Curiosities about Cleopatra – The Queen of Nile
We all love Google for its ability to give us all the information we need. Perhaps, we are interested to read some stuff about our favorite movies, or explore more about Cleopatra – Google has the answer to it all. If we write down The Queen of Nile, Google will show us different pages related to this topic. In the results given we may see information about the river Nile, fun facts about Cleopatra or even some queen of the Nile slot review by Casinovator could appear.
However, if you are reading this today, you are probably very curious to know more about Cleopatra, and here we would like to share with you some things about the Queen of Nile which we hope will be interesting for you.
Cleopatra was not from Egypt
Even though she was popularly known as the Queen of the Nile, Cleopatra had origins heading back to Macedonian Greece and Ptolemy I, one of Alexander the Great’s commanders. Ptolemy was appointed head of the Egyptian empire after Alexander’s death in 323 B.C. Although it was not Egyptian ethnically, Cleopatra was the first Ptolemaic participant to learn the Egyptian language and to take part in the ancient traditions of her family members.
She was involved in the death of three of her brothers
The Ptolemaic tradition was as frequent as intermarriage between family members with power strivings and assassination plots and it was no different for Cleopatra and her brothers and sisters. After trying to seize the throne, her first husband, Ptolomev XIII, expelled her from Egypt. Later, in a civil war that brought him back to the front by teaming with Julius Caesar, the couple would face each other. After the war, Cleopatra remarried her younger brother, Ptolemy XIV, but he is believed to have murdered him in an attempt to make his son co-ruler.
She knew how to make a triumphal entrance
She believed herself to be a living goddess and used to use staging to win over her potential allies and reinforce her status as a deity. One of her most sublime moments would have been her meeting with Mark Antony in 41 B.C. When she was summoned to meet him, she would have arrived in a golden barge adorned with purple sails. Cleopatra was always preparing herself so nicely that she looked amazing as the goddess Aphrodite. She was seated under a golden canopy while people dressed as cupids burned sweet-smelling incense. Mark Antony, who was considered the personification of the god Dionysus, would have been instantly charmed.
Cleopatra had a great sense of humor
Together with Mark Antony, she founded a club called “Inimitable Livers” (a sort of club for drinking). Its members threw noisy parties with a lot of alcohol. The Empress and Mark Antony dressed up in special costumes so that no one would recognize them and wandered around the city at night.
Cleopatra was convinced that scents could be a tool of persuasion
She had her own perfume factory in the vicinity of her residence, and also she had a beauty salon and a spa. The ruins of these rooms were found during excavations.
She studied mathematics, astronomy, oratory, and philosophy
She was the only one that embraced Egyptian religion and was interested in Egyptian culture had become Cleopatra. The Ptolemies did not take special interest in the divine beings and traditions of their citizens before their rule.
She was spending a lot of money on cocktails
Cleopatra spent the equivalent today of $20 million on a cocktail. To make such a drink, she needed a cup of vinegar and a giant pearl. She dropped the stone into the glass and watched it slowly dissolve. After that she calmly drank this unusual drink.
The death of Cleopatra is an eternal mystery
Cleopatra and Mark Antony took their own lives in 30 BC, after Othavian’s forces pursued them to Alexandria. People say that Mark Antony stabbed himself in the stomach, but Cleopatra’s suicide is something misterious. However, it is widely reported that an Egyptian serpent bit her arm.
A 1963 film about Cleopatra was one of the most expensive productions of all time
The Queen of the Nile was portrayed by several Hollywood artists such as Claudette Colbert and Sophia Loren, but she was really made eternal by Elizabeth Taylor’s interpretation in 1963.
The movie was full of storyline and output difficulties and its $4 million budget reached a staggering $44 million. This was the most pricey film ever filmed when it was released and the studio, even though it got rich at the box office, almost went bankrupt. Cleopatra is among the most costly films in history to this day if monetary policy is accounted for.
She led a fleet into naval battle
Together with Mark Antony they had three children, but also resulted in a major scandal in Rome. His rival Octavian – later known as Augustus, the founder of the Roman Empire – reportedly used false advertisements to portray him as a traitor who was under the sway of a seductress. The news soon gained traction and in 32 BC, the Roman senator declared war against Cleopatra.
