Cleopatra

Also known as: クレオパトラ, Kureopatora, Cléopâtre

by Machiko Satonaka

Cleopatra is the ruler who has most inspired poets and artists over the centuries. Her beauty and exotic charm threw the Roman Army into confusion. Her enemies kept depicting her as a corrupter and a vicious ruler, on the other hand, the dignity of her death inspired touching works of art. Cleopatra was the last heiress of Alexander the Great and the last Egyptian Pharaoh. During her private and political life, she had two great love experiences: Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. The death of Cleopatra was fit for a queen: as goddess Isis she’d rather be bitten by an asp than suffer the humiliation to be displayed as a trophy in Rome during the celebration of Octavian, the future Emperor Augustus.