleopatra and Antony formed a society of “inimitable livers” whose members lived what some historians have interpreted as a life of debauchery and folly and others have interpreted as lives dedicated to the cult of the mystical god Dionysus.

In 40 bce Cleopatra gave birth to twins, whom she named Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene. Antony had already left Alexandria to return to Italy, where he was forced to conclude a temporary settlement with Octavian. As part of this settlement, he married Octavian’s sister, Octavia (Fulvia having died). Three years later Antony was convinced that he and Octavian could never come to terms. His marriage to Octavia now an irrelevance, he returned to the east and reunited with Cleopatra. Antony needed Cleopatra’s financial support for his postponed Parthian campaign; in return, Cleopatra requested the return of much of Egypt’s eastern empire, including large portions of Syria and Lebanon and even the rich balsam groves of Jericho .

The Parthian campaign was a costly failure, as was the temporary conquest of Armenia . Nevertheless, in 34 bce Antony celebrated a triumphal return to Alexandria. This was followed by a celebration known as “the Donations of Alexandria.” Crowds flocked to the Gymnasium to see Cleopatra and Antony seated on golden thrones on a silver platform with their children sitting on slightly lower thrones beside them. Antony proclaimed Caesarion to be Caesar’s son—thus relegating Octavian, who had been adopted by Caesar as his son and heir, to legal illegitimacy. Cleopatra was hailed as queen of kings, Caesarion as king of kings. Alexander Helios was awarded Armenia and the territory beyond the Euphrates, his infant brother Ptolemy the lands to the west of it. The boys’ sister, Cleopatra Selene, was to be ruler of Cyrene. It was clear to Octavian, watching from Rome, that Antony intended his extended family to rule the civilized world. A propaganda war erupted. Octavian seized Antony’s will (or what he claimed to be Antony’s will) from the temple of the Vestal Virgins , to whom it had been entrusted, and revealed to the Roman people that not only had Antony bestowed Roman possessions on a foreign woman but intended to be buried beside her in Egypt. The rumour quickly spread that Antony also intended to transfer the capital from Rome to Alexandria.

Antony and Cleopatra spent the winter of 32–31 bce in Greece. The Roman Senate deprived Antony of his prospective consulate for the following year, and it then declared war against Cleopatra. The naval Battle of Actium , in which Octavian faced the combined forces of Antony and Cleopatra on September 2, 31 bce , was a disaster for the Egyptians. Antony and Cleopatra fled to Egypt , and Cleopatra retired to her mausoleum as Antony went off to fight his last battle. Receiving the false news that Cleopatra had died, Antony fell on his sword. In a last excess of devotion, he had himself carried to Cleopatra’s retreat and there died, after bidding her to make her peace with Octavian.

Cleopatra buried Antony and then committed suicide. The means of her death is uncertain, though Classical writers came to believe that she had killed herself by means of an asp , symbol of divine royalty. She was 39 and had been a queen for 22 years and Antony’s partner for 11. They were buried together, as both of them had wished, and with them was buried the Roman Republic .

Literary Theory and Criticism

Home › Drama Criticism › Analysis of William Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra

Analysis of William Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra

By NASRULLAH MAMBROL on July 26, 2020 • ( 0 )

Antony and Cleopatra is the definitive tragedy of passion, and in it the ironic and heroic themes, the day world of history and the night world of passion, expand into natural forces of cosmological proportions.

—Northrup Frye, “The Tailors of the Earth: The Tragedy of Passion,” in Fools of Time: Studies in Shakespearean Tragedy

