Everyone knows Cleopatra. Whether it’s from her rumored beauty, intelligence or her impact, she is a symbol and a relevant character around the world.
Cleopatra was just as influential as she was beautiful, but she was more than just her looks.
Cleopatra, born in 69 BC, became Pharaoh at only 18 years old. While she is seen as a symbol for temptation, she was realistically extremely educated. She was offered education a majority of girls didn’t have access to at the time. She spoke over 9 languages fluently, understanding politics and communication. From the article “What Made Cleopatra Such a Powerful Ruler,” it states, “Throughout her reign, Cleopatra formed partnerships with powerful allies to position herself and her kingdom for maximum advantage. Perhaps her most famous such alliance was with Julius Caesar, with whom she had both a political allegiance and romantic affair, which gave her the military strength she needed to dethrone her brother and seize the Egyptian crown.” This explains how even though she was clever and took pride in her knowledge, she used her reputation and her physically alluring appearance to climb the ladder of authority. She knew how to charm people, specifically men in power.
Some people still only view Cleopatra as some fictional character or for anything other than her true intelligence. In reality, despite her beauty and physical attributes, she was actually a ruthless leader. Unfortunately, many popular movies and TV shows don’t display her true image, leading to misunderstandings and misinterpretation.
Movies and other cinematic pieces need to begin representing the reality of Cleopatra’s history and impact she made on Egypt, even 2,050 years after her reign. For being as important as she is throughout history, the modern depiction of her needs to be more realistic and similar to the past itself.
In sum, Cleopatra was more than just her tantalizing aspects. She was intelligent, successful, educated and still loved by Egypt’s people to this day.
