Cleopatra's Daughter

Cleopatra's Daughter
Author: Michelle Moran
Publisher: Crown
Total Pages: 438
Release: 2009-09-15
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0307462382

The incredible untold story of the children of Cleopatra, Egypt’s most powerful and notorious ruler—a novel that “brims over with rich details of Roman life, historical personages, and political turmoil” (Romantic Times)—from the internationally bestselling author of Nefertiti “Fast-paced, intriguing, and beautifully written.”—The Boston Globe The marriage of Marc Antony and Cleopatra is one of the greatest love stories of all time. Feared and hunted by the powers in Rome, the lovers choose to die by their own hands as the triumphant armies of Antony’s rival, Octavian, sweep into Egypt. When their orphaned children are taken in chains to Rome, only two—the ten-year-old twins Selene and Alexander—survive the journey. As they come of age, they are buffeted by the personal ambitions of Octavian’s family and court, by the ever-present threat of slave rebellion, and by the longings deep within their own hearts. Recounted in Selene’s youthful and engaging voice, Michelle Moran introduces a compelling cast of historical characters: Octavia, the emperor Octavian’s kind and compassionate sister, abandoned by Marc Antony for Cleopatra; Livia, Octavian’s bitter and jealous wife; Marcellus, Octavian’s handsome, flirtatious nephew and heir apparent; Tiberius, Livia’s sardonic son and Marcellus’s great rival for power; and Juba, Octavian’s watchful aide, whose honored position at court has far-reaching effects on the lives of the young Egyptian royals. Based on meticulous research, Cleopatra’s Daughter is a fascinating portrait of imperial Rome and of the people and events of this most tumultuous period in human history. Emerging from the shadows of the past, Selene must confront the same forces that destroyed her mother and struggle to meet a different fate.

Cleopatra's Daughter: From Roman Prisoner to African Queen

Cleopatra's Daughter: From Roman Prisoner to African Queen
Author: Jane Draycott
Publisher: Liveright Publishing
Total Pages: 322
Release: 2023-05-23
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1324092602

The first modern biography of one of the most influential yet long-neglected rulers of the ancient world: Cleopatra Selene, daughter of Antony and Cleopatra. “A vibrant, fascinating portrait of a great woman who deserves her place in the pantheon of Roman queens.” —Emma Southon As the only daughter of Roman Triumvir Marc Antony and Egyptian Queen Cleopatra VII, Cleopatra Selene was expected to uphold traditional feminine virtues; to marry well and bear sons; and to legitimize and strengthen her parents’ rule. Yet with their parents’ deaths by suicide, the princess and her brothers found themselves the inheritors of Egypt, a claim that placed them squarely in the warpath of the Roman emperor. “Supported by a feast of visual and literary references” (Caroline Lawrence), Cleopatra’s Daughter reimagines the life of Cleopatra Selene, a woman who, although born into Egyptian royalty and raised in her mother’s court, was cruelly abandoned and held captive by Augustus Caesar. Creating a narrative from frescos and coinage, ivory dolls and bronzes, historian and archaeologist Jane Draycott shows how Cleopatra Selene navigated years of imprisonment on Palatine Hill—where Octavia, the emperor’s sister and Antony’s fourth wife, housed royal children orphaned in the wake of Roman expansion—and emerged a queen. Despite the disrepute of her family, Cleopatra Selene in time endeared herself to her captors through her remarkable intellect and political acumen. Rather than put her to death, Augustus wed her to the Numidian prince Juba, son of the deposed regent Juba I, and installed them both as client rulers of Mauretania in Africa. There, Cleopatra Selene ruled successfully for nearly twenty years, promoting trade, fostering the arts, and reclaiming her mother’s legacy—all at a time, Draycott reminds us, when kingship was an inherently male activity. A princess who became a prisoner and a prisoner who became a queen, Cleopatra Selene here “finally attains her rightful place in history” (Barry Strauss). A much-needed corrective, Cleopatra’s Daughter sheds new and revelatory light on Egyptian and Roman politics, society, and culture in the early days of the Roman Empire.

