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Cleopatra and Rome

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If you can name one famous woman of the ancient world, it is likely the name will be Cleopatra. "That Cleopatra was the most powerful woman in the ancient world's first century B.C. cannot be contested," writes Diana E. E. Kleiner in _Cleopatra and Rome_ (The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press). Her power was not only political, but as everyone knows, sexual. She also had an enormous intellectual grasp, and she had a flair for style and self-promotion in art, architecture, and fashion that was to be influential to the Rome that had ostensibly conquered Egypt. The influence continued long after her dramatic death and even into our own times. Kleiner is qualified to tackle the Cleopatra story, since she is a professor of art history and classics at Yale. The first half of this erudite but amusing volume is a biography of the queen; the second half chronicles her surprisingly strong postmortem power.

Cleopatra has a reputation as a vamp, but Kleiner says there is no evidence she had affairs with anyone except Caesar, and after his death, Antony. In both cases, the men were smitten by her knowledge, and in Caesar's case, he was inspired by her building projects to make some of his own. Also in both cases, Cleopatra was performing a balancing act to protect the independence of her own nation while supporting the superpower of Rome. Antony's affair with her infuriated Rome, or at least Augustus in Rome was able to manufacture public infuriation, and went to war with Antony and Cleopatra. During the invasion Cleopatra killed herself by means of the famous asp. She probably did so to avoid being a captive in Augustus's Rome. Antony also killed himself, one story saying that he did so upon hearing of Cleopatra's suicide. "Cleopatra's death by asp, reenacted in Augustus's triumph in Rome, was instrumental in elevating her to superstar status," writes Kleiner. Augustus was never Cleopatra's lover, but he was smitten by her. Like Caesar before him, he took up urban renewal, changing the city from one of brick to one of marble. It became fashionable for the moneyed set to commission buildings and paintings in the Egyptian style. One of the most surprising battles which Cleopatra posthumously fought was that of hairstyles. She herself had a style known as the "melon", with waved sections looking more-or-less like the outside of a melon. She often wore over her forehead the _uraeus_, the rearing cobra. From this developed the classical Roman style for women, the _nodus_, a roll of hair over the forehead in pompadour-style. The hairstyle, seen repeatedly in sculptures and paintings of the time, was championed by Octavia, the older sister of Augustus and the wife Antony had abandoned for Cleopatra. Kleiner tells the story of the women and their joint efforts with their hairdressers in a chapter wittily titled "Princesses and Power Hair."

Augustus included Cleopatra in monuments, and allowed himself in depictions in such monuments to be robed in the outfits of the Pharaohs. He was merely taking up Cleopatra's image because of its inherent power. Kleiner calls upon statues, friezes, coins, temples, embossed tableware and more to show how the power game was played in the arts of the time. As befits an art historian's book on such a subject, _Cleopatra and Rome_ is beautifully illustrated with ancient art from the times, as well as interpretations of the events in Cleopatra's life by later artists, and even an obligatory still starring Elizabeth Taylor.

If your looking for a book that examines the precarious relationship between Cleopatra VII and her eternal enemies in Rome; well then, this is the book for you.

Kleiner breaks down Cleo's influnce over Roman art and archiecture after her defeat and ultimate suicide in 30BC. She also presents facinating evidence of Augustus use of Cleopatra's cultural image for the images of himself and his wife, daughter, and sister. This is the first book I know of that finds an implicit connection between Octavian, Cleopatra, Antony, Octavia, and Livia.

It is well researched and well written, and perfect for a student of the Classics or Art history.

Diana Kleiner is a wonderful story teller of history. She brings her excitement and construal of history to life in an interesting and captivating way. The author explains how Cleopatra's story must be gleaned and deduced from indirect evidence because concrete information was destroyed by the victors of history. The common conception of Cleopatra doesn't capture this amazing woman as well as she needs to be remembered. This book captures and draws together many threads of disparate evidence to help understand Cleopatra better - her architecture, her talents as described tangentially by outside sources, her education, her compatriots, her "peers", her lovers, the Egyptian influence in "pop" culture of the times, and the Egyptian influence on history (how Rome gets the credit for many of Cleopatra's/Egypt's influence). A brave, strong and brilliant woman whose beauty came from her character and the experience of her, which was obviously intoxicating and totally enthralling. A great book - interesting, insightful and fun. Thanks.