Dec 4, 2023, 04:27 PM IST
Egypt's famous queen was actually not Egyptian. While she was born in Egypt, she actually traced her origins to Macedonian Greece and Ptolemy I Soter, one of Alexander the Great’s ggenerals.
Known for her beauty and often painted as someone who used her feminine wiles as a political weapon, Cleopatra, as per History.com, may have been renowned for her intellect. She reportedly spoke about a dozen languages and was well-versed in mathematics, philosophy, oratory, and astronomy.
As per some reports, Cleopatra may not have been a beauty in the traditional sense. Historians believe that she had a large pointed nose, narrow lips and a sharp, jutting chin. It was actually Roman historians who painted her as a 'harlot' who used sex as a weapon.
She was married to two of her brothers. Like many royal houses, members of the Ptolemaic dynasty frequently married within the family to preserve the purity of their bloodline. In fact, she herself is believed to be a product of incest.
She reportedly had a hand in the deaths of three of her siblings — including her two brother-husbands, Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy IV.
Cleopatra, as per stories, considered herself a living goddess and would often use clever stagecraft both to reinforce her divine status nd woo potential allies.
She reportedly had herself wrapped in a carpet (or a linen sack) and smuggled into Julius Caesar's personal quarters. There she is said to have dazzled him — making him an ally and her lover.