![]() ![]() In the course of Cleopatra: A Life, the reader comes to understand the complexities of the world Cleopatra lived in through the details Schiff includes in her narrative. ![]() And while she was the consort of two of the most powerful men of her time - Julius Caesar and Mark Antony - and bore their children, Cleopatra found herself poised at the dangerous intersection of women and power, leading Roman historians to write her off as a figurehead and condemn her as a woman of reckless ambition. In addition, she was well educated, the intellectual equal of the men in her circle and their superior in wealth. "What unsettled those who wrote her history," Schiff writes, "was her independence of mind, the enterprising spirit." a commanding woman versed in politics, diplomacy and governance. ![]() First of all, Cleopatra was Greek, not Egyptian - the Greeks ruled Egypt in the first century B.C. While one of the most recognizable figures in history, the Cleopatra we think we know is not the real Cleopatra at all. In her new biography, Cleopatra: A Life, Stacy Schiff argues that the Egyptian queen of gossip and legend, as well as literature and Hollywood directors, is largely inaccurate. ![]() For those of us of a certain age, a cinematic image of a young, violet-eyed Elizabeth Taylor immediately springs to mind. The name Cleopatra evokes an indelible image of a beautiful, wanton temptress. ![]()
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