Cleopatra’s death is shrouded in mystery even today. It is one of those things that will probably always lie in mystery and will never be a real answer. There are many stories, opinions and reactions to her death. But one thing is clear; her death has brought discussion and debate for many years. Who really was this mysterious woman and how did her life of success finally end?
In 32 BCE Cleopatra was declared an enemy of Rome and declared war on her. Their fleet met up with Antony and Cleopatra’s at Actium. Unfortunately the Romans were successful and Cleopatra had to make a hasty retreat back to Egypt as she was worried that Egypt’s officials would try to dispose her. In order to trick the officials she festooned garlands across the prow of her ship in an attempt to suggest she had actually been victorious. Whilst Antony sailed away to Pinatsiuis Scarpus (a place in Africa) in search of allies and reinforcements Cleopatra tried and patch things up.
The first thing Cleopatra did was sent a gold scepter and crown to Octavian. She did this because she was trying to signal to him that if he left her alone she would give him her kingdom. Unfortunately though Octavian decided to respond publicly; he threatened to steal the throne but secretly said to her that if she murdered Antony she would be left alone and allowed to resume her title. Antony found out about this and in Alexandria he attempted a short-lived defense.
This is the twist in the story where it all gets a bit complicated. What happened was that Cleopatra got into her premade coffin in the attempt to hide and trick the Romans? This was a great plan except for the fact that she got to tell Antony of her plan. Because of this Antony committed suicide using a sword as he thought that Cleopatra was actually dead and he could not live without his wife.
There are many ideas on how Cleopatra died however the two most common are that she died from a snake bite from either a cobra or an asp. It is believed that a bite was found on Cleopatra’s body. Apparently Cleopatra got one of her most loyal slaves to get a basket of figs (holding the snake) past the people who checked Cleopatra’s chamber. When Cleopatra put her hand into the basket she was bitten. According to Some specialised doctors the poison would have then travelled through her body, causing excruciating pain, Cleopatra would have had to suffer before dying in order to save her dignity.
The other myth is that Octavian murdered Cleopatra. Many people believe this is wrong because it was announced that Octavian wanted to drag her through the streets in Rome. However it makes more sense that Octavian would have killed her as it would have made his job a lot easier. Octavian could have simply made up propaganda and after hardly any effort his rival would be dead.
The citizens of Rome as well as Egypt had quite interesting reactions to Cleopatra’s death. In particular the Egyptians were really upset when their ruler died as she did a lot for them. In regards to the Romans, as a nation they had mixed reactions. Some believed that Cleopatra was actually helping the Roman Empire and they thought it was good to try and become allies with a country that has such a strong ruler.
Regardless of how Cleopatra died, her death has been controversial throughout history.
In 32 BCE Cleopatra was declared an enemy of Rome and declared war on her. Their fleet met up with Antony and Cleopatra’s at Actium. Unfortunately the Romans were successful and Cleopatra had to make a hasty retreat back to Egypt as she was worried that Egypt’s officials would try to dispose her. In order to trick the officials she festooned garlands across the prow of her ship in an attempt to suggest she had actually been victorious. Whilst Antony sailed away to Pinatsiuis Scarpus (a place in Africa) in search of allies and reinforcements Cleopatra tried and patch things up.
The first thing Cleopatra did was sent a gold scepter and crown to Octavian. She did this because she was trying to signal to him that if he left her alone she would give him her kingdom. Unfortunately though Octavian decided to respond publicly; he threatened to steal the throne but secretly said to her that if she murdered Antony she would be left alone and allowed to resume her title. Antony found out about this and in Alexandria he attempted a short-lived defense.
This is the twist in the story where it all gets a bit complicated. What happened was that Cleopatra got into her premade coffin in the attempt to hide and trick the Romans? This was a great plan except for the fact that she got to tell Antony of her plan. Because of this Antony committed suicide using a sword as he thought that Cleopatra was actually dead and he could not live without his wife.
There are many ideas on how Cleopatra died however the two most common are that she died from a snake bite from either a cobra or an asp. It is believed that a bite was found on Cleopatra’s body. Apparently Cleopatra got one of her most loyal slaves to get a basket of figs (holding the snake) past the people who checked Cleopatra’s chamber. When Cleopatra put her hand into the basket she was bitten. According to Some specialised doctors the poison would have then travelled through her body, causing excruciating pain, Cleopatra would have had to suffer before dying in order to save her dignity.
The other myth is that Octavian murdered Cleopatra. Many people believe this is wrong because it was announced that Octavian wanted to drag her through the streets in Rome. However it makes more sense that Octavian would have killed her as it would have made his job a lot easier. Octavian could have simply made up propaganda and after hardly any effort his rival would be dead.
The citizens of Rome as well as Egypt had quite interesting reactions to Cleopatra’s death. In particular the Egyptians were really upset when their ruler died as she did a lot for them. In regards to the Romans, as a nation they had mixed reactions. Some believed that Cleopatra was actually helping the Roman Empire and they thought it was good to try and become allies with a country that has such a strong ruler.
Regardless of how Cleopatra died, her death has been controversial throughout history.