Description
Book SynopsisFew personalities from classical antiquity are more famous--yet more poorly understood--than Cleopatra VII, queen of Egypt. In this major biography, Duane Roller reveals that Cleopatra was in fact a learned and visionary leader whose overarching goal was always the preservation of her dynasty and kingdom. Roller''s authoritative account is the first to be based solely on primary materials from the Greco-Roman period: literary sources, Egyptian documents (Cleopatra''s own writings), and representations in art and coinage produced while she was alive. His compelling portrait of the queen illuminates her prowess as a royal administrator who managed a large and diverse kingdom extending from Asia Minor to the interior of Egypt, as a naval commander who led her own fleet in battle, and as a scholar and supporter of the arts. Even her love affairs with Julius Caesar and Marcus Antonius--the source of her reputation as a supreme seductress who drove men to their doom--were carefully crafted
Trade ReviewThis is Cleopatra laid bare without any distractions: a good beginning for readers who know little about her and want to learn more. * History Today *
Roller offers a superb panorama of the society and culture of late Ptolemaic Egypt, with vivid sketches of....Cleopatra's Alexandria. * Times Literary Supplement *
Table of ContentsPreface ; Abbreviations ; List of Illustrations ; Introduction ; 1. Cleopatra's Ancestry and Background ; 2. The Ptolemaic Heritage and the Entanglement With Rome ; 3. Cleopatra's Youth and Education ; 4. Becoming Queen (51-47 BC) ; 5. Consolidating the Empire (47-40 BC) ; 6. The Peak Years (40-34 BC) ; 7. The Operation of the Kingdom ; 8. Scholarship and Culture at the Court of Cleopatra ; 9. Downfall (34-30 BC) ; Appendices ; Bibliography ; List of Passages Cited ; Index