Among   William   Shakespeare’s   great   tragedies,   Antony  and  Cleopatra  is   the   anomaly. Written around 1607, following the completion of the sequence of tragedies that began with Hamlet and concluded with Macbeth , Antony and Cleopatra stands in marked contrast from them in tone, theme, and structure. For his last great tragedy, Shakespeare returned to his first, Romeo and Juliet . Like   it,   Antony   and   Cleopatra   is   a   love   story   that   ends   in   a   double   suicide;   however, the lovers here are not teenagers, but the middle-aged Antony and Cleopatra   whose battle between private desires and public responsibilities is played   out   with   world   domination   in   the   balance.   Having   raised   adolescent   love   to   the   level   of   tragic   seriousness   in   Romeo   and   Juliet,   Shakespeare   here   dramatizes a love story on a massive, global scale. If Hamlet , Othello, King Lear , and Macbeth conclude with the prescribed pity and terror, Anthony and Cleopatra ends very differently with pity and triumph, as the title lovers, who have   lost   the   world,   enact   a   kind   of   triumphant   marriage   in   death.   Losing   everything,   they   manage   to   win   much more   by   choosing   love   over   worldly   power. Antony  and  Cleopatra  is   the   last in a   series   of   plays,   beginning   with  Romeo and Juliet and including Troilus and Cressida and Othello, that explores the   connection   between   love   and   tragedy.   It also can be   seen   as   the   first of the playwright’s final series of romances, followed by Cymbeline, The Winter’s Tale, and The Tempest in which love eventually triumphs over every obstacle. Antony and Cleopatra is therefore a peculiar tragedy of affirmation, setting the dominant tone of Shakespeare’s final plays.

Structurally,   as   well,   Antony   and   Cleopatra   is   exceptional.   Ranging over the Mediterranean world from Egypt to Rome to Athens, Sicily, and Syria, the play has 44 scenes, more than twice the average number in Shakespeare’s plays. The effect is a dizzying rush of events, approximating the method of montage in film. Shakespeare’s previous tragedies were constructed around a few major   scenes.   Here   there   are   so   many   entrances   and   exits,   so   many   shifts of locations and incidents that Samuel Johnson condemned the play as a mere string of episodes “produced without any art of connection or care of disposition.” Later critics have discovered the play’s organizing principle in   its   thematic   contrast   between   Rome   and   Egypt,   supported   by   an   elaborate pattern of images, contrasts, and juxtapositions. There is still, however, disagreement over issues of Shakespeare’s methods and intentions in Antony and Cleopatra . Critic Howard Felperin has suggested that the play “creates an ambiguity   of   effect   and   response   unprecedented   even   within   Shakespeare’s   work.” The critical debate turns on how to interpret Antony and Cleopatra , perhaps the most complex, contradictory, and fascinating characters Shakespeare ever created.

Antony and Cleopatra   picks up where Julius Caesar left off. Four years after Caesar’s   murder,   an   alliance   among   Octavius,   Julius   Caesar’s   grandnephew;   Mark   Antony;   and   the   patrician   politician   Lepidus   has   put   down   the   conspiracy   led   by   Brutus   and   Cassius   and   resulted   in   a   division   of   the   Roman   world among them. Antony, given the eastern sphere of the empire to rule, is   now   in   Alexandria,   where   he   has   fallen   in   love   with   the   Egyptian   queen   Cleopatra.   Enthralled,   Antony   has   ignored   repeated   summonses   to   return   to   Rome   to   attend   to   his   political   responsibilities.   By   pursuing   his   desires   instead, in the words of his men, Antony, “the triple pillar of the world,” has been “transform’d into a strumpet’s fool.” The play immediately establishes a dominant thematic contrast between Rome and Egypt that represents two contrasting worldviews and value systems. Rome is duty, rationality, and the practical   world   of   politics;   Egypt,   embodied   by   its   queen,   is   private   needs,   sensual pleasure, and revelry. The play’s tragedy stems from the irreconcilable division between   the   two,   represented   in   the   play’s   two   major   movements:   Antony’s   abandoning   Cleopatra   and   Egypt   for   Rome   and   his   duties   and   his   subsequent defection back to them. Antony’s lieutenant Enobarbus functions in the play as Antony’s conscience, whose sexual cynicism stands in contrast to the love-drenched Egyptian court.

Antony is forced to take action when he learns that his wife, Fulvia, who started   a   rebellion   against   Octavius,   has   died,   and   that   Sextus   Pompey,   son   of Pompey the Great, is claiming his right to power by harrying Octavius on the seas. His resolve to return to Rome to take up his duties there displeases Cleopatra,   and   they   engage   in   a   back-and-forth   lover’s   exchange   of   insults,   avowals of love, and jealous recriminations and, ultimately, a mutual   awareness of Antony’s dilemma in trying to reconcile his personal desires with his political responsibilities. Antony comforts Cleopatra by saying:

Our separation so abides and flies, That thou residing here, goes yet with me; And I hence fleeting, here remain with thee.

