Cleopatra (Classics)

Introduction

Cleopatra (Kleopatra) VII is arguably the most famous woman from classical antiquity, and one of the most familiar personalities in human history. She is best known through the extensive art and literature that was generated after her death. The information from Greek and Roman sources about Cleopatra herself is surprisingly sparse and generally misinterpreted. She is familiar today largely through her representation by Shakespeare and in modern film, as a seductress who ruined the men in her life and destroyed her kingdom, an erroneous depiction that is in large part the result of extremely eloquent opponents and male-dominated historiography. More accurately, she was a capable administrator and military commander, a linguist who knew a dozen languages, and a published scholarly author. Yet she was also the last ruler of her kingdom, and her defeat by the Romans led to the destruction of her reputation. She ruled for twenty-one years, from 51 to 30 BCE, and skillfully attempted to salvage her dying kingdom in the face of growing Roman power and involvement in the affairs of the eastern Mediterranean. Best remembered for her liaisons with Julius Caesar, and Marcus Antonius (Mark Antony), she in fact carefully chose her partners in order to produce heirs who could carry on the kingdom. But her own plans became caught up in the ongoing civil war at Rome, beginning with the assassination of Caesar in 44 BCE. Her original relations with Antonius were a matter of stabilizing her kingdom and creating a mutually beneficial relationship between Egypt and Rome, but the personal involvement between the two eventually hampered these plans, and allowed Octavian (the future emperor Augustus), in power in Rome, to marginalize Antonius (who was his brother-in-law) and to claim that he was being destroyed by an eastern seductress. Matters quickly moved out of control in the 30s BCE, and eventually a Roman invasion of Greece was mounted. Cleopatra attempted to disassociate herself from Antonius in order to salvage her kingdom, but would not give it over to Octavian, and was driven to suicide in August of 30 BCE at the age of thirty-nine. Her son Kaisarion ruled for a few weeks, but soon the Romans took over the kingdom. Although the Roman literary machine turned her into a dangerous monster who almost destroyed Rome, within Egypt she was honored for centuries.

Ancient Literary Sources

Ancient literary sources about Cleopatra are remarkably sparse. Women never fare well in ancient history, and there is no work specifically devoted to the queen, nor is there a major contemporary source. Plutarch’s biography of Marcus Antonius (see Plutarch 1988) is the closest to an actual narrative about the queen, but was written one hundred years after her death and is limited in its focus. Second in importance is the Roman History of Cassius Dio (see Dio 1914–1927), the only continuous extant history of Cleopatra’s era. Also of significance are the works of the Jewish historian Josephus (Josephus 1928 and Josephus 1930–1965), whose interest was limited to the southern Levant, but this was an area of importance to Cleopatra. Other historical sources have exceedingly limited references to the queen, although Cicero 1999 (#374, 377) is the only source for a possible miscarried pregnancy by Cleopatra in early 44 BCE. The poetry of the Augustan period, although eloquent, helped to destroy her reputation. For example, in Book 8 of the Aeneid (Vergil 2000) the Battle of Actium is described, but Cleopatra is not named, called only the “Egyptian mate” of Antony. Propertius 1990 (3.11), also not deigning to mention her by name, ranked her with the sorceress Medea. Horace 1999 (Ode 1.37), while also highly critical, showed some admiration for a woman who would not be humbled in a triumph.

Cicero. 1999. Letters to Atticus. Edited and Translated by D. R. Shackelton Bailey. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press.
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These letters contain some contemporary notices of Cleopatra, especially from the 40s BCE.
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Dio, Cassius. 1914–1927. Roman history. Translated by Ernest Cary. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press.
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The original Greek with the only complete English translation, which is flawed because of its age. The era of Cleopatra is in books 42–51, with scattered references to the queen. Dio wrote over two hundred years after her death, and was not always sensitive to nuances of her career or era, but his is the only existing continuous narrative of the period.
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Horace. 1999. Odes and epodes. Translated by C. E. Bennett. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press.
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Although firmly within the Augustan negative tradition, Horace was able to admire Cleopatra’s courage.
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Josephus, Flavius. 1928. The Jewish War. Translated by H. St. J. Thackeray. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press.
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This and the following Jewish Antiquities focus on events in the southern Levant, an area of importance to Cleopatra because of her relationship with Herod the Great. The two were cautious allies and often rivals.
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Josephus, Flavius. 1930–1965. Jewish antiquities. Translated by H. St. J. Thackeray and Louis Feldman. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press.
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These parallel works were written a century after the death of Cleopatra. Although their focus is on events in the southern Levant, this was an area of intense interest on the part of Cleopatra, since she and Herod the Great were cautious allies and often rivals.
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Plutarch. 1988. Life of Antony. Edited by C. B. R. Pelling. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press.
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The best edition of the most important ancient literary source on Cleopatra. Written a century after her death, the biography of Antonius provides the most detail about Cleopatra’s life and that of her children. Plutarch was not immune to the anti-Cleopatra propaganda that was well established by his time, but nonetheless also had access to sources within her circle (such as the memoirs of her personal physician) that were outside the Roman negative tradition.
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Propertius. 1990. Elegies. Edited and translated by G. P. Goold. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press.
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Propertius compared Cleopatra to Medea.
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Vergil. 2000. Aeneid 7–12, Appendix Vergiliana. Edited by H. R. Fairclough and G. P. Goold. Cambridge, MA: Loeb Classical Library.
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A text and good translation of the second half of the Aeneid in the Loeb Classical Library series.
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Modern Biographies

