The Story of Cleopatra in Ancient Egypt
The Story of Cleopatra in Ancient Egypt
Cleopatra was determined to preserve Egypt. Her personal ambitions will show her unwavering love, compassion, and commitment to making Egypt one of the greatest empires man has ever known. Her contributions to Egypt and the world have continued to be discussed and debated over the years.
Cleopatra was born in 69 B.C. in Alexandria, Egypt. Her father King Ptolemy XII had five other children, Cleopatra VI, Berenice IV, Arsinoe IV, Ptolemy XIII, and Ptolemy XIV. Her mother died when she was very young. King Ptolemy eventually remarried, but there are no records of his second wife’s name.
There was not much love between the siblings. They each tried to out shine one another in a kind of race to win power over the throne. Their ambitious guardians, who were eager for their share of royal power, encouraged the fierce competition. As a result Cleopatra on her siblings grew up in an atmosphere of corruption and devious schemes to get to the top.
Cleopatra had an unusually good education. At a very young age Cleopatra was quick and eager to learn, and as she grew older she moved on to more advanced literature, the arts, science and medicine, and the study of languages. She learned the stories and myths of Greek and Egyptian gods and goddess. She picked up bits of Egyptian lore from her female servants. Cleopatra was especially drawn to the Egyptian goddess Isis who was believed to have power over the heaven and earth, but whose greatest appeal was her compassion, mercy and concern for women and children.
The Ptolemy dynasty were of Greek and Macedonian decent, none had a drop of Egyptian blood and none had bothered to learn the Egyptian language. The Princess Cleopatra was the first Ptolemy to learn the native Egyptian language so as to be able to communicate with her Egyptian subjects. She also knew Arabic and Hebrew and could talk to the many Jews who had settled in Alexandria. She was also extremely interested in philosophy, especially the philosophy of governing that sought to justify kingship and to demonstrate how to be a strong yet benevolent ruler.
By the first century B.C. the weakened Ptolemy dynasty was faced with a threat from the Roman Republic. Rome, the capital of...