Cleopatra

by Ashton, Sally-Ann; Walker, Susan

• ISBN13: 9781853996733
• ISBN10: 1853996734
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-08-25
• Publisher: Bristol Classical Press

Summary

She has that eternally attractive combination of sexual allure, political power -- even divine status -- and personal wealth. She had by any standards an eventful life and an unforgettable death. She very nearly tipped the balance of power at a crucial moment in history: had she and Antony succeeded in maintaining their empire in the east, our cultural life might be very different today. In this concise, readable, well-illustrated book, Susan Walker and Sally-Ann Ashton look at the historical Cleopatra, at images of Cleopatra as a Greek queen and as ruler of Egypt, at contemporary perceptions of her and at how we see her today. We see how Roman propaganda depicted her as a threatening woman with non-Roman qualities of excessive behavior and emotional manipulation, a view that has come down through Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra and forms the basis of our understanding of her over two thousand years later.

Author Biography

Susan Walker is Keeper of Antiquities at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford Sally-Ann Ashton is Assistant Keeper in the Department of Antiquities, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgements	7	(3)
List of Illustrations with Sources	10	(3)
1. From Heroic Suicide to Banknote Icon: Modern Views of Cleopatra	13	(15)
2. The Historical Cleopatra	28	(42)
3. Cleopatra's Royal Image in the Greek and Roman World	70	(10)
4. Cleopatra as Queen of Egypt	80	(40)
5. Coda: The Meaning of Cleopatra's Death	120	(2)
Selected Further Reading	122	(3)
Index	125