There are many biographies of Cleopatra VII, of immensely varying quality. Because she is a figure who has entered popular culture, there are numerous works written by nonprofessionals which border on the fictional and have little understanding of the ancient evidence. Listed below are only those biographies written by professional scholars. Grant 1972 has long been the standard in English, but it is now superseded by Burstein 2007, Tydesley 2008, and Roller 2010. Goldsworthy 2010 has more emphasis on Antonius. For the German point of view, see Clauss 1995. Generally the more recent works are more sensitive to Cleopatra’s position as queen and tend to give more credit to her abilities. Two exhibition catalogues, Cleopatra’s Egypt and Walker and Higgs 2001, are not biographies as such, but provide extensive information about the queen and her world.

Burstein, Stanley. 2007. The reign of Cleopatra. Norman: Univ. of Oklahoma.
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A succinct study not so much of the queen herself, but of her political environment, integrating her into her cultural world, and providing most of the ancient sources in translation.
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Cleopatra’s Egypt: Age of the Ptolemies. 1988. Brooklyn: The Brooklyn Museum.
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A catalogue from an exhibition at the British Museum in 1989. Not as nice as Cleopatra of Egypt (Walker and Higgs 2001), but nevertheless illustrating many examples of the physical environment of the queen.
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Clauss, Manfred. 1995. Kleopatra. Munich: C. H. Beck.
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The most recent German study of the queen.
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Goldsworthy, Adrian. 2010. Antony and Cleopatra. New Haven, CT: Yale Univ. Press.
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The emphasis is on Antonius (Antony), but this recent work by a Roman historian has a certain amount of detail about Cleopatra.
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Grant, Michael. 1972. Cleopatra. New York: Barnes and Noble.
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The standard English biography of its era, but perhaps now somewhat out of date, but still useful and readable, with good translations of the relevant ancient literature, especially from poetic sources.
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Roller, Duane W. 2010. Cleopatra: A biography. New York: Oxford Univ. Press.
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The most recent biography devoted solely to the queen, based totally on the ancient sources, and with emphasis on her many dimensions of Cleopatra as scholar, military and political leader, and single mother.
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Tydesley, Joyce. 2008. Cleopatra: Queen of Egypt. New York: Basic Books.
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A recent biography from the point of view of an Egyptologist and archaeologist.
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Walker, Susan, and Peter Higgs, eds. 2001. Cleopatra of Egypt: From history to myth. London: British Museum.
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Not a biography, but an exciting and richly illustrated volume reflecting an exhibition on Cleopatra at the British Museum, with numerous articles on all aspects of the queen’s life. Probably the most valuable source for the material culture of Cleopatra’s world.
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The Ptolemaic World and Hellenistic Monarchy

As the last of the Ptolemaic royal line in Egypt, Cleopatra was very much a product of her environment, and understanding of the world of the Ptolemies and the political concepts it represented is essential to understanding the queen, beginning with Bevan 1985, and especially Fraser 1972 and Sullivan 1990. Hölbl 2001 is the best summary of the Ptolemaic empire, and Eder and Renger 2007 provide the most accurate data on chronology Braund 1984 (cited under Cleopatra and Rome) is the seminal work on the relationship of monarchs to Rome. Of great importance are Pomeroy 1975 and Pomeroy 1984 as they examine the role of women within the Ptolemaic world.

Bevan, Edywn R. 1985. The house of Ptolemy: A history of Egypt under the Ptolemaic dynasty. Chicago: Ares.
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Originally published in 1927, this is the first major English-language work on the dynasty, and is still valuable.
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Eder, Walter, and Johannes Renger. 2007. Chronologies of the ancient world: Names, dates and dynasties. Translated by Wouter F. M. Henkelman. Brill’s New Pauly, Supplement 1. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill.
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A translation of Herrscherchronologien der antike Welt: Namen, Daten, Dynastien (2004), providing precise annotated information about the dates of Cleopatra’s reign and those of her predecessors and successors.
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Fraser, P. M. 1972. Ptolemaic Alexandria. 3 vols. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.
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A thorough study of the city of Alexandria and its culture, including in the time of Cleopatra VII.
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Hölbl, Günther. 2001. A history of the Ptolemaic empire. Translated by Tina Saavedra. London: Routledge.
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Translation of Geschichte des Ptolemäerriches (1994). The best and most recent study of the Ptolemaic kingdom, from its beginnings to the end of Cleopatra’s reign.
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Pomeroy, Sarah. 1975. Goddesses, whores, wives, and slaves: Women in classical antiquity. New York: Schoken.
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The seminal discussion of its topic, which began to correct the long-held biases against women in antiquity, including Cleopatra VII.
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Pomeroy, Sarah. 1984. Women in Hellenistic Egypt from Alexander to Cleopatra. New York: Schocken.
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Although the emphasis is on women in everyday life, there is much valuable information about royal women in the era of Cleopatra and her predecessors.
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Sullivan, Richard. D. 1990. Near Eastern royalty and Rome, 100—30 BC. Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press.
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The most important work on its topic, with its deft untangling of the royal dynasties of the Hellenistic world.
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Cleopatra’s Kingdom