The   second   act   begins   in   the   house   of   Sextus   Pompey,   who   gauges   the   weakness of the three triumvirs, especially Antony, whom he hopes will continue to be distracted by Cleopatra: “Let witchcraft join with beauty, lust with both,   /   Tie   up   the   libertine   in   a   field   of   feasts.”   In   the   house   of   Lepidus,   a   quarrel between Antony and Octavius over Fulvia’s rebellion and Antony’s irresponsibility   threatens   to   sever   the   bond   between   them.   Agrippa,   Octavius’s   general,   suggests   a   marriage   between   Antony   and   Octavius’s   sister,   Octavia.   Antony agrees to the marriage as a political necessity, for the good of Rome and to patch up the quarrel. After Antony and Octavius leave to visit Octavia, Enobarbus   tells   Agrippa   and   Maecenas,   another   follower   of   Octavius,   about   the splendors of Egypt and Cleopatra’s remarkable allure. Maecenas remarks sadly   that,   because   of   the   marriage,   “Now   Antony   /   Must   leave   her   utterly.”   Enobarbus, despite his cynicism, understands Cleopatra’s powerful attractiveness and disagrees:

Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale Her infinite variety. Other women cloy The appetites they feed, but she makes hungry Where most she satisfies.

Enobarbus’s remarks make clear that the alliance between Antony and Octavius will be short lived, setting both on a collision course.

After his marriage Antony consults an Egyptian soothsayer, who predicts Octavius’s rise and counsels Antony to return to Egypt:

Nobel, courageous, high, unmatchable, Where Caesar’s is not. But near him thy ange l Becomes afeard, as being o’erpowered. Therefore Make space enough between you.

.Angrily dismissing the soothsayer, Antony nevertheless agrees with his analysis,   recognizing   that   “I’th’   East   my   pleasure   lies.”   Before   Antony   leaves   for   Egypt, however, the triumvirs and rebels meet on Pompey’s galley for a night of drinking and feasting following negotiations. Antony’s capacity for raucous merrymaking   shows   the   self-indulgence   that   will   lead   to   his   downfall,   while   Octavius’s sobriety, if puritanical and passionless, nevertheless bespeaks an iron will and determination that eventually will insure his victory over his rivals.

As the third act begins, Ventidius, another of Antony’s commanders, has conquered   the   Parthians,   a   victory   for   which   he   diplomatically   plans   to   let   Antony take credit. Antony, now in Athens with Octavia, learns that Octavius has slandered him and is warring against Pompey. The alliance between the two triumvirs, as well as Antony’s control over his own forces, is further threatened when Antony discovers that Octavius has imprisoned Lepidus to solidify his position and that one of his officers has murdered Pompey. Octavia returns to   Rome   to   try   to   repair   the   breach   between   husband   and   brother.   There,   Octavius tells her that Antony has returned to Egypt and convinces her that Antony   is   not   only   unfaithful   but   is   preparing   for   war:   “He   hath   given   his   empire / Up to a whore.” Octavius responds by preparing to engage Antony in battle at Actium. In Egypt Enobarbus fails to convince Cleopatra not to take part   in   the   battle,   and   the   lovers   also   discount   Enorbarbus’s   logical   reasons   for fighting Octavius on land rather than sea. This decision is partly due to Octavius’s   challenge:   He   dares   Antony   to   meet   him   in   a   naval   engagement.   Cleopatra claims, “I have   sixty   sails.   Octavius none   better,”   and   Antony   is   unable to resist either Octavius’s challenge or Cleopatra’s bravado. At Actium a   sickened   Enobarbus   watches   as   Cleopatra’s   ships   turn   tail   and   flee,   and   a   despairing, shame-filled Antony follows her “like a doting mallard” with his ships. Cleopatra apologizes to Antony for the retreat, and he forgives her, but when   Antony   sees   Octavius’s   ambassador   kissing   Cleopatra’s   hand   and   her   cordial   behavior   toward   him,   he   becomes   enraged,   berating   Cleopatra   and   ordering the messenger Thidias to be whipped. Again the couple are reconciled, and Antony decides to stake all on another battle. Enobarbus, however, has had enough of Antony’s clouded judgment and makes plans to desert him and join Octavius.

