case studies Flashcards
1
Q
what are the historiographical areas of debate surrounding Cleopatra VII?
A
- constructions of Cleopatra’s identities and gender
- role as Pharaoh
- the relationship with Julius Caesar, Mark Antony and Octavian
2
Q
what are examples of different historians’ representations of Cleopatra?
A
- ancient Roman writers: foreign, greedy, excessive, deceitful
- female writers: can be either admirers or dislike her
- medieval era writers: excessive, wealthy
- Arab writers: genius, Pharaoh
- Afrocentric writers: of African descent, powerful woman of history
- archaeological sources: not beautiful, intelligent
- Augustan propaganda: royal whore, deceitful
- Romantic writers: femme fatale
- modern female writers: inspirational, powerful, victim of history
- 1934/1945/1963 films: stupid, lustful, deceitful
- modern films: powerful
3
Q
what historical sources are there regarding constructions of Cleopatra’s identities and gender?
A
- archaeological sources: ‘Cleopatra: Last Queen of Egypt’, Joyce Tyldesley
- Boccacio
- Charlotte Bronte
- Algernon Swinburne
- O’Shaughnessy
- Alexander Pushkin
- Plutarch
- Pliny the Elder
- Lucy Hughes-Hallett
- Kara Cooney
- Alberto Angela
- Shelley Haley
- Netflix
- Francine Prose
4
Q
what do archaeological sources say regarding constructions of Cleopatra’s identities and gender?
A
- “Within the wider, more Egyptian Egypt beyond Alexandria, the Cleopatra who graces the temple wall at Dendera (Greek Tentyra) appears as one of a long line of royal women presenting a uniform, age-defying propaganda of immortal queenship”
- “[in 2007], Cleopatra was in the news. A silver coin had been ‘discovered’ in the collection of the Society of Antiquaries at Newcastle. […] The [media sources] were all discussing Cleopatra’s beauty (or rather her shocking lack of beauty) as if she were a modern celebrity”
5
Q
what does Boccacio say regarding constructions of Cleopatra’s identities and gender?
A
- “She was known throughout the world for her greed, cruelty, and excess”
6
Q
what does Charlotte Bronte say regarding constructions of Cleopatra’s identities and gender?
A
- “I calculated that
this lady… was, indeed, extremely well fed” - “She lay half-reclined on a couch, why, it would be difficult to say;”
7
Q
what does Algernon Swinburne say regarding constructions of Cleopatra’s identities and gender?
A
- “Between the beauty of her brows /
And the amorous deep lids divine.” - “Her great curled hair makes luminous / Her cheeks, her lifted throat and chin.”
8
Q
what does O’Shaughnessy say regarding constructions of Cleopatra’s identities and gender?
A
- “A splendid pageantry of all her East / Beauteous and captive,- so she did amass / The riches of each land in that one feast”
9
Q
what does Alexander Pushkin say regarding constructions of Cleopatra’s identities and gender?
A
- “So lustful that she often prostituted herself, and so beautiful that many men bought a night with
her, at the price of their lives.”
10
Q
what does Plutarch say regarding constructions of Cleopatra’s identities and gender?
A
- “For indeed her own beauty, as they say, was not, in and of itself, completely incomparable, nor was it the sort that would astound those who saw her; but interaction with her was captivating, and her appearance, along with her persuasiveness in discussion and her character that accompanied every interchange, was stimulating.”
11
Q
what does Pliny the Elder say regarding constructions of Cleopatra’s identities and gender?
A
- “And so, with Antony eagerly anticipating what she would do, she took [a pearl] off [her earring] and dropped it in [a cup of vinegar], and when it was wasted away she swallowed it.”
12
Q
what does Lucy Hughes-Hallett say regarding constructions of Cleopatra’s identities and gender?
A
- (‘Cleopatra: Queen, Lover, Legend’ 2006):
- “She is ‘the wickedest woman in history’; she is a pattern of female virtue. She is a sexual glutton; she is a true and tender lover who died for her man. She is a royal princess whose courage is proof of her nobility; she is an untrustworthy foreigner whose lasciviousness and cunning are typical of her race. She is a public benefactor, builder of aqueducts and lighthouses; she is a selfish tyrant who tortures slaves for her entertainment. She is as playful as a child; she is as old as sin. She is Cleopatra VII,”
13
Q
what does Kara Cooney say regarding constructions of Cleopatra’s identities and gender?
A
- (‘When Women Ruled the World’, 2018):
- “Cleopatra made sure her arrival in Tarsus was a display of wealth and excess.”
- “We should let ancient history be our guide and let women be our salvations once more.”
14
Q
what does Alberto Angela say regarding constructions of Cleopatra’s identities and gender?
A
- (‘Cleopatra: The Queen Who Challenged Rome and Conquered Eternity’, 2021):
- “The story of Cleopatra is that of a woman capable of influencing the course of history like few others can.”
15
Q
what does Shelley Haley say regarding constructions of Cleopatra’s identities and gender?
A
- “In our Black oral tradition, Cleopatra becomes a symbolic construction voicing our Black African heritage so long suppressed by racism and the ideology of miscegenation.”
16
Q
what does Netflix say regarding constructions of Cleopatra’s identities and gender?
A
- (‘Queen Cleopatra’, 2023):
- “I remember my grandmother saying to me, ‘I don’t care what they tell you in school, Cleopatra was black’.”