The information on the day-to-day functioning of Cleopatra’s kingdom is sparse, and in many cases data must be extrapolated from general discussions of the Ptolemaic world, such as Fraser 1972. The most detailed discussion is Ricketts 1980, followed by Huss 1990. Grimm 1996 examines the evidence for her elusive palace. Kokkinos 1998 and Kokkinos 2001 discuss her relations with Herod the Great, her primary foreign rival. Some contemporary documents are examined in Van Minnen 2003.

Fraser, P. M. 1972. Ptolemaic Alexandria. 3 vols. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.
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Although broadly based, this is a solid study of the management of the city of Alexandria, including the period of Cleopatra.
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Grimm, Günther. 1996. Kleopatras Palast? Antike Welt 27:502–512.
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A study of the limited and disputed evidence for the palace of Cleopatra.
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Huss, Werner. 1990. Der Herkunft der Kleopatra Philopator. Aegyptus 70:191–203.
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A study of Cleopatra’s management of her kingdom.
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Kokkinos, Nikos. 1998. The Herodian dynasty: Origins, role in society and eclipse. Sheffield, UK: Sheffield Academic Press.
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An excellent examination of this famous family, particularly relevant because Herod the Great was Cleopatra’s foremost rival among the monarchs of the eastern Mediterranean.
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Kokkinos, Nikos. 2001. Cleopatra and Herod: A failed seduction. British Museum Magazine 17 (Spring).
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A brief discussion of a peculiar moment of contact between the two most famous monarchs of the era.
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Ricketts, Linda Maurine. 1980. The administration of Ptolemaic Egypt under Cleopatra VII. PhD diss., Univ. of Minnesota.
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The only thorough and detailed study of how Cleopatra managed her kingdom.
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Van Minnen, Peter. 2003. A royal ordinance of Cleopatra and related documents. In Cleopatra Reassessed. Edited by Susan Walker and Sally-Ann Ashton, 35–42. London: British Museum.
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A study of some of the documents of Cleopatra’s reign, including the famous decree with her autograph approval.
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Julius Caesar

Gaius Julius Caesar (100–44 BCE), the most important man in Rome during his era, was involved with Cleopatra VII both personally and politically during the last years of his life. The bibliography on him is enormous, and the bibliography here is largely limited to accounts of his relationship with the queen. The Bellum Alexandrinum (Way 1955) is the contemporary account of his period in Alexandria, supplemented by the more general biographies of Caesar by Plutarch (Plutarch 1919) and Suetonius (Suetonius 1913). The account of their relationship recorded by the Roman poet Lucan is examined by Schmidt 1986. The definitive biography of Caesar is Gelzer 1968. Specific events in their relationship are examined by Hilliard 2002, Lord 1938, and Whitehorne 2001.

Gelzer, Mattias. 1968. Caesar: Politican and statesman. Translated by Peter Needham. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press.
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Translation of Caesar: Der Politiker und Staatsmann (1960) and still the definitive biography.
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Hilliard, T. W. 2002. The Nile cruise of Cleopatra and Caesar. Classical Quarterly 52:549–554.
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An analytical account of one of the most famous events involving the couple.
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Lord, Louis E. 1938. The date of Julius Caesar’s departure from Alexandria. Journal of Roman Studies 28:19–40.
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A study of the reasons that Caesar stayed in Alexandria despite pressing engagements in Rome.
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Plutarch. 1919. Caesar. Translated by Bernadotte Perrin. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press.
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One of two existing ancient biographies of Caesar, written around 100 CE. Volume 7 of Plutarch’s Lives in the Loeb Classical Library series.
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Schmidt, Manfred Gerhard. 1986. Caesar und Cleopatra: Philologischer und historischer Kommenatar zu Lucan 10.1–171. Frankfurt: Lang.
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A commentary on the relevant passage in Lucan’s poem, which is the most detailed ancient source on Caesar and Cleopatra, although to be considered carefully because it is poetic, not a historical rendering of the association between Cleopatra and Julius Caesar.
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Suetonius. 1913. The deified Julius. Translated by John C. Rolfe. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press.
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One of two extant ancient biographies of Caesar, written around 100 CE. Volume 1 in Suetonius in the Loeb Classical Library series.
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Way, A. G. trans. 1955. Bellum Alexandrinum. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press.
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The eyewitness account of Caesar’s time in Alexandria, written by an unnamed officer on his staff, although with scant mention of the queen.
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Whitehorne, John. 2001. Cleopatra’s carpet. In Atti del XXII Congresso Internazionale di Papirologia: Firenze, 23–29 agosto 1998. Edited by I. Andorlini, et al., 1287–1293. Florence: Istituto Papirologico G. Vitelli.
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A careful analysis of the circumstances under which Cleopatra met Caesar for the first time.
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Marcus Antonius (Mark Antony)

