Cleopatra VII

Cleopatra, more specifically known as Cleopatra VII, was the daughter and successor of King Ptolemy Auletes of Egypt. Cleopatra was born in 68 BCE and died at the age of 38 when she committed suicide, according to Plutarch, by allowing herself to be bitten by an asp. Famous for her ambition and for her sexual charms, she had relationships with Julius Caesar, who helped her defeat a rebellion, and after Caesar's death, with Marc Antony, with whom she attempted to challenge the rule of the Roman Empire in the eastern Mediterranean. Chaucer includes a brief version of Cleopatra's life in The Legend of Good Women (lines 580-705), in which he emphasizes her love for Antony and her despair when his fleet is defeated by Octavian. Chaucer's sympathetic treatment of her character is highly unusual for the time in which it was written. In the middle Ages, when the civilization of Rome was considered superior to those of the Middle East and when women were routinely suspected of manipulating men for their own ends, Cleopatra became a symbol of uncontrolled sexual appetite coupled with unauthorized ambition. For this reason, some scholars feel that Chaucer's treatment of Cleopatra is ironic. It does, however, fit with the trend displayed elsewhere in the Legend, of ignoring the less flattering details of a woman's life in order to create a sympathetic portrait. Chaucer's story of Medea, whose murder of her own children goes unmentioned, is a case in point. Cleopatra is also mentioned in The Parliament of Fowls as one of Love's martyrs.

Cleopatra was undoubtedly a very stubborn woman and would do anything for his kingdom. She was the last queen of Egypt between 51 and 30 BC Cleopatra was born in 69 BC and is the daughter of Ptolemy XII. Its name means "the glory of his father." His greatest wish is to restore the greatness of Egypt against the Roman Empire more powerful.

On the death of her father, she married her half-brother and ascended the throne under the name of Cleopatra VII. Alas, it soon pushed from power, his brother tried to kill him and rule alone. Cleopatra fled to Syria. But the Queen had not said its last word. Using his charm, intelligence and sophistication, she convinces Caesar, who was preparing to invade his kingdom, to give him the throne of Egypt. Subsequently, a son of Cleopatra will be called Caesarian Caesar. ...