Customer Reviews

Cleopatra

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Cleopatra is a fascinating figure... renowned as a patron of arts and learning, a gifted linguist, and a canny politicians, she is too often remembered as a sex kitten. Grant cuts thru the myths, pro- and anti propaganda to deliver what is probably the best biography on Cleopatra. Writen by one of the marquee lights of classical history, the book is written in academic style, although for the most part it is highly readable. To be honest, I found the first preliminary chapters to be somewhat slow going, but once the story begins it takes off like a grand soap opera. Not as splashy as some other works on the great queen, this is *the* place to go for a detailed, comprehensive look at Cleopatra.

I'm not a classicist as some of the other reviewers on this site appear to be, but as a layperson I can say that this book was pretty interesting. There are some boring parts, as others noted, but what biography does not have some boring parts? Here's what I found especially interesting:

Grant gives readers a good idea about how most of the chronicles he consulted were written from one perspective or another and thus tended to be sentimentally biased in one direction or another. Grant points out significantly that as "Westerners" we have clung most closely to the "Occidental" version of matters, rather than anything leaning toward the other side, the "Orient." He points out consistently how ancient writers who disliked Cleopatra changed facts around to disparage her, while the opposite was true of those who liked her.

The point being, it seems, that you have to take your history with a grain of salt (just as we do the news from the various modern media). Some reviewers seem to feel that Grant himself is slightly biased, in Cleopatra's favor, but as long as we're aware of it, we can perhaps discern the bias and read other viewpoints to get a well-rounded sense of what actually occurred.

The other interesting point was how many people, mostly men presumably, died during these ancient wars. And how little their deaths accounted for anything. In other words, life was a lot cheaper then than today. In Cleopatra's time, only the top dogs had the sense of individual rights that most of us have today. Is that progress?

Grant's book, of course, is thoroughly documented for those wishing to do further investigation.

Diximus.

for me anyway. I received this book as part of a collection put together on women in history. I had never read much on Cleopatra, which is surprising because since childhood I have read extensively on Ancient Greece and Egypt, but never more than touched on the subject of Cleopatra, so my prior knowledge of her was the legend, ie. the seduction of Julius Caesar, a life of sumptuous life and sensuous extravagance, and eventual suicide.

Mr. Grant's research takes us through what little we know of her as a person, and blends that neatly together with a comprehensive and detailed analysis of the political, religious and social conditions of that time. Some of his suppositions are nothing short of tantalizing. Whether you've read it all or are looking to find a definitive book on Cleopatra, this is the one!

Since reading this book, I have picked up many others on Cleopatra; unfortunately the information is scant. This book has by far been the most satisfying read yet.

This little known biography of Cleopatra VII and her times is magnificent. Grant's book as an attempt at an historical biography of this most famous queen that is not colored by the propaganda that was circulated by Rome and that has persisted even until today, is an unmitigated success. Grant's Cleopatra rings more true to the ear and the mind. Reminding us the Cleopatra was not a beautiful woman (although this belief of beauty has lately been called into question) but a powerful monarch who ruled her country well, was loved by all her subjects and stood toe to toe with Rome when the world was caving to their influence.

He reminds us that Cleopatra and Mark Anthony almost won. That Cleopatra was one of, if not the most educated woman of her time; speaking at least five or six languages of which the most notable was Latin, Greek and she was the first Ptolemy to speak Egyptian. From her birth to her ascension and ultimately her death Grant is spot on. He diligently explains the Egyptian monarchy and government under the Ptolemy's, how this success in government allowed Egypt to be the richest country during its time and how this shaped the outcome of the inevitable stand off with the chronically bankrupt Rome. I loved this book.

There are naturally times in this book when it reads like a soap opera, but this has got to be the most detailed, believable, and scholarly work on Cleopatra I have ever read. Such is the background Mr. Grant gives on her father Ptolemy Auletes, the Roman situation with Egypt, and the Ptolemaic Dynasty for the first half of the book I almost forgot who it was about.