Antonius (Mark Antony, 73–30 BCE) was involved with the queen during the last decade of their lives. His bibliography is extensive, and the bibliography is largely limited to matters of their relationship, both political and personal. The standard ancient source is Plutarch (Plutarch 1988); the definitive modern English biography is Huzar 1978. The difficult question of whether the couple was married, and what this meant, is discussed by Huzar 1985–1986 and Volterra 1978. Specific incidents are examined by Fraser 1957, Flory 1988, and Johnson 1978. Watkins 1997 is a biography of Antonius’s secretary, with much valuable information.

Flory, Marleen B. 1988. Pearls for Venus. Historia 37:488–504.
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An analysis of one of the most famous incidents of the relationship between Antonius and Cleopatra, the matter of her dissolving one of her pearls in vinegar.
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Fraser, P. M. 1957. Mark Antony in Alexandria—A note. Journal of Roman Studies 47:7–13.
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Publication of a rare inscription referring to Antonius from when he was in Alexandria.
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Huzar, Eleanor Goltz. 1978. Mark Antony. London: Croom Helm.
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The best English biography of the Roman officer.
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Huzar, Eleanor Goltz. 1985–1986. Mark Antony: Marriages vs. careers. Classical Journal 81:97–111.
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A discussion of the knotty issue of whether Antonius and Cleopatra were married, and what this meant.
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Johnson, John Robert. 1978. The authenticity and validity of Antony’s will. L’antiquité Classique 47:494–503.
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A discussion of Antonius’s will which favored Cleopatra, and which was suspected to be a forgery but destroyed his reputation in Rome.
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Plutarch. 1988. Life of Antony. Edited by C. B. R. Pelling. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press.
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This biography of Antonius, written about a century after his death, is the most detailed account of his life (and has the most information of any ancient source about Cleopatra). A translation is available in the Loeb Classical Library series.
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Volterra, Edoardo. 1978. Ancora sul matrimonio di Antonio con Cleopatra. In Festschrift für Werner Flume. Vol. 1. Edited by Horst Heinrich Jakobs, et al., 205–212. Cologne: O. Schmidt.
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An examination of the legal relationship between Cleopatra and Antonius.
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Watkins, Thomas. H. 1997. L. Munatius Plancus: Serving and surviving the Roman revolution. Atlanta: Scholars Press.
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A biography of Antonius’s secretary, who was responsible for preserving much of the information about Antonius and Cleopatra.
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Cleopatra and Rome

As an allied monarch (see Braund 1984), Cleopatra’s relations with Rome were important, and had legal ramifications for the survival of her kingdom. The tangled situation between Rome and Egypt was an important factor in her eventual demise (Gruen 1986, Gruen 1995), and the first years of contact between the two states during her reign are discussed by Heinen 1966, supplemented by the general study of the era by Pelling 1998. The controversies over when she was in Rome are deftly eliminated by Gruen 2003. Roman destruction of her reputation is examined by Luce 1963 and Scott 1933.

Braund, David. 1984. Rome and the friendly king: The character of the client kingship. London: Croom Helm.
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The basic work on the “friendly king”: the monarchs of the Hellenistic and Roman world and their relationship to Rome.
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Gruen, Erich S. 1986. The Hellenistic world and the coming of Rome. Berkeley: Univ. of California Press.
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The definitive study of the development of political relations between the Greek world and Rome.
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Gruen, Erich S. 1995. The last generation of the Roman Republic. Berkeley: Univ. of California Press.
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Although focused on events in Rome in the 1st century BCE, this book also explores Romans’ involvement with Greek affairs in the era of Cleopatra.
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Gruen, Erich. S. 2003. Cleopatra in Rome: Facts and fantasies. In Myth, history, and culture in Republican Rome. Edited by David Braund and Christopher Gill, 258–274. Exeter, UK: Exeter Univ. Press.
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Cleopatra’s visits to Rome are firmly placed within the context of her political, not personal, needs.
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Heinen, Heinz. 1966. Rome und Ägypten von 51 bis 47 v. Chr. Tübingen, Germany: Privately Printed.
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A detailed study of the years from the death of Cleopatra’s father to the settlement imposed by Caesar.
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Luce, J. V. 1963. Cleopatra as Fatale monstrum (Horace, Carm. 1.37.21). Classical Quarterly 13:251–257.
DOI: 10.1017/S0009838800001865Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A discussion of the view of Cleopatra that developed among the Augustan literary circle.
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Pelling, C. B. R. 1998. The triumviral period. In Cambridge ancient history. 2d ed. Vol. 10. Edited by Alan K. Bowman, et al., 1–69. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press.
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The best general and overall study of the Roman world in the era of Cleopatra.
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Scott, Kenneth. 1933. The political propaganda of 44–31 BC. Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome 11:7–49.
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A thorough study of the propaganda war waged between those in Rome and Cleopatra and Antonius, much of which determined her later reputation.
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Cleopatra’s Scholarship

