Queen Cleopatra - The Great Seductress

All of them were descendants of Greeks and Macedonians; they were not Egyptians by blood.

This one was born to Ptolemy XII and Cleopatra V in approximately 70 BC, and she was given the title Cleopatra VII.

During the Ptolemaic dynasty pretty much all the kings and queens were called Ptolemy and Cleopatra.

A bit confusing if you want to go in depth, but for now we'll just focus on the most famous of them all - THE Cleopatra.

In his book, "The Art of Seduction", Graham Greene describes Queen Cleopatra as the most famous seductress in history. In fact, he credits her with being one of the founders of this method of gaining power in the world of men.

She was also, by far, the most successful - gaining and controlling an entire empire with her charms and wit.

More specifically, he classifies her in the first category - that of the Spectacular Siren...

...I couldn't agree more.

At age 19, after her father's death, she took over the throne of Egypt alongside her 10-year-old half-brother and husband Ptolemy XIII. Although they were supposed to co-rule the country, he was too young to have much say, and the fierce queen took over.

Unlike almost all the Ptolemaic rulers, Queen Cleopatra was loved by the Egyptian people. She spoke their language, and believed herself to be the reincarnation of the Egyptian Goddess Isis.

In fact, it was said that she spoke 8 languages; including Aramaic! She was also learned in history, politics, perfume-making, and poison.

Her brother would not be sidetracked so easily. After he turned the public against her, she ran away and was exiled from the borders of Egypt.

Queen Cleopatra and Julius Caesar

The Greek historian Plutarch said that although her beauty was not incomparable (unlike Elizabeth Taylor who played Cleopatra in the 1963 movie) - there were more beautiful women in the ancient world.

What she did have was a kind of charm and wit women of those times didn't possess, as well as "sweetness in the tones of her voice."

And most importantly, as I mentioned earlier, she was a talented seductress. She was a Siren.

A Siren is basically a mythical goddess-like figure, full of fantasy and allure. With a bit of a theatrical quality - she is sensual, unpredictable and ever-changing. She dazzles her audience with dramatic make-up and dress, her voice oozes passion and confidence.

Her presence alone draws you in and promises you pleasures and adventures - a world of fantasy that takes you away from the lull of daily life.

And that's exactly what Queen Cleopatra did with her first "victim" - Julius Caesar...

...He never knew what hit him.

He arrived in Alexandria to sort out these squabbles and to secure Egypt's allegiance with Rome. And after a long journey, he was tired.

He was sitting with his generals talking and planning when something interesting happened.

A merchant came to his door offering him a gift. It was a rolled up carpet.

After undoing the knots and rolling out the carpet, the 21-year-old queen rose up, dressed to kill. How bold was she to sneak in like this, at the risk of being caught by her enemy Ptolemy?!

Needless to say, he was under her spell already - he had never seen anything like this before, even though he had had innumerable mistresses.

And when she spoke, with her sweet voice, feverishly inspiring him to join her on her quest to revive Alexander the Great's mission - to unite the entire world and rule as gods together - he was doomed forever.

The honor, the glory, the adventure... how could he resist? In a world of men, full of wars and politics, something so ethereal had more power than all the maps and strategies of Rome put together.

From then on, they became lovers.

Ptolemy waged war on them, and after months of battling he died, leaving Cleopatra and Caesar to rule Egypt.

And, just to secure these ties even more, she bore Caesar a son - Caesarion. They even went to Rome together.

Unfortunately, this didn't go over too well in Rome. Their great Caesar was practically an Egyptian now, his son with an Egyptian queen could be an heir to the empire! This had to be remedied somehow.

Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC, leaving Cleopatra to fend for herself and her son all alone. She of course went back to Egypt.

Queen Cleopatra and Mark Anthony

It was Mark Antony's fate that his part of the empire was to the East and brought him back to Egypt.

She was 28, at her prime, beautiful and mysterious. Not only that, but she was so desirable to men (including the late Great Caesar himself) that she was considered a great prize.

And to top it off, she was the master of the grand entrance.

She came in on a boat with purple sails and silver oars, dressed as the Goddess Venus in Gold. Exotic music played as beautiful girls danced, dressed as nymphs. Boys dressed as cupid surrounded her.

And of course, Mark Antony was enslaved. Queen Cleopatra was to become his life and his death. A trap he could never fully escape.

But it isn't like it sounds. They did love each other; they had fun together and talked about keeping Alexander's (and then Caesar's) dream alive. They had children together.

Once again, Rome was not too happy about that. That "Egyptian Harlot" was a pain in the neck!

Octavian offered his beautiful sister Octavia to Antony in a political marriage to seal his loyalty to Rome. And although it worked for a while, he still could not forget his goddess. And as fate would have it, he traveled to Egypt on one of his military missions.

Queen Cleopatra spun her web and he was enslaved again - this time for good. Alexandria was his home from then on, until his death. They were married and had another son, leaving Octavia in shame in front of all Rome.

Rome, completely enraged with such acts of disloyalty, turned on them and began their attacks soon after.

In a sea battle between Rome led by Octavian and Egypt led by Antony, Cleopatra ran away after seeing the Egyptian fleet destroyed by the Romans. Antony, in the middle of the battle, abandoned his men to go after her.

The Death of Antony and Cleopatra

And to add salt to the wound, Cleopatra once again fled in fear and sent word to Antony that she was dead... and on hearing this news he tried to kill himself. He didn’t succeed (just to make things even more dramatic!).

And here's the part that makes this the tragic love story that it is...

...As he lay bleeding, Cleopatra sobered up and knew that the end for both of them was near. She sent for her beloved Antony and had him brought back to her tomb where she was hiding. He died in her arms.

Octavian then captured the queen, intending on dragging her through the streets of Rome, but she managed to die on her own terms. She had an asp snake sneaked into her tomb to bite her.

Queen Cleopatra committed suicide in 30 BC, leaving her children at the mercy of the Romans (who of course disposed of them), and leaving Egypt as a Roman province never to be ruled by an Egyptian again until just a few decades ago.

Tragic? Yes, but we would not want it any other way. This sad love story has been the muse of musicians, movie-makers (watch Cleopatra starring Liz Taylor, it's great!), poets, painters, actors, philosophers, and countless millions for over 2,000 years.

It's the real "Romeo and Juliet" :-)



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