From her love affairs with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony to her powerful army to her savviness as a politician, go inside the real story of Egyptian queen Cleopatra VII.
DeAgostini/Getty ImagesA depiction of Cleopatra from the late 19th century.
The Roman poet Propertius called Cleopatra “the whore queen.” Cassius Dio referred to her as a “woman of insatiable sexuality and insatiable avarice.” They, and other Roman men like them, were largely the ones to record the Egyptian queen’s story. But who was Cleopatra, really?
In the Roman telling, she was a seductress who lured away two of their most prominent men, Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, before her defeat by Octavian (later known as Augustus). But her story is far more complicated. Born into royalty, she nevertheless had to fight her way to the Egyptian throne. Once there, she went to great lengths to maintain her power.
Though primarily known today for her love affairs and her suicide by asp in 30 B.C.E., there’s much more to Cleopatra’s life. Discover the story of the famous Egyptian pharaoh below, from her rise to power, to the fate of her children, to the mystery of the location of her tomb.
Who Was Cleopatra?
Cleopatra was ancient Egypt’s last pharaoh, and the final ruler of the Ptolemaic dynasty (305-30 B.C.E.).
What Was Cleopatra Known For?
Cleopatra is largely known for her relationships with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, as well as her role in the rise of the first Roman emperor, Augustus. Her life, and infamous death, also inspired William Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra, as well as other plays, films, and operas.
When Was Cleopatra Born?
Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator was born around 70 or 69 B.C.E. to King Ptolemy XII and an unidentified mother.
Where Was Cleopatra Born?
Cleopatra was born in Alexandria, Egypt.
When Did Cleopatra Live?
Cleopatra lived between 70/69 B.C.E. and 30 B.C.E. During that time, she steadily consolidated power over her siblings. Her older sister, Berenike IV (or Berenice IV), was killed in 55 B.C.E. after a failed attempt to take power from their father. Cleopatra then became her father’s co-regent. When he died in 51 B.C.E., she married her younger brother Ptolemy XIII, per the custom of the time. After royal advisors pressured the young boy to drive Cleopatra into exile, Cleopatra’s sister Arsinoe IV tried to take her place.
It was Cleopatra’s determination to regain power that led her to forge a strategic alliance with the Roman general Julius Caesar. Their political alliance became sexual, and Cleopatra soon gave birth to a baby believed to be Caesar’s son, Caesarion, in 47 B.C.E.
What Did Cleopatra Look Like?
Though no one knows for certain what Cleopatra looked like, there are some historic clues about her appearance. Roman and Greek writers wrote about her appearance, though they disagreed on whether she was beautiful.
Public DomainA painting believed to depict Cleopatra. From the first century C.E.
Cassius Dio, for example, wrote that the queen was “brilliant to look upon” and “a woman of surpassing beauty.” However, Plutarch wrote that her beauty “was in itself not altogether incomparable,” though he acknowledged that she had great and “stimulating” charms.
Meanwhile, coins minted while the queen was alive depict her as having curly hair, a hooked nose, and a jutting chin. However, coins like these could have been tweaked to make the queen look more Roman.
Was Cleopatra Egyptian?
Though Cleopatra’s family had been in Egypt for a long time, her father was a descendant of the Macedonian Greeks who had conquered Egypt.
Was Cleopatra Black?
It’s unlikely that Cleopatra was Black, because her father was Greek — and because Ptolemaic rulers tended to marry each other. However, the identity of her mother is unknown, so her racial identity can’t be completely determined for certain today.
Who Did Cleopatra Marry?
Cleopatra married two of her brothers, Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV, and then later married the Roman general Mark Antony.
Just as with Julius Caesar, Cleopatra forged a political and romantic alliance with Antony. After they met in 41 B.C.E. and began their relationship, Cleopatra and Antony had three children together, the twins Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene II, and Ptolemy Philadelphus.
How Did Cleopatra Die?
Public DomainAn 18th-century depiction of the death of Cleopatra.
The most widely repeated story is that Cleopatra died by suicide by enticing an asp — a venomous snake — to bite her in the bare breast.
When Did Cleopatra Die?
Cleopatra died on August 10 or 12, 30 B.C.E.
How Old Was Cleopatra When She Died?
Cleopatra was 39 years old at the time of her death.
Why Did Cleopatra Kill Herself?
By August of 30 B.C.E., Cleopatra had her back against the wall. Mark Antony had long been engaged in a doomed power struggle with Caesar’s heir Octavian (later known as Augustus) over control of Rome. Meanwhile, Octavian saw Cleopatra and her son Caesarion, who she claimed was Caesar’s rightful heir, as a threat to his power. So Octavian declared war on the queen, then fought her and Antony and won a decisive victory over their forces at the Battle of Actium in 31 B.C.E.
After Antony’s forces surrendered to Octavian by the summer of 30 B.C.E., Cleopatra barricaded herself in a mausoleum that she’d built on her palace grounds in Alexandria. Antony, who heard a false rumor that she’d already died by suicide, fatally stabbed himself. Then, upon hearing she was still alive, he stumbled to her side and died in her arms.
Cleopatra, who feared that Octavian would capture her, take her back to Rome, and display her as a war prize, decided to take her own life. She reportedly used an asp to die by suicide — though modern-day historians suspect that she actually drank poison. Snakes are prevalent in Egyptian mythology, and thus, suicide by asp would have been symbolic, especially since the asp in particular was associated with royalty. But it would have been a less certain — and more painful — way to die.
Meanwhile, some historians suspect that the queen may have actually been murdered in an assassination orchestrated by Octavian.
What Happened To Cleopatra’s Children?
After Cleopatra’s death, her eldest son Caesarion was killed by Octavian’s men. Her three other children, Alexander Helios, Cleopatra Selene II, and Ptolemy Philadelphus, were captured by the Romans and brought to Rome (though Ptolemy Philadelphus may have died before he arrived). In Rome, Octavian forced the twins to march in his military triumph in golden chains.
Metropolitan Museum of ArtA possible depiction of Alexander Helios.
The twins were then put in the care of Octavian’s sister — and Mark Antony’s former wife — Octavia. Little is known about the fate of Alexander Helios from that point on. Cleopatra Selene II, however, eventually married Juba II, the King of Mauretania, which made her the Queen of Mauretania.
Has Cleopatra’s Tomb Been Found?
No, Cleopatra’s tomb has not been found. Plutarch suggested that it was located in the center of Alexandria, where previous Ptolemaic pharaohs had been entombed. He also notes that she and Antony were buried together in “a splendid and regal fashion,” but the location of their tomb has been lost.
It’s possible that her tomb was destroyed by natural disasters, or by Alexandria’s changing coastline (much of the ancient city is now underwater). That said, the search for the tomb continues to this day.
Next, learn about the Pax Romana era of Roman history. Or, discover the stories of the worst emperors to ever rule Rome.