Cleopatra was a published author, but her damaged reputation has tended to ignore this aspect of her career, although a spate of recent works, beginning with Nardis 2008 and Roller 2010, has brought this to the surface, along with the broader study by Marasco 1998. Nardis 2008 summarizes the evidence for her scholarship, and Plant 2004 has the extant textual evidence. Marasco 1995 discusses a peculiar sidelight of her scientific work.

Marasco, Gabriele. 1995. Cleopatra e gli experimenti su cavie umane. Historia 44:317–325.
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An examination of the story that the queen experimented on human bodies.
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Marasco, Gabriele. 1998. Cléopâtre e les sciences de son temps. In Sciences exactes et sciences appliquées a Alexandrie. Edited by Gilbert Argoud and J. -Y. Guillaumin, 39–53. St-Étienne, France: Universitè de St-Étienne.
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A study that places Cleopatra within the scientific community in Alexandria of her era.
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Nardis, Maurizio de. 2008. Kleopatra of Alexandria. In Encyclopedia of ancient natural scientists. Edited by Paul T. Keyser and Georgia L. Irby-Massie, 482. London: Routledge.
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A brief biography of Cleopatra as a scientist and scholarly author.
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Plant, I. M., ed. 2004. Women writers of ancient Greece and Rome: An anthology. Norman: Univ. of Oklahoma.
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A sourcebook of women writers, which includes the surviving fragments of Cleopatra’s scholarship.
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Roller, Duane W. 2010. Cleopatra: A biography. New York: Oxford Univ. Press.
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Within this biography is a detailed discussion of Cleopatra’s education, scientific training, and published works.
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Ancient Artistic Representations

The only certain visual contemporary visual representations of Cleopatra are on her coinage, although sculpture and wall paintings have been suggested to represent the queen. There is no overall work on the iconography of her (excepting, to some extent, Kleiner 2005), merely works dealing with specific pieces and attributions.

Kleiner, Diana E. E. 2005. Cleopatra and Rome. Cambridge, MA: Belknap.
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A nicely illustrated survey that emphasizes the art connected with Cleopatra.
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Sculpture

Identification of ancient sculptures of Cleopatra depends on modern art-historical analysis, since there are no attributions from antiquity. The more probable piece is the one in Berlin (Vierneisel 1980), and there are a number of others (also Andreae 2006). Her Egyptian iconography is examined by Ashton 2001, and stone sculpture by Higgs 2001; a more general study of iconographic issues is Queyrel 2006.

Andreae, Bernard. 2006. Kleopatra und die sogennante Venus vom Esquilin. In Kleopatra und die Caesaren. Edited by Bernard Andreae, et al., 14–47. Munich: Hirmer.
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Considers whether the famous Esquiline Venus is actually based on a portrait of Cleopatra, as has been suggested.
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Ashton, Sally-Ann. 2001. Identifying the Egyptian-style Ptolemaic queens. In Cleopatra of Egypt: From history to myth. Edited by Susan Walker and Peter Higgs, 148–155. London: British Museum.
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A consideration of the iconography of Cleopatra VII and her predecessors within the strictures of Egyptian art.
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Higgs, Peter. 2001. Searching for Cleopatra’s image: Portraits in stone. In Cleopatra of Egypt: From history to myth. Edited by Susan Walker and Peter Higgs, 200–209. London: British Museum.
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An interesting examination of the history of modern attempts to identify stone portraits of Cleopatra.
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Queyrel, Françios. Die Ikonographie Kleopatras VII. In Kleopatra und die Caesaren. Edited by Bernard Andreae, et al., 158–163. Munich: Hirmer, 2006.
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An examination of issues of iconography regarding portraits of the queen.
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Vierneisel, Klaus. 1980. Die Berliner Kleopatra. Jahrbuch der Berliner Museen 22:5–33.
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A discussion of the most probable sculptural portrait of Cleopatra.
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Painting

Painting is the most ephemeral of ancient artistic media, but two from Pompeii have been suggested to represent the queen (Elia 1995 and Walker 2007).

Elia, Olga. La tradizione della more di Cleopatra nella pitture pompeiana. Rendiconti dell’Accademica di Archeologica Napoli 30 (1995) 153–157.
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Identifies a Pompeiian wall painting long thought to be the death of Sophonisba as actually representing the death of Cleopatra.
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Walker, Susan. 2007. Cleopatra in Pompeii? Papers of the British School at Rome 74:35–46.
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Demonstrates that a painting at Pompeii is a representation of the status of Cleopatra in the Forum Julium in Rome.
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Coinage

The portraits on Cleopatra’s coinage are the only certain iconography of the queen. The more general studies are Poole 1883 and Mamroth 1951, with specific details examined by Baldus 1983 and Brett 1973. Forrer 1969 discusses the issue of portraits of royal women on coinage. Weill Goudchaux 2001 attempts to reconstruct how the queen actually looked from her coin portraits.

