Cleopatra Vii Quotes

Princess," he said, spreading his arms in a shrug, "how does such a little thing like you get such a big temper?" I held up my hand to shield my eyes from the sun. "Marc Antony," I said, "how does such a big man like you have such a little brain?

It was rare to find a member of the family who did not liquidate a relative or two, Cleopatra VII included.

I especially treasured my glimpses of Mother, Queen Cleopatra VII. She sat on a golden throne, looking as resplendent as one of the giant marble statues guarding the tombs of the Old Ones. Diamonds twinkled in a jungle of black braids on her ceremonial wig. She wore a diadem with three rearing snakes and a golden broad collar, shining with lapis lazuli, carnelian, and emeralds, over her golden, form-fitting pleated gown. In one hand, she held a golden ankh of life, while the other clasped the striped crook and flail of her divine rulership. Her stillness radiated power, like a lioness pausing before the pounce. It left me breathless with awe.

The Ptolemies were in fact Macedonian Greek, which makes Cleopatra approximately as Egyptian as Elizabeth Taylor. The word ‘honey skinned’ recurs in descriptions of her relatives and would presumably applied to hers as well, despite the inexactitudes surrounding her mother and paternal grandmother. There was certainly Persian blood in the family, but even an Egyptian mistress is a rarity among the Ptolemies. She was not dark skinned.

What does she need with architecture?” “The same thing my mother needed with eight languages,” I replied boldly. “She commanded the best diplomats in the world, but she refused to leave anything to someone else that she could do better herself.

She did not approach Caesar wrapped in a carpet, she was not a seductress, she did not use her charm to persuade the men in her life to lose their judgement, and she did not die by the bite of an asp…Yet other important elements of her career have been bypassed in the post-antique recension: she was a Skilled naval commander, a published medical authority, and an expert royal administrator who was met with adulation throughout the eastern Mediterranean, perhaps seen by some as a messianic figure, the hope for a future Eastern Mediterranean free of Roman domination.

Pocas veces, por desgracia, una mujer fue tan decisiva; no es de extrañar, pues, que [Cleopatra VII Philopátor], proclamada reencarnación viviente de la diosa Isis, se ganara a pulso su entrada majestuosa en el cielo de los faraones

Rise of the Middle Kingdom

In 356 BCE, he was born to King Philip II of Macedonia and his wife, Queen Olympias.

thus shaking the pharaoh’s authority.

Maadi Culture (c. 3900 BCE–3500 BCE)

sources claim the kingdom witnessed nearly 70 different kings in the course of 150 years.

This was a new era of Egypt known to history as the Second Intermediate Period.

Around 1800 BCE, when the Middle Kingdom was at its peak,

some sources suggest that the colossal lighthouse was also constructed to honor the ancient gods, particularly Zeus or Poseidon.

Faiyum A Culture (c. 9000 BCE–6000 BCE)

Senusret ruled over Egypt for forty-five years and was succeeded by his son, Amenemhat II,

Amenemhat resumed his father’s projects. Sometime during his forty-five years on the throne,

and his involvement in upgrading the facilities near the turquoise mines in Sinai

Some suggest that the statue simply portrayed a man resting,

The Library of Alexandria Being a student of Aristotle himself,

These hieroglyphs are known as the Edfu Texts, and most of them tell the story of the creation of the world.

Egypt reached its peak,

His work on the water system greatly benefited Egypt’s farming activities,

another dynasty was born, this time in Thebes. Classified as the Sixteenth Dynasty,

The Temple of Edfu fell into disuse when pagan and non-Christian worship was banned by the Roman Empire.

Although Senusret II’s reign was described as a period of peace,

these Egyptianized Canaanites began to populate big cities across the kingdom.

The Black Pyramid, commissioned by Pharaoh Amenemhat III, is another example of Middle Kingdom architecture.

Merimde Culture (c. 5000 BCE–4200 BCE)

who went down in Egyptian history

They came from the east and were referred to in the Egyptian tongue as heka khasut,

Others suggest that it was a completely new line of rulers founded by a Theban family.

False eyes were also added to ensure the corpse looked like how the person did while still alive.

discovery of a few grave pits could suggest that the people of Merimde practiced a simple burial tradition.

El-Omari Culture (c. 4000 BCE–3100 BCE)

Senusret III was succeeded by his son, Amenemhat III,

The Thirteenth Dynasty has been described by historians as rather obscure.

more commonly known to us as the Hyksos (“rulers of foreign lands”).

Dubbed the Labyrinth, the ancient Greek historian Herodotus said the complex was awe-inspiring,

Our Cleopatra is known as Cleopatra VII,

as yet another one of the Middle Kingdom’s most powerful

Senusret III has been branded as the most remembered king of the Twelfth Dynasty.

Decline of the Middle Kingdom

Taking the mantle of kingship when he was just a child, Pepi II ruled Egypt for about ninety-six years

some suggest sixty-four years—making him the longest monarch to ever sit on the throne.

as the increasing power of the nomarchs had put a crack in the central government,

mathematics.

His arrival on Egyptian shores soon led the ruling King of Egypt Ptolemy XIII into a quandary as to what he should do with the defeated general. The Egyptian government had kept up with the latest developments in the Roman civil war and they knew full well that if they harbored Pompey and protected him from Caesar, the whole force of Rome would soon be marching down on them. However, they also realized that if they simply let Pompey walk away he would most likely seek refuge from Ptolemy’s sister (and wife) Cleopatra VII. The siblings were currently embroiled in a bitter dynastic dispute. It was because of this perceived dilemma that the Ptolemaic government concluded that the only safe way to deal with Pompey was to have him executed. In order to achieve this grisly task they used marked deception. They pretended to accept Pompey’s wish for asylum and sent envoys to him telling him as much. Yet as soon as Pompey set foot on Egyptian soil he was ambushed and struck down. Envoys of Ptolemy then promptly delivered the slain Roman’s head to Julius Caesar. For his part he feigned outrage at the act and used it as an excuse to declare martial law in Egypt.