Well-behaved women rarely make history

[scarlettina]

Who’s Buried in Cleopatra’s Tomb?

Zahi Hawass, Egypt's director of antiquities and the country's archeological answer to Carl Sagan (you can't turn on the History Channel without catching him, speaking in his clipped, precise, Egyptian-accented English, his voice filled with obvious enthusiasm), thinks he may have the answer at a dig going on under the ruins of the temple of Taposiris Magna in Egypt. This op-ed is very good, an interesting analysis of Cleopatra VII's place in history as the original politician-temptress.

Based on portraits on coinage of the time, I have to believe that her charm was more about intellect, education, and socialization than it was about beauty. I need to read more about her. I'm looking forward to reading this Times contributor's upcoming book.

Comments

[willowgreen.livejournal.com]

She looks a bit like Susan B. Anthony on some of those coins. :-)

[scarlettina.livejournal.com]

::chuckle:: I hadn't considered that before.

[peartreealley.livejournal.com]

Cool!

Also, I've been reading a book that talks about Hawass (among other topics). Which is sorta swinging wildly off-topic, but I don't think I'd have recognized his name so quickly otherwise. *hangs head*

[scarlettina.livejournal.com]

Hawass is an interesting character. At once genuine scholar, treasure-seeker, and almost Barnum-like self-promoter, I find he has a habit of making sweeping pronouncements that have a 50/50 chance of being correct...until he narrows them down based on evidence. He's entertaining, though, and clearly interested in educating people about Egypt's history and archeology.

[katatomic.livejournal.com]

Neat! Thanks for the links.

And I think Cleopatra had a rather long nose that looks distinctly Greek. There doesn't seem to be anything "ugly" about her from the coin portraits, only very strong features that would have been much more interesting animated than just stamped in metal.

[scarlettina.livejournal.com]

Greek or Macedonian, yes.

[e-bourne.livejournal.com]

You knew I couldn't leave this alone, now didn't you? :-)

It's unlikely the coin portraits would have much to do with how Kleopatra VII looked. Most of the Ptolemaic, indeed, all the Hellenistic coin portraits, had more to do with the continuation of power. Somewhere, I have nice scholarly article that discusses the relationship of noses and chins in the Ptolemies (you can trace them from Ptolemy Soter through his offspring)as likely a sign of ongoing legitimacy. This seems reasonaable to me since most of their subjects would never actually see them. Also, if you look at the "official" sculpture, statues, temple portraits, they don't look anything like the coinage.

I doubt we will ever know really what Kleopatra looked like, unless Zahi Hawass is correct, and her tomb is in Taposiris Magnus. Which I doubt, as do most archeologists and historians, but who can blame him for trying. Let me count the reasons.
1. Octavian is unlikely to have provided Kleopatra, a well-beloved queen AND GOD OF EGYPT with a known burial ground that her subjects could pilgrammage to, for the same reason her sons were not allowed to live. Bad politics.
2. Marc Antony was a Roman. He would get a Roman burial with Roman honor regardless of the silly mistakes he made. Kleopatra was an enemy of the state, and a woman who dared defy Rome.
3. If Kleopatra VII, the last of the Ptolemies, was going to be buried, why not bury her with the rest of the Ptolemies in their burial ground at the palace grounds (which is now underwater)? Why buy her 30 some odd miles away on the other side the then massive Lake Mareotis (bigger than Lake Superior is now)? Taposiris was a separate city from Alexandria quite a distance away.

Whether or not Kleopatra killed herself is an interesting question. She must had known, no matter what, she would die. I suspect she would prefer to die on her own rather than have Octavian kill her, or ignominy of being paraded through Rome in a triumph, to be strangled at the emperor's feet. Nasty. Also, Octavian was not that much of a risk taker. Kleopatra was exceptionally charming. If he took her to Rome, she might have swayed enough people he couldn't have killed her (much as it worked for Zenobia later, really, Rome had no problem dealing with rebellious queens, look at Boudicca). He couldn't afford to take her back to Rome. She was dead no matter what. She must have feared terribly for her children, and hoped that the power of Julius Ceaser would keep them alive. Only the girls.

I equate Kleopatra to Queen Elizabeth I. Intelligent, determined, surrounded by men who were all too willing to pull her and her country down. Unlike Elizabeth I, Kleopatra VII did not deffeat her Phillip.

Imagine, for a moment, how we would think Elizabeth I if the Armada had succeeded and the story of the vile Heretic Queen were told by Spanish victors. That, in fact, is the story of Kleopatra VII.

She was brave, ruthless, brilliant, witty, and extremely charismatic. She was attractive enough, but her true beauty was Egypt. She loved only two things: Egypt and Marc Antony. She ultimately could save neither. At the last, she was the final glorious grand-daughter of her great ancestor, Arsinoe II, who was worshipped over most of the Mediterranean as a goddess, and is now forgotten completely.

And you knew I was going to wrap that in there. :-)

[scarlettina.livejournal.com]

Of course I did. And I knew you'd enjoy expounding upon the subject. :-)

[joyful-storm.livejournal.com]

I've read a lot about her (though likely not as much as e_bourne), and yeah, from what I've seen she was more captivating as a personality than anything else (not to dismiss the anything else).

I tend to avoid anything but biographies about her since the usual misrepresentation makes me very grumpy.

[sinthrex.livejournal.com]

It seems somehow wrong to knock a dead person's theoretical hotness from thousands of years in the future.

[scarlettina.livejournal.com]

::chuckle:: You're such a gentleman. :-)

[farmgirl1146.livejournal.com]

Fascinating.