Baldus, Hans Roland. 1983. Eine Munzprägung auf das Ehepaar Mark Anton-Kleopatra VII. Schweizer Münzblätter 33:5–10.
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A discussion of the joint coinage of Cleopatra and Antonius.
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Brett, Agnes Balwin. 1973. A new Cleopatra tetradrachm of Ascalon. American Journal of Archaeology 41:452–463.
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Publication of coinage of Cleopatra from the southern Levant.
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Forrer, Leonard. 1969. Portraits of Royal Ladies on Greek Coins. Chicago: Ares.
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A catalogue of Cleopatra’s coins, as well as those of her daughter and predecessors.
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Mamroth, Alfred. 1951. Die Münzbilder der Königen Kleopatra VII: Philopater. Berliner Numismatische Zeitschrift 6:161–165.
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A discussion of issues regarding the depiction of Cleopatra on her coinage.
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Poole, Reginard Stuart. Catalogue of Greek coins: The Ptolemies, kings of Egypt. London: British Museum, 1883.
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Despite its title, the definitive publication of the coinage of Cleopatra (as well as that of her children) as it was known in the late 19th century.
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Weill Goudchaux, Guy. Was Cleopatra beautiful: The conflicting answers of numismatics. In Cleopatra of Egypt: From history to myth. Edited by Susan Walker and Peter Higgs, 210–214. London: British Museum, 2001.
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A consideration of the varying iconographic information from coin portraits.
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Cleopatra’s Children

Cleopatra had four children: one succeeded her briefly as monarch (Heinen 1969), and one became queen of Mauretania and carried on her mother’s traditions far to the west (Roller 2003). Hopkins 1965 is an interesting study of the practicalities of birth control in antiquity. Cleopatra’s older male children, Kaisarion and Alexander, are discussed by Heinen 1969; Samuel 1971; Meiklejohn 1934; Tarn 1932 examines how the children fit into regal policy.

Heinen, Heinz. 1969. Cäsar and Kaisarion. Historia 18:181–203.
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A discussion of Cleopatra’s oldest child (and successor), especially issues of who his father was.
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Hopkins, Keith. 1965. Contraception in the Roman Empire. Comparative Studies in Science and History 8:124–151.
DOI: 10.1017/S0010417500003935Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Although a general study of the topic, it offers an insight as to how Cleopatra planned her pregnancies.
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Roller, Duane W. 2003. The world of Juba II and Kleopatra Selene: Royal scholarship on Rome’s African frontier. London: Routledge.
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The only complete study of Cleopatra’s elder daughter, who became queen of Mauretania, and her husband, and the way in which they carried on the traditions of Cleopatra VII.
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Meiklejohn, K. W. 1934. Alexander Helios and Caesarion. Journal of Hellenic Studies 24:191–195.
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A discussion of Cleopatra’s two elder male children, and the roles they played in Cleopatra’s self-image and dynastic plans.
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Samuel, Alan E. 1971. The joint regency of Cleopatra and Caesarion. Études de Papyrologie 9:73–79.
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A consideration of Cleopatra’s plans to have her eldest son succeed her.
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Tarn, W. W. 1932. Alexander Helios and the golden age. Journal of Roman Studies 22:135–160.
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Discusses how Cleopatra and Antony used their twin children to inaugurate a new golden age, reminiscent of the world of Alexander the Great.
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Cleopatra’s Death

The details of Cleopatra’s death remain uncertain, especially the manner of it, but nonetheless it is one of the most famous cultural events in world history. Some time ago questions were raised about its most familiar aspect, that she died by the bite of an asp (Levi 1954), and in recent years the whole tradition of her death has been called into question, with the asp tale seen as a Roman construct (Tronson 1998). Griffiths 1961 and Baldwin 1964 have covered most of the issues regarding her death; the chronology was examined by Skeat 1953. Her tomb is discussed by Bickel 1950.

