cleopatra VII

This Bas Relief image from Egypt portrays Cleopatra VII as a ruler of her people, idealized and deified as pharaohs before her. ( ~50bc)



This marble bust displays a youthful Cleopatra, but in a more Hellenized context.  Dates to ~ 30bc, and she appears very un-Egyptian here, possibly to sell her more easily to the Roman people?

Here she is played by Liz Taylor in the 1963 Cleopatra, quite the hottie. The intention seems to be to focus on her regality and sex appeal, I would not say this is an accurate representation.

This is an oil painting from 1658 by Guido Cagnacci, and was not terribly well received at the time, but his work has been lauded posthumously.  I just happen to really like this one, where a cluster of concerned and attentive retainers buzzes about.

Horace 1.37

The first part of this poem is a call to celebration for her defeat, which makes a bit of sense, as there was a general fear of her and her lover marc antony coming to power that pervaded the roman people at this time.

He then scorns the intentions and actions of Cleopatra, and those who worked with her with language that suggests a sort of fervid madness that she and her cohorts were seized by, thinking themselves destined for the rule of Rome: "mad ruins" / "shameful disease" / "drunk with fortune".

I really enjoyed the simile that Horace uses to describe Cleopatra here, I think that the imagery is very vivid, and coupled with the language he employs earlier in this poem, manages to portray her as a mad beast on rampage, or having escaped the clutches of the empire, and she must now be pursued and destroyed, put down as one would a beast. Love it.