In the fourth act Octavius scoffs at Antony’s challenge to meet him in a duel and prepares for war with confidence, knowing that many of his rival’s men have defected to him. When Antony learns of Enobarbus’s desertion he forgives his friend and generously sends his treasure to him. Enobarbus reacts to Antony’s magnanimity with remorse and dies desiring Antony’s forgiveness. Antony scores an initial victory over Octavius, but in a later sea battle and on land in the Egyptian desert, Antony’s army is routed. Enraged, Antony blames Cleopatra and accuses her of betraying him. Terrified by his anger, Cleopatra seeks refuge in her monument and plots to regain Antony’s affection by send-ing word to him that she has slain herself. Her plan disastrously misfires when the news shames Antony into taking his own life:

I will o’ertake thee, Cleopatra, and Weep for my pardon. So it must be, for now All length is torture; since the torch is out, Lie down and stray no farther.

He orders his servant Eros to stab him, but Eros takes his own life instead to prevent carrying out the order. Antony then falls upon his sword and when he is told that Cleopatra is still alive, asks to be taken to her in a final acknowledgment that his life and happiness are inextricably bound to her. Just before he dies Antony offers his own eulogy at the end of his long struggle between desire and duty:

The miserable change now at my end Lament nor sorrow at; but please your thoughts In feeding them with those my former fortunes Wherein I liv’d the greatest prince o’ th’ world, The noblest; and do now not basely die, Not cowardly put off my helmet to My countryman— a Roman by a RomanValiantly vanquish’d.

In the fifth act Octavius hears of Antony’s death and mourns the passing of a great warrior before moving to procure his spoils: Cleopatra. He sends word that she has nothing to fear from him, but Cleopatra tries to stab herself to prevent the Roman soldiers from taking her prisoner and is stopped. When Dolabella, one of Octavius’s lieutenants, attempts to placate her, she accuses him of lying, and he admits that Octavius plans to display her as his conquest in Rome. Octavius arrives, promising to treat her well if she complies with his wishes while ominously threatening her destruction if she follows “Antony’s course.” Pretending compliance, Cleopatra says of Octavius to her attendants when he departs: “He words me, girls, he words me, that I should not / Be noble to   myself.”   Sending   for   a   basket   of   figs   containing   poisonous   snakes,   Cleopatra prepares herself for death:

Give me my robe, put on my crown, I have Immortal longings in me. Now no more The juice of Egypt’s grace shall moist this lip.

Stage-managing   her   own   end,   Cleopatra   anticipates   joining   Antony   as   his   worthy wife:                            

.     .     .     Methinks I hear Antony call. I see him rouse himself To praise my noble act. I hear him mock The luck of Caesar, which the gods give men To excuse their after wrath. Husband, I come. Now to that name my courage prove my title!

Placing one of the snakes at her breast, Cleopatra dies. When Octavius returns, he speaks admiringly of her:

Bravest at the last, She levell’d at our purposes, and being royal, Took her own way.

Implying by his words an envy of Antony and Cleopatra ’s passion and eminence, Octavius commands:

She shall be buried by her Antony; No grave upon the earth shall clip in it A pair so famous. High events as these Strike those that make them; and their story is No less in pity than his glory which Brought them to be lamented.

In the contest with Rome, Egypt must lose. Desire is no match against cold calculation for worldly power. Human frailty cannot survive an iron will, and   yet   the   play   makes   its   case   that   despite   all   the   contradictions   and   clear   character   imperfections   in   Antony   and   Cleopatra,   with   all   their   willful   self-indulgence, their love trumps all. By the manner of their going and the human values they ultimately assert, Antony and Cleopatra leave an immense emptiness by their death. Octavius wins, but the world loses by their passing. Shakespeare stages an argument on behalf of what makes us human, even at the cost of an empire. His lovers rise to the tragic occasion for a concluding triumph befitting a magnanimous warrior and a queen of “infinite variety.”

Antony and Cleopatra Oxford Lecture by Prof. Emma Smith

Antony and Cleopatra PDF (1MB)

Share this:

Categories: Drama Criticism , Literature

Tags: Analysis Of William Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra , Antony and Cleopatra Analysis , Antony and Cleopatra Criticism , Antony and Cleopatra Essay , Antony and Cleopatra Guide , Antony and Cleopatra Lecture , Antony and Cleopatra PDF , Antony and Cleopatra Summary , Antony and Cleopatra Themes , Bibliography Of William Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra , Character Study Of William Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra , Criticism Of William Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra , ELIZABEHAN POETRY AND PROSE , Essays Of William Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra , Literary Criticism , Notes Of William Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra , Plot Of William Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra , Simple Analysis Of William Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra , Study Guides Of William Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra , Summary Of William Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra , Synopsis Of William Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra , Themes Of William Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra

Related Articles

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

76 Cleopatra Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best cleopatra topic ideas & essay examples, 👩🏾 good research topics about cleopatra, ✍️ interesting topics to write about cleopatra, ❓ questions about cleopatra.