Baldwin, B. 1964. The death of Cleopatra VII. Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 50:181–182.
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A rebuttal to Griffiths 1961.
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Bickel, E. 1950. Das Mausoleum der Kleopatra und des Antonius in lateinischer Dichtung. Rheinisches Museum für Philologie 93:191–192.
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An examination of the treatment of the burial of Cleopatra and Antonius by Latin poets.
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Griffiths, J. Gwyn. 1961. The death of Cleopatra VII. Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 47:113–118.
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A discussion of issues relating to her death.
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Levi, Mario Attilio. 1954. Cleopatra e l’aspide. La parola del passato 9:61–65.
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The first to raise the question of the improbability of the asp story.
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Skeat, T. C. 1953. The last days of Cleopatra: A chronological problem. Journal of Roman Studies 43:98–100.
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Raises issues of the exact chronology of Cleopatra’s last days.
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Tronson, Adrian. 1998. Vergil, the Augustans, and the invention of Cleopatra’s suicide—One asp or two. Vergilius 44:31–50.
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An incisive study of the issues regarding the asp story, including herpetological information that reinforces its unlikelihood.
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Modern Reception in Literature and Art

Perhaps no person from classical antiquity has been treated more extensively in the literature and art of the last few centuries. Although the numerous plays, art and musical works, and films do nothing to illustrate the actual historical Cleopatra, they form the major repertory of modern perception of the queen, often to the detriment of understanding who she really was. Nevertheless she has inspired some of the most significant literary and artistic works that have ever been created, and awareness of them is a significant part of the queen’s heritage. Knippschild and Morcillo 2013 is the most recent study on the topic; Smart 2011 provides a catalogue of some of the works Wyke 2002 and Wyke 1997 are good analyses of the modern reception of the queen. Miles 2011 includes various articles on her ancient and modern reputation. Royster 2003 about changes to her image.

Knippschild, Silke, and Maria Carcia Morcillo, eds. 2013. Seduction and power. London: Bloomsbury.
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A recent examination of antiquity in the visual and performing arts, with close attention to Cleopatra.
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Miles, Margaret, ed. Cleopatra: A sphinx revisited. Berkeley: Univ. of California Press, 2011.
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A collection of articles by various scholars, which includes some material on her modern image.
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Royster, Francesca. Becoming Cleopatra. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003.
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A discussion of how views of Cleopatra have changed.
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Smart, Duncan Alexander, et al., eds. 2011. Brill’s New Pauly: Classical tradition. Vol. 5, Index. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill.
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Contains a listing (p. 57) of post-antique representations of Cleopatra in various media.
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Wyke, Maria. The Roman mistress: Ancient and modern representations. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press 2002.
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A general study of the topic which includes an extensive analysis of images of Cleopatra.
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Wyke, Maria. Projecting the past: Ancient Rome, cinema, and history. New York: Routledge, 1997.
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Examines (among others) the view of Cleopatra in film.
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Literature

Post-antique literary consideration of Cleopatra began with Dante (see Dante 1971), and the queen appears in many literary forms, especially in the numerous plays about her, beginning with Herbert 1595, Daniel 1594, Shakespeare 1623, Dryden 1978, and continuing through Shaw 1904.

Daniel, Samuel. 1594. The Tragedie of Cleopatra.
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An unusual play in that Antony does not appear at all.
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Dante, Alighieri. 1971. Divine comedy. Vol. 1, Inferno. Translated by Mark Musa. New York: Penguin.
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Dante, writing in the early 14th century, places Cleopatra in the Inferno (Canto 5.63). His only notice of her refers to her promiscuity, which established modern European views of the queen.
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Dryden, John. 1978. All for love or the world well lost.
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In early modern times, considered the best tragedy on Cleopatra after Shakespeare’s.
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Herbert, Mary Sidney. 1595. The tragedie of Antonie.
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Unusually, this play focuses almost entirely on Cleopatra, as Antonius dies early on.
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Shakespeare, William. 1623. Antony and Cleopatra.
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The best-known rendering of the story of the queen, based on an English translation of Plutarch’s life of Antonius, with surprisingly close adherence to the original in many places. Perhaps one of the most influential sources Cleopatra today.
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Shaw, George Bernard. 1904. Caesar and Cleopatra. London: Grant Richards.
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The best-known account of the liason between Julius Caesar and Cleopatra, but almost entirely fictional.
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Visual Arts

Modern visual representations of Cleopatra began in the Baroque period with works such as that by Guercino 1621. Although these are innumerable, some of the most significant paintings are listed, such as by Jordaens 1653, Mengs 1759, Hillemacher 1863, Gérôme 1866, Cabanel 1887, Rixens 1874, and many more are discussed by Hamer 2001.

