Introduction | Cleopatra and Caesar | Antony and Octavian
War of words and spectacle | The end of the affair
The consequences | Find out more

Cleopatra and Caesar

	Fragment of bas relief, believed to be a rare image of Cleopatra Werner Forman Archive Enlarge Image

In 51 BC, at the age of 18, Cleopatra VII became queen of Egypt at a glorious and elaborate coronation. Her younger brother, the 10-year-old Ptolemy XIII, became her husband and co-ruler. Ptolemaic tradition demanded that rulers marry within the family – the only culture in the world with institutional incest.

Intrigue and murder
Cleopatra came from a long line of intriguers, politicians, pleasure seekers and murderers. Her father Auletes Ptolemy XII styled himself as the 'Divine Father-Loving Wisdom-Loving New Dionysus', though he was better known as 'The Bastard'. Temporarily ousted by his eldest daughter – whom he beheaded on his return – he was returned to power by the Roman general Pompey and a young Roman cavalry commander, Mark Antony.

When Auletes died and Cleopatra and Ptolemy took over, the Egyptian empire they inherited was running out of steam. It had lost many of its territories and was ground down by corruption and greed. The Roman empire had wanted to annex Egypt for a long time. It retained its independence only because the Ptolemies bribed the Romans.

The Ptolemies were unbelievably rich. Descended from one of Alexander the Great's Greek generals – Ptolemy Soter, who took power in Egypt in 321 BC – they had ruled the country as their personal possession for over 250 years. Theirs was the last of the surviving Hellenistic empires – founded in the wake of Alexander and essentially Greek in character. Their customs, administration, gods, language, dress and lifestyle were all rooted in Greek culture, and they had the Hellene appreciation of luxury and learning.

Isis as a Greek prince
Cleopatra was brought up like a cultured Greek prince. She was well educated in maths, science, philosophy and literature. She could ride, sing, fence and speak nine languages (and was the first Ptolemy ever to speak Egyptian). She was shrewd and charismatic, with sound political and economic sense.

She may not have been very pretty. After her death, Octavian set about destroying most of the images of her (until one of her supporters paid him to stop). The surviving ones show her with a large nose and a weak chin. However, like the much later Elizabeth I, she would manipulate her image to make herself seem older or show characteristics of a particular person or goddess.

Right from the start, she united the country (and consolidated her own position) by identifying herself with Egypt. She dressed as the goddess Isis, Egypt's patron. She spoke to – and for – all Egyptians, not just the Greek aristocracy. She was the 'people's pharaoh' and determined to revitalise her empire.

Smuggled to Caesar
In 48 BC, three years after her succession, her brother's advisers ousted her in a coup. While Cleopatra was massing an army on the Egyptian border, Julius Caesar arrived in Alexandria.

Caesar was – in all but name – the undisputed ruler of the Roman empire: a brilliant politician, an excellent soldier, a well-known philanderer. Cleopatra wanted to plead her case to him before her brother could, but it was dangerous for her to enter Alexandria. So she was rolled up in cloths, and smuggled to him. It was a deliberately daring approach, designed to impress and amuse Caesar – and it succeeded.

She landed at dusk, and since she was bound to be spotted otherwise, she got inside one of those bags that are used for holding bedclothes while Apollodurus carried her inside to Caesar. This ruse is said to have opened Caesar's eyes to the side of Cleopatra that was far from innocent and to have made him fall for her.
Plutarch

By the time Ptolemy arrived the next morning, Caesar and Cleopatra had become lovers and she was reinstated as co-ruler. Cleopatra became pregnant and later gave birth to a son, Caesarion. When Cleopatra's younger sister Arsinoe eventually rebelled with Ptolemy, Caesar fought their armies and drove Ptolemy into the Nile where he drowned. Arsinoe was taken in chains to Rome.

Caesar was 53 and Cleopatra was 22. Despite the difference in their ages, they had a great deal in common, and appeared to like and respect each other. But neither of them was the kind of person to miss out on a political opportunity, and their alliance was good for them both. Cleopatra got her throne back, had some of Egypt's territories restored and embarked on a relationship with the most powerful man in the world. Caesar annexed – not for Rome, but for himself – the support of one of the richest women in the world, and the loyalty and control of one of the wealthiest countries.

'That Egyptian woman'
In 47 BC, Caesar returned to Rome where, a year later, he was made dictator and consul. Soon Cleopatra, her son Caesarion and Ptolemy XIV – her new husband and even younger brother – followed.

Caesar never formally committed himself to Cleopatra: he never left his Roman wife nor recognised Caesarion as his son. But he never denied that the child was his; Cleopatra lived in a villa he owned; and his public actions seemed to acknowledge their relationship – for example, he erected a huge gold statue to her in a temple of Venus. He may even have considered establishing Alexandria as the second capital of the empire. It looked as though the Ptolemaic empire was rising once more.

Rome was full of discontent over Cleopatra's presence. Royalty was anathema to the republican Romans; a foreign queen was even worse. The senator and orator Cicero grumbled about 'that Egyptian woman', saying, 'All evil comes from Alexandria.' However, when he met her on the pretence of borrowing a book, he was impressed by her intelligence, though offended by her haughtiness.

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