17
Q
what does say Francine Prose regarding constructions of Cleopatra’s identities and gender?
A
- (‘Cleopatra: Her History, Her Myth’, 2022)
- “Her life can be seen as a feminist story, if only because it includes so much that women were not supposed to do.”
18
Q
what historical sources are there regarding the role of Cleopatra as Pharaoh?
A
- archaeological sources: ‘Cleopatra: Last Queen of Egypt’, Joyce Tyldesley
- Appian
- Cassius Dio
- Cleopatra’s autograph
- John, Bishop of Nikiu
- Al Mas’udi
- Ahmad Shawqi
- Joyce Tyldesley
- ‘Horrible Histories’
- Katy Perry
19
Q
what do archaeological sources say regarding the role of Cleopatra as Pharaoh?
A
- “She might appear as an Egyptian pharaoh in a portrait intended for an audience of native Egyptians, or in the style of the classical period in a Hellenising portrait bust, or looking very much like Mark Antony in a coin portrait.”
20
Q
what does Appian say regarding the role of Cleopatra as Pharaoh?
A
- “Recently, Cleopatra had been exiled from Egypt, where previously she had ruled with her brother;”
21
Q
what does Cassius Dio say regarding the role of Cleopatra as Pharaoh?
A
- “She won the throne of Egypt by love; hoping to become queen of the Romans by the same method, she failed and lost Egypt as well”
22
Q
what does Cleopatra’s autograph say regarding the role of Cleopatra as Pharaoh?
A
- “originally thought to be a private contract, the document, Minnen demonstrates, is a royal decree”
23
Q
what does John, Bishop of Nikiu say regarding the role of Cleopatra as Pharaoh?
A
- “And this woman, the most illustrious and wise amongst women, died in the fourteenth year of the reign of Caesar Augustus”
24
Q
what does Al Mas’udi say regarding the role of Cleopatra as Pharaoh?
A
- “She was wise, tried her hands at philosophy and was a close companion to wise men”
25
what does Ahmad Shawqi say regarding the role of Cleopatra as Pharaoh?
* "What is surprising is that at the highest, I was daughter and queen of Egypt."
26
what does 'Horrible Histories' say regarding the role of Cleopatra as Pharaoh?
* (with Lady Gaga imagery):
* "Famous pharaoh coming at you"
* "Finest linen robe, top prices"
27
what does Katy Perry regarding the role of Cleopatra as Pharaoh?
* "'cos I'm coming at you like a dark horse"
* "'cos once you're mine, there's no going back"
28
what historical sources are there regarding Cleopatra's relationships with Julius Caesar, Mark Antony and Octavian?
* Augustan propaganda
* Plutarch
* Cassius Dio
* Chaucer
* Shakespeare
* Dryden
* Sarah Fielding
* Horace
* Kara Cooney
29
what does Augustan propaganda say regarding Cleopatra's relationships with Julius Caesar, Mark Antony and Octavian?
* "Indeed, after her death, Augustus instigated a propaganda campaign in which she was slandered as a royal whore [...] Though Augustus wanted to erase all memory of her, the opposite occurred: the myth of Cleopatra was born."
30
what does Plutarch say regarding Cleopatra's relationships with Julius Caesar, Mark Antony and Octavian?
* "But Antony, [...] frequently surrendered his weapons to Cleopatra and was bewitched by her."
* "Cleopatra should have paid Fulvia tuition for schooling Antony to obey a woman, so docile and trained to obey a woman's commands was he when she took him on."
31
what does Cassius Dio say regarding Cleopatra's relationships with Julius Caesar, Mark Antony and Octavian?
* "She met [Octavian] humbly on a mat wearing only a tunic, but when he entered, she leapt up and prostrated herself; her hair was in disarray and her face had a crazed expression, but her voice trembled and her eyes were lifeless."
32
what does Chaucer say regarding Cleopatra's relationships with Julius Caesar, Mark Antony and Octavian?
* "For love of Anthony, that was so dere:- / And this is storial (historial) sooth (truly), hit is no fable."
33
what does Shakespeare say regarding Cleopatra's relationships with Julius Caesar, Mark Antony and Octavian?
* "Antony call: I see him rouse himself / To praise my noble act; I hear him mock / The luck of Caesar, which the gods give men"
34
what does Dryden say regarding Cleopatra's relationships with Julius Caesar, Mark Antony and Octavian?
* "No lovers liv'd so great, or died so well."
35
what does Sarah Fielding say regarding Cleopatra's relationships with Julius Caesar, Mark Antony and Octavian?
* "The famous amours of Antony and Cleopatra... will more effectually impress the fatal Consequences of a mad intoxicated Lover, and a false insinuating Woman, than may be expected from the most admired or accomplished Novels"
36
what does Horace say regarding Cleopatra's relationships with Julius Caesar, Mark Antony and Octavian?
* "for she was clearly an enemy but [Mark Antony], as a citizen, might possibly be reasoned with."
* "Therefore, let no one consider [Mark Antony] a Roman, but rather an Egyptian"
37
what does Kara Cooney say regarding Cleopatra's relationships with Julius Caesar, Mark Antony and Octavian?
* ('When Women Ruled the World', 2008):
* "It was a stroke of political genius to vilify the woman, Cleopatra, all the while allowing Octavian to commit to military aggression against his compatriot with impunity."