• Cleopatra and Her Influence on the Ptolemaic Dynasty C and he left the will that he allowed Cleopatra and Ptolemy XIII, her younger brother, to rule the kingdom and Cleopatra was directed to wed her brother and deputy ruler because of the Egyptians’ […]
• Cleopatra’s Life, From Her Ascension to the Throne to Solemn Death The bond between Antony and Cleopatra continued to strengthen and resulted in the return of most of Egypt’s empires that had been conquered by the Romans.
• Rulers From Different Cultures: Cleopatra and Wu Zetian The main difference was the family background of Cleopatra and Wu Zhao. The second cultural divergence was the governments of the two countries in which Cleopatra and Wu Zhao ruled.
• Queen Elizabeth I and Cleopatra as Female Leaders She led her country with a lot of zeal and determination to give the best and rectify the shortcomings of her predecessors.
• Cleopatra’ and Caesar’ Relationship It must be noted though that based off historical accounts the relationship between Cleopatra and Julius Caesar was bound to fail even before it started due to the volatile combination of their personalities and the […]
• Do Antony and Cleopatra Transcend the East-West Divide in Their Relationship? This piece of work gives a critical analysis of the play, Antony and Cleopatra, with much emphasis given to the relationship between Antony and Cleopatra. From the play, it is palpable that the relationship between […]
• Cleopatra – The Queen of Egypt The queen wanted the assistance of Caesar, and thus she found a way of going to the Regal citadel to speak to Caesar and request for her cause for action.
• Roles in Diplomacy: Cleopatra and Hatshepsut The reemergence of Nubia and the Kushites, which were the allies of Hyksos, was a major threat to the survival of the kingdom and Hatshepsut was expected to take a strong action to salvage the […]
• “Since Cleopatra Died” by Neil Powell Therefore, the misuse of tense and context in Shakespeare can drastically change the meaning of any of his plays, even among the characters in the plays themselves.
• “Antony and Cleopatra” and “Coriolanus” by Shakespeare According to Aristotle, the tragedy of the hero is as a result of his weakness becoming superior hence, he shows frailness in his judgment.
• “Cleopatra” by Michael Grant Life of Cleopatra is still one of the most captivating subjects in a world’s history. In the introduction to Cleopatra the author designates the main thesis of his work.
• “Cleopatra” Movie by Joseph L. Mankiewicz The movie spans the last years of Egypt before it became a Roman province, with the political intrigue around it and the emotional intrigue that Cleopatra stirred with her wit, beauty, and ambition.
• Cleopatra: Heartless Oppressor or Conscientious Goddess Caesar was embroiled in a civil war against the Roman general, Pompey, who had fled to Egypt with the hope of garnering support from Cleopatra’s brother and Pharaoh at the time, namely, Ptolemy-XIII, whereby the […]
• Cleopatra: The Last Queen of Egypt Cleopatra was the only female ruler in prehistoric times to customarily govern autonomously- not simply as an heir to her late husband- but to a great extent; she attempted to rescue and save a dying […]
• Character Analysis: Enobarbus in Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra
• Comparative Study Between Antony and Cleopatra and Romeo and Juliet
• Comparison of Wealth in Antony and Cleopatra and The Tempest
• Analysis Of The Movie ‘Cleopatra’
• Analysis of the Significant Woman on Egypt’s Last Pharaoh, Cleopatra
• How was Cleopatra portrayed through art, particularly the Renaissance?
• How Does Act 1 of Antony and Cleopatra Prepare the Reader for Tragedy?
• How Shakespeare Makes The Audience Aware Of Cleopatra’s Infinite Variety In The Opening Act?
• Nefertiti and Cleopatra, Famous and Powerful but Very Different
• Comparison Of Pharaoh Cleopatra And Tang Empress Wu Zetian
• Conflict Between Public and Private Life in the Story of Cleopatra
• What Does the Passage Tell Us About Plutarch s View of the Relationship Between Anthony Cleopatra?