Cabanel, Alexandre. Cléopâtre essayant des poisons sur les condamnés à mort. Oil painting, 88 x 148 cm., 1887, Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp.
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Although the scene represented probably never happened and thus it unfortunately served to suggest that Cleopatra was a poisoner, this painting is representative of late-19th-century renditions of the queen.
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Gérôme, Jean-Léon. Cléopâtre et César. Oil painting, 1866, private collection.
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A rendering of a famous scene: the first meeting of Cleopatra and Julius Caesar.
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Guercino (Giovanni Francesco Barbieri). Cleopatra morente. Oil painting, ca. 1621, Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, CA.
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One of the earliest known modern paintings of Cleopatra, which inaugurated the common theme of depicting her death.
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Hamer, Mary. The myth of Cleopatra since the Renaissance. In Cleopatra of Egypt: From history to myth. Edited by Susan Walker and Peter Higgs, 302–311. London: British Museum, 2001.
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A fine study of representations of Cleopatra in the visual arts.
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Hillemacher, Eugène Ernest. Antoine rapporté mourant à Cléopâtre. Oil painting, 1863, Musee de Grenoble Grenoble.
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One of the more unusual subjects in the repertory of art about Cleopatra, this shows the dying Antonius being lifted into her tomb.
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Jordaens, Jacob. The Banquet of Cleopatra. Oil painting, 156 x 149 cm., 1653, Hermitage St. Petersburg.
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Another popular theme from Cleopatra’s life is depicted in this painting: her taste for luxury and high living, something emphasized by the Roman literary tradition.
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Mengs, Anton Raphael. Augustus and Cleopatra. Oil painting, 59.5 x 45 cm., 1759, Städtische Kunstsammlungen Augsburg.
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A depiction of the interview between Cleopatra and Octavian (identified as “Augustus” in the painting) in early August 30 BCE, just before her death.
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Rixens, Jean-André. La mort de Cléopâtre. Oil painting, 1874, Musee des AugustinsToulouse.
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The most famous rendering of this popular theme.
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Opera and Other Music

Cleopatra became a subject for opera almost as early as the beginning of the genre, but became popular in the Baroque period, at the same time she became common in painting (Mattheson 1704), and has remained so until recent years (Barber 1966). Others include Handel 1724, Berlioz 1829, and Massenet 1913. There are about fifty renderings (summarized by Corneilson 1997), and the death of Cleopatra is the most popular theme, placing her firmly in the operatic tradition of the tragic heroine.

Barber, Samuel. 1966. Antony and Cleopatra. Libretto by Franco Zeffirelli.
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First produced in New York (1966). The most recent operatic version of the story, based on Shakespeare’s play,
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Berlioz, Hector. 1829. La mort de Cléopâtre. Libretto by Pierre-Ange Vieilliard.
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Unsuccessful Prix de Rome music entry. Although not an opera (it is a dramatic cantata for solo soprano), the piece ranks among one of the most operatic treatments of the death of the queen.
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Corneilson, Paul. 1997. Cleopatra. In The New Grove dictionary of opera. Vol. 1. Edited by Stanley Sadie, 884–885. New York: Macmillan.
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A brief but thorough survey of the use of the subject of Cleopatra in opera, from the 17th century until the present.
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Handel, George Frederic. 1724. Giulio Cesare in Egitto. Libretto by Nicola Francesco Haym.
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First produced in London. As its title implies, this work is about Caesar and Cleopatra, ending with her becoming queen.
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Massenet, Jules. Cléopâtre. 1913. Libretto by Louis Payen.
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First produced in Monte-Carlo. More wide-ranging than most operas about Cleopatra, the story runs from her meeting with Antonius at Tarsos to her death.
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Mattheson, Johann. 1704. Die unglückselige Cleopatra, Königin von Egypten, oder Die betrogene Staats-Liebe. Libretto by Friedrich Christian Feustking.
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First produced in Hamburg. A typically complex and wide-ranging baroque opera which depicts the last days of Cleopatra and Antonius, ending with her death and the marriage of her children.
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Film

It is probable that most people today have their first knowledge of Cleopatra through the medium of film. Although there have been good films about the queen, many representations, especially those on television, have been worse than very bad, and unfortunately continue the false images of Cleopatra that have existed ever since Roman times. In a strange way, this demonstrates how effective the Roman propaganda machine was. Only the most reputable cinema representations are listed. Probably the most famous film is Mankiewicz 1963, a surprisingly accurate rendition of the life of the queen. The earlier version, DeMille 1934 is unusual for its time, but does not have the scope of the later one. The version of the plays, Antony and Cleopatra (Scoffield 1975) and Caesar and Cleopatra (Pascal 1945) are important, but limited to the dramatic structure of the authors of the plays.

DeMille, Cecil B., dir. 1934. Cleopatra. California: Paramount Pictures.
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Film starring Claudet Colbert, Warren William, and Henry Wilcoxson. Remarkably innovative visually for its early date, it covers the period from the arrival of Julius Caesar in Egypt to Cleopatra’s death.
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Mankiewicz, Joseph L., dir. 1963. Cleopatra. Burbank, CA: Twentieth Century-Fox.
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This famous movie (starring Elizabeth Taylor, Rex Harrison, and Richard Burton) defined the image of Cleopatra and Antonius for successive generations. It covers the period from the Battle of Pharsalos in 48 BCE to Cleopatra’s death, and, all things considered, is generally accurate historically.
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Pascal, Gabriel, dir. 1945. Caesar and Cleopatra. A New York: Criterion Collection.
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Film starring Vivien Leigh and Claude Raines. An excellent rendering of Shaw’s play.
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Scoffield, Jon, dir. 1975. Antony and Cleopatra. ABC Theatre. ITC Worldwide production.
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Television production starring Janet Suzman, Richard Johnson, and Patrick Stewart. The best of several film versions of Shakespeare’s play, an adaption of the Royal Shakespeare Company production.