The Cleopatras

The Cleopatras
Author: Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones
Publisher: Basic Books
Total Pages: 271
Release: 2024-05-21
Genre: History
ISBN: 1541602935

The definitive story of the seven Cleopatras, the powerful goddess-queens of ancient Egypt One of history’s most iconic figures, Cleopatra is rightly remembered as a clever and charismatic ruler. But few today realize that she was the last in a long line of Egyptian queens who bore that name. In The Cleopatras, historian Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones tells the dramatic story of these seven incomparable women, vividly recapturing the lost world of Hellenistic Egypt and tracing the kingdom’s final centuries before its fall to Rome. The Cleopatras were Greek-speaking descendants of Ptolemy, the general who conquered Egypt alongside Alexander the Great. They were closely related as mothers, daughters, sisters, half-sisters, and nieces. Each wielded absolute power, easily overshadowing their husbands or sons, and all proved to be shrewd and capable leaders. Styling themselves as goddess-queens, the Cleopatras ruled through the canny deployment of arcane rituals, opulent spectacles, and unparalleled wealth. They navigated political turmoil and court intrigues, led armies into battle and commanded fleets of ships, and ruthlessly dispatched their dynastic rivals. The Cleopatras is a fascinating and richly textured biography of seven extraordinary women, restoring these queens to their deserved place among history’s greatest rulers.

Cleopatras

Cleopatras
Author: John Whitehorne
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 264
Release: 2002-03-11
Genre: History
ISBN: 1134932162

Although there are many books written about the most famous Cleopatra, this is the only study in English devoted to her less well-known but equally illustrious namesakes. Cleopatras traces the turbulent lives and careers of these historically important women, examining in particular the earlier Macedonian and Ptolemaic Cleopatras, and the impact of their dynastic marriages on the history of the Hellenistic world. John Whitehorne also evaluates current views of Cleopatra VII's dramatic suicide, and considers the evolving political significance of royal women in the last three centuries BC. Clearly and engagingly written, Cleopatras reveals the true significance to the ruling dynasties of the 34 known Cleopatras who were not Cleopatra the Great, and illuminates some fascinating but little-known aspects of ancient Greek and Egyptian history along the way.

Cleopatra's Daughter

Cleopatra's Daughter
Author: Jane Draycott
Publisher: National Geographic Books
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2023-04-18
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1324092599

The first biography of one of the most fascinating yet long-neglected rulers of the ancient world: Cleopatra Selene, daughter of Antony and Cleopatra. Years ago, archaeologists excavating near Pompeii unearthed a hoard of Roman treasures, among them a bowl depicting a woman with thick, curly hair and sporting an elephant-scalp headdress. For decades, theories circulated about her identity—until, at last, she was ascertained to be Cleopatra Selene, the only surviving daughter of Roman Triumvir Marc Antony and Egyptian Queen Cleopatra VII. Using this discovery as her starting point and creating a narrative from mere fragments in the archaeological record, historian Jane Draycott reconstructs the exceptional life of this woman who, although born into royalty and raised in her mother’s court, was held captive by Augustus Caesar and his sister, Octavia, after her parents’ demise. Yet as Draycott shows, Cleopatra Selene was destined to emerge as an influential ruler in her own right, as queen, alongside King Juba II, of Mauretania, an ancient African kingdom. A long-overdue historical corrective, Cleopatra’s Daughter reclaims a mighty regent—and her infamous family—for posterity.

Antony and Cleopatra

Antony and Cleopatra
Author: Pat Southern
Publisher: Amberley Publishing
Total Pages: 194
Release: 2009
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 1848683243

The tragic love affair of Marc Antony and Cleopatra is a staple of popular ancient history, immortalised by Shakespeare and Hollywood and mercilessly parodied in Carry on Cleo. In this dual biography Patricia Southern attempts to rescue both from the stereotypes, portraying their alliance as a mutually advantageous one, and both of them as capable political operators. Southern has a flair for this kind of narrative-history-with-argument, but she has already written extensively on both Antony and Cleopatra as well as Caesar, and for those who have read those earlier books there will be little new here.

Cleopatra

Cleopatra
Author: Xina M. Uhl
Publisher: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc
Total Pages: 50
Release: 2017-07-15
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 1680486373

Cleopatra is one of the most dynamic figures of ancient history—a powerful, brilliant queen whose cunning, ambition, and boldness not only brought her to Egypt’s throne but also into alliances and conflicts with Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, and the Roman Empire itself. Although her desperate bid for power may have ended in tragedy, it fueled centuries of stories about her. Cleopatra’s life and legacy are illuminated in this attractive, eye-catching guide chock-full with lively prose, impeccable research, and engaging features. Learn about a woman whose real life story rivals the most exciting works of fiction.

Women in the Ancient Mediterranean World

Women in the Ancient Mediterranean World
Author: Guy D. Middleton
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 315
Release: 2023-01-31
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1108481132

This book recounts the fascinating lives of thirty real women of the ancient Mediterranean from the Palaeolithic to the Byzantines. Accessible, engagingly written and up-to-date in its scholarship, it will be key reading for students and researchers in Ancient History, Archaeology and Mediterranean Studies, as well as in Women's History.