As with most ancient people little is known of Cleopatra's early life, but the author reconstructs it as best he can, and gives us a view into her world and her mind from her early years to her final days. Included, of course, are detailed retellings of her affairs with Caesar and Marcus Antonius, her fiasco of a marriage to her brother, and the common opinion of her held by the Romans, Egyptians, and even the Jews of her period.

This book really repaints the stereotypical image of this fascinating, but indeed deadly woman. She was, of course, not an Egyptian but a Macedonian by birth and a Greek by language and upbringing, and was known not so much for her beauty as for a combination of her magnetic personality, her keen intelligence, and her large, bent nose; this final feature is depicted in all the few contemporary portraits of her.

Overall this is an excellent and scholarly reference to the life of Cleopatra and the Egypt and Rome of her day, and is not at all dry but an absorbing read. Very highly recommended!

When it comes to ancient history, Michael Grant is the greatest! I've read several of his other books and he never fails to amuse and inform. His book on Cleopatra is informative as well as entertaining. Cleopatra was a Greek Macedonian ruler of Egypt with a deep love for culture and powerful men. Her liaisons with Caesar and Antony are very well described, as are her achievements as queen. Mr. Grant is truly the greatest!

Although academic in style and scope, this book is still a rather engaging look at the ancient queen of Egypt. Grant debunks the shallow image of her as a sort of Oriental tramp. Here we see a patriotic leader who tried to establish with a charismatic Marc Antony a system to cooperatively unite the Hellenic and Roman worlds. In fact, there lies the weakness as Grant seems to overestimate Antony's character

I'd read When We Were Gods (Colin Falconer - fiction) and The Memoirs of Cleopatra (Margaret George - fiction) and noticed the similarities in the stories. I wanted to know what was true and what was not. Michael Grant, a doctor of letters with the university of Edinburgh and another UK university, and who apparently reads ancient Greek and Egyptian - insofar as he's read the actual words of Caesar written to Cleopatra and other papyrus manuscripts written during that time - wow!

I couldn't put the book down. He's very clear on what is supposition and what is fact, and when he speculates, he provides substantial reason for that speculation. I was amazed to find so much that seemed to be fiction was actually fact, and I (figuratively) wept at all I wished were fact that is only speculation.

Much of the hypothesis is because as Grant says, the victor - in this case, Octavian - has the ability to stipulate the version of what took place. By destroying much of what was favorable to Cleopatra, we're deprived of information that would give us insight we otherwise lack. And yet, Octavian had a measure of respect for Cleopatra, subsequently leaving enough to give modern day historians (like Grant) enough on which to speculate, authoritatively, in my opinion.

It was such a non-dry book, with enough information for the scholar, yet fascinating enough for those of us who are Cleopatra dabblers. I don't know that it will spark your interest if you read it first, because then it may, in fact, be too dry. So take some perspective into the picture here, in terms of your own need for creative vs authenticity.

Michael Grant's "Cleopatra" tells the story of this most famous of ancient queens and the men and women with whom she shared her life's stage.

The two most renowned men to share her stage were her lovers, Julius Caesar and Marc Antony. Grant presents these liaisons in both their romantic and political dimensions. Cleopatra is depicted as a Greek Egyptian who played Roman politics. Through her interaction with Caesar, Antony and Octavian, this book deals more with the politics of Rome than those of Egypt. The struggle between Cleopatra and Antony on one side and Octavian on the other is presented as the last chance for a Roman Empire based on a parity between Italy and Greece. Octavian's victory ushered in an era of Western supremacy, which would not have occurred if Cleopatra, with her Greek background, had share the throne with Antony. Some of this book's information is gathered from the depiction of the characters on coins of the age.

From this book I learned a lot about Cleopatra and more about Roman luminaries. I liked it more for its Roman dimension than its Egyptian. Where your interests are Egyptian or Roman, this book is a worthwhile read.

All of Grant's books are becoming classics,he is the premier true storyteller,factual and fascinating, all his books are collectible must reads!