• What Do Representations of Cleopatra in Film and on Television Tell Us About How Her Reputation Changed over Time?
• What impression does Dio give of the relationship between Cleopatra and Antony?
• Who Is Cleopatra?
• Why Was Cleopatra And The Reason The Egyptian Empire Fell?
• Biography and Life Work of Cleopatra, an Egyptian Queen
• History of the Reign of Cleopatra in Egypt in 51 BC
• Caesar and Cleopatra’s Affair at the Expense of Calphurnia
• Cleopatra and Mark Antony
• Cleopatra and the Role of Women in Ancient Societies
• Cleopatra’s Beauty Explained by History
• Who Emerges As The Most Powerful Figure Throughout The Play?
• How Does Shakespeare Construct The Conditions For Tragedy In Antony And Cleopatra?
• Love and Politics in Antony And Cleopatra
• Octavian, Anthony and Cleopatra: Propaganda and the Myth
• Political Interests Of Antony And Cleopatra
• Main Characteristics of Tragedy in the Dramatic and Literary Sense Applied to Anthony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare
• Relationships Between Men and Women in Paradise Lost
• Which Egyptian Queen made the greatest contribution to her country Hatshepsut or Cleopatra?
• What Ultimately Made Cleopatra Attractive?
• What Type of Ruler Was Cleopatra?
• How Was Cleopatra Successful?
• How Does Shakespeare Depict Cleopatra?
• Why Was Cleopatra a Strong Woman?
• Who Was the Real Cleopatra?
• How Did Cleopatra Make an Impact on Society?
• How Does Shakespeare Construct the Conditions for Tragedy in Antony and Cleopatra?
• What Does the Passage Tell Us About Plutarch’s View of the Relationship Between Antony and Cleopatra?
• How Was Cleopatra Educated?
• Was Cleopatra a Feminist?
• How Was Cleopatra Described?
• What Lessons Can We Learn From Cleopatra?
• How Does the Conflict Between Roman Duty and Egyptian Sensuousness Develop the Tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra?
• Did Cleopatra Benefit Egypt?
• Why Is Cleopatra an Icon?
• What Impression Does Dio Give of the Relationship Between Cleopatra and Antony?
• How Does Shakespeare Present the Idea of Cleopatra as a Powerful Character?
• How Do We Know Cleopatra Existed?
• Was Cleopatra’s Tomb Found?
• Which Egyptian Queen Made the Greatest Contribution to Her Country: Hatshepsut or Cleopatra?
• Why Was Cleopatra Famous?
• How Has Cleopatra Changed the World?
• What Were Cleopatra’s Major Accomplishments?
• Was Cleopatra a Successful Ruler?
• What Makes Cleopatra Great?
• How Did Cleopatra Impact Egypt?
• Does Cleopatra Deserve Her Reputation as a Seductress?
• How Did Cleopatra Impact the Modern World?
• Was Cleopatra More of an Egyptian or Greek Monarch?
• Tyranny Research Topics
• World History Topics
• Julius Caesar Research Topics
• Byzantine Empire Essay Ideas
• Crusades Research Topics
• Augustus Topics
• Imperialism Questions
• Dynasties Research Topics
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2024, January 4). 76 Cleopatra Essay Topic Ideas & Examples. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/cleopatra-essay-topics/

"76 Cleopatra Essay Topic Ideas & Examples." IvyPanda , 4 Jan. 2024, ivypanda.com/essays/topic/cleopatra-essay-topics/.

IvyPanda . (2024) '76 Cleopatra Essay Topic Ideas & Examples'. 4 January.

IvyPanda . 2024. "76 Cleopatra Essay Topic Ideas & Examples." January 4, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/cleopatra-essay-topics/.

1. IvyPanda . "76 Cleopatra Essay Topic Ideas & Examples." January 4, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/cleopatra-essay-topics/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "76 Cleopatra Essay Topic Ideas & Examples." January 4, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/cleopatra-essay-topics/.

• Ask LitCharts AI
• Discussion Question Generator
• Essay Prompt Generator
• Quiz Question Generator

• Literature Guides
• Poetry Guides
• Shakespeare Translations
• Literary Terms

Caesar and Cleopatra

George bernard shaw.

Ask LitCharts AI: The answer to your questions

Julius Caesar

Apollodorus

Lucius septimius, mark antony, roman sentinel, the slave girl, the old musician.

• Quizzes, saving guides, requests, plus so much more.