Masters Degrees (Ancient Studies)

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Browsing Masters Degrees (Ancient Studies) by Author "Breytenbach, Malene M."

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    The 'myth' of Cleopatra : a reception-historical study
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 1999-12) Breytenbach, Malene M.; Cornelius, I.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Ancient Studies.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY: Cleopatra VII of Egypt (69-30 BCE) has a protean story. She was a woman of variety, great appeal and passion. She was also an astute politician. Her charisma and eventful life as the "last pharaoh" of Egypt, the last of the Ptolemaic line that assumed power after the death of Alexander the Great, have been described in various histories and tales. She was one of the protagonists at a cataclysmic time in world history, when the Roman empire was expanding. The Greek historian Plutarch included her history in his lives of the great Greeks and Romans as she had captured the emotions of two very powerful Romans, firstly Julius Caesar by whom she had a son named Caesarion, and secondly Mark Antony. The Cleopatra myth was born in the second half of the first century BCE, after the assassination of Caesar. His successors, Mark Antony and Octavian (who was to become Caesar Augustus) were competing for power after having punished Caesar's murderers. At first they divided the Roman world among them. As the most influential and experienced, Mark Antony chose as his arena of power the richest and most important part, the Oriental Mediterranean, the jewel and breadbasket of which was Egypt. He became allied to its queen, Cleopatra, and together they strove to regain the empire of Alexander the Great. Octavian had taken possession of the western part of the Mediterranean which included Rome. As he feared Cleopatra's power, coveted the wealth of Egypt and resented her influence on Antony, he launched a successful and virulent propaganda war against her, before actually declaring war on her and emerging victorious from the struggle. Cleopatra was therefore depicted by ancient writers and historians as a depraved, luxurious and cruel Oriental despot who ruled men by passion and unnatural temptation. She was accused of having emasculated Antony and alienated him from his Roman compatriots. U sing these sources, writers such as William Shakespeare and George Bernard Shaw carried on the negative tradition. So did other authors, as well as the masters of art and fllms. The Cleopatra of popular tradition became an enchantress rather than an ambitious intellectual and astute politician. Her story contained a great deal of disinformation and "myth". She was perceived in history, literature and the visual arts as a symbol on which the creators projected their own views and desires. Her image has been received according to the tradition and "reality" of period and place, as art mirrors values and beliefs.