Cleopatra Of Egypt Antiquitys Queen Of Romance With Illustrations

Excerpt from Cleopatra of Egypt, Antiquity's Queen of Romance The present book may be described as an experiment. I wished to ascertain whether one of the great women rulers of antiquity could not be made as interesting to the general reader as I some of the queens and empresses of more recent times would appear to be, if I may judge by the reception given to their biographies in this country and elsewhere. Among the women of old none seemed a more promising subject than Cleopatra the Great; for, while she is a character of world-wide celebrity and therefore requires no introduction to the most exclusive of readers, she has hitherto been treated almost always as though she were a follower in the train of two of the great personages in Roman history instead of meriting to be considered by herself. Cleopatra appeared to me undoubtedly to furnish a worthy subject for a biography, if sufficient material could be got together to render her life intelligible. One great disadvantage in writing of the Egyptian Queen, as compared with the Empress Josephine, for instance, lies in the absence in ancient days of the host of memoirists, brilliant or otherwise, but always somehow valuable, who make vivid the stories of modern heroes and heroines. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from Cleopatra of Egypt, Antiquity's Queen of Romance The present book may be described as an experiment. I wished to ascertain whether one of the great women rulers of antiquity could not be made as interesting to the general reader as I some of the queens and empresses of more recent times would appear to be, if I may judge by the reception given to their biographies in this country and elsewhere. Among the women of old none seemed a more promising subject than Cleopatra the Great; for, while she is a character of world-wide celebrity and therefore requires no introduction to the most exclusive of readers, she has hitherto been treated almost always as though she were a follower in the train of two of the great personages in Roman history instead of meriting to be considered by herself. Cleopatra appeared to me undoubtedly to furnish a worthy subject for a biography, if sufficient material could be got together to render her life intelligible. One great disadvantage in writing of the Egyptian Queen, as compared with the Empress Josephine, for instance, lies in the absence in ancient days of the host of memoirists, brilliant or otherwise, but always somehow valuable, who make vivid the stories of modern heroes and heroines. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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This beautifully illustrated new biography of Cleopatra draws on literary, archaeological, and art historical evidence to paint an intimate and compelling portrait of the most famous Queen of Egypt. Deconstructs the image of Cleopatra to uncover the complex historical figure behind the myth Examines Greek, Roman, and Egyptian representations of Cleopatra Considers how she was viewed by her contemporaries and how she presented herself Incorporates the author’s recent field work at a temple of Cleopatra in Alexandria Beautifully illustrated with over 40 images

She was the last ruler of the Macedonian dynasty of Ptolemies who had ruled Egypt for three centuries. Highly educated (she was the only one of the Ptolemies to read and speak ancient Egyptian as well as the court Greek) and very clever (her famous liaisons with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony were as much to do with politics as the heart), she steered her kingdom through impossibly taxing internal problems and railed against greedy Roman imperialism. Stripping away preconceptions as old as her Roman enemies, Joyce Tyldesley uses all her skills as an Egyptologist to give us this magnificent biography.

In graphic art format, presents the life of Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt.

Few personalities from classical antiquity are more famous--yet more poorly understood--than Cleopatra VII, queen of Egypt. In this major biography, Duane Roller reveals that Cleopatra was in fact a learned and visionary leader whose overarching goal was always the preservation of her dynasty and kingdom. Roller's authoritative account is the first to be based solely on primary materials from the Greco-Roman period: literary sources, Egyptian documents (Cleopatra's own writings), and representations in art and coinage produced while she was alive. His compelling portrait of the queen illuminates her prowess as a royal administrator who managed a large and diverse kingdom extending from Asia Minor to the interior of Egypt, as a naval commander who led her own fleet in battle, and as a scholar and supporter of the arts. Even her love affairs with Julius Caesar and Marcus Antonius--the source of her reputation as a supreme seductress who drove men to their doom--were carefully crafted state policies: she chose these partners to insure the procreation of successors who would be worthy of her distinguished dynasty. That Cleopatra ultimately lost to her Roman opponents, Roller contends, in no way diminishes her abilities. "Roller tells his tale smoothly and accessibly....The resulting portrait is that of a complex, many-sided figure, a potent Hellenistic ruler who could move the tillers of power as skillfully as any man, and one far and nobly removed from the 'constructed icon' of popular imagination." --The New York Times Book Review "A rich account of late Ptolemaic culture." --The New Yorker "Offers a superb panorama of the society and culture of late Ptolemaic Egypt, with vivid sketches of the (remarkably vigorous) intellectual life of Cleopatra's Alexandria and the structural instabilities of the late Ptolemaic state." --Times Literary Supplement "Besides providing a compelling story and breathing fresh air into a heretofore two-dimensional caricature from history, Roller's 'Cleopatra' provides an interesting commentary on the attitudes still prevalent towards women who rule." --Christian Science Monitor "Compulsively readable." --Bookslut "A definitive account of a queen of remarkable strength." --Publishers Weekly