Cleopatra VII

Cleopatra

Cleopatra VII was born in 69 B.C. in Alexandria, Egypt. Her father was King Ptolemy XII Auteles. When Cleopatra’s father died, she and her brother were left to rule the Kingdom. She was forced to wed her brother to be the co-ruler; however, since she was eighteen and her brother was only twelve, she took full advantage of the power. Unfortunately, as her brother grew older, she was eventually removed from the throne.

However, Cleopatra was one of the most charming and strong-willed women that existed in ancient Egypt, and she did not give up easily. She decided to charm Julius Cesar and began to plan a way to meet with him to help her get power back to the throne. It was said that she delivered a rug to him, but when Julius Cesar opened it, she was laid inside. She was then able to charm Julius Cesar, who was married at the time, to become her lover. He put her back to her position at the throne in Egypt, where she wed with her youngest brother. She became pregnant with Cesar’s son, but Cesar was shortly stabbed to death after, which led Cleopatra to flee.

Cleopatra did not stop there and decided to go after another powerful leader, Mark Antony. She successfully charmed him and Mark Antony fell in love with her. The Romans declared war on Egypt shortly after. Cleopatra committed suicide after being bitten by an Egyptian cobra, where she was then buried next to Antony.

Cleopatra is strongly remembered by her beauty and charm. She knew exactly how to get what she wanted and was successful at charming two of the most powerful men in history. I find Cleopatra to be fearless, as she broke the boundaries of social and political limitations that were put against women in ancient times.

Source:

http://departments.kings.edu/womens_history/cleop7.html