welcome to 2010, your first year in Senior Ancient History.
This blog is designed to bge a space for you to post discoveries you make about the subject you are studying. Specifically, it is a plce to include websites, course, travel ideas, conferences and other sites you find while surfing the internet. You can use it to post some of your favourite images or descriptions of the people, palces and events you are studying. In addition, it can be a place to review Hollywood's interpretation of history.
To get you started, I have posted a link to the British Museum - a font of information for the budding ancient historian.
I'm unsure of how to post, so I'm just going to leave a comment on the welcome page. There was a lot of argument today that love didn't exist in the Ancient world, and that people would prefer to be in power then in love. Well, I didn't think that this could be totally true, so I did some research and came across three extremely famous people who created one of the greatest love stories ever told.
ReplyDeleteCleopatra came to throne in 51 BC when she was around 17 or 18 years old, which, in the 21st Century is an extremely likely age for first loves. She was exiled into a Palace Coup three years later, but with the help of Julius Caeser, she regained the throne. When Julius Caeser asked to meet her, she had to roll herself into an Oriental Carpet and be carried into his Palace secretly so she wouldn't be caught by the guards.
The carpet was unrolled by the guards and Cleopatra fell at Caeser's feet. He was immediately intrigued and captivated by Cleopatra's voice, personality and eyes (note: NOTHING is mentioned here that he is captivated by her beauty or body etc.) and Cleopatra soon returned to the throne. They took a two month cruise down the Nile and nine months later, Cleopatra gave birth to their son, Caesarian.
When Cleopatra visited Rome, she was immediately placed in Caeser's villa, even though he was already married. Clealry, he was in a loveless marriage, because he spent so much time with Cleopatra, not his wife. Even though Caeser knew he was angering powerful men, Caeser was to in love with Cleopatra to let her go, and this led to his murder in 44 BC on the steps of the Senate.
After the death of Julius Caeser, Cleopatra fell in love again, this time with Mark Antony, a newer ruler of Rome. Cleopatra gave birth to Antony's twins, and Antony went back to Rome and married his co-emperor's (Octavian's) sister. However, this was yet another loveless marriage, and Antony realised he couldn't live without Cleopatra, so he went back to Egypt to live with her. Cleopatra and Antony were married (FOR LOVE) in 36 BC.
When Antony didn't return to Rome, Octavian invaded Alexandria in 30 BC. On the verge of battle, Antony's fleet went over to the Roman side, and Antony fled to Alexandria to be with Cleopatra. Thinking that Cleopatra was dead, he stabbed himself, but when he learnt that she was alive, he had one of his guards carry him to Cleopatra, so that he would die in her arms and she would be the last person he would ever see before he died, because he LOVED her.
Octavian captured the Egyptian Queen, and wanted to keep her as his prize. He had his guards keep a constant watch on her so that she could not commit suicide. Cleopatra arranged for a servant to smuggle in a poison which she drank, and before she died, she wrote Octavian a letter, askingto be bruied next to Antony, te man she loved.
Queen Cleopatra died at the age of 39, and she was buried with Mark Antony, leaving behind one of the greatest love stories ever known.
I probably just got most of that wrong, and someone is probably laughing at me right now while they read this, but if I'm right, then I just proved a lot of people wrong by showing that love has existed for thousands of years, AND existed in people in power.
Sorry, forgot to reference. That comment information came from http://www.travelinstyle.com/egypt/cleo_antony_Caesar.html
ReplyDeleteBut was it love? Or was Cleopatra just so politically astute that she saw both Julius Caesar and Antony as the only way she could remain Queen of Egypt and possibly become Queeen of Rome?
ReplyDeleteI had a similar idea as Ms O'Neill-
ReplyDeleteclearly Cleopatra was very clever politically, and from what I have read, she seems to have known what she was doing every step of the way. I think she was determined to increase her power, and 'sleeping (or romancing) her way to the top' or using her womanly charms to entice men in power - if you will - has helped many politicians in any context (ancient, modern, Egyptian, Australian, British..) you look at, really.
No offense to any politicians out there, but I'm pretty sure it's considered a fact.
However, maybe you're right and she was truly, madly, deeply in love with these two men. Too bad we can't get it directly out of her mouth, right?
I know this is months later but I was jut browsing through the blog and wanted to pose a question to Caitlin.
ReplyDeleteWhat makes you so sure that Cleopatra "falling in love" with two very powerful Roman Emperors was a coincidence?