Cleopatra : A Life

English language

Published 2010

ISBN:
978-0-316-00192-2
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3 stars (1 review)

1 edition

Review of 'Cleopatra : A Life' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Author Stacy Schiff tells us right off the bat that an accurate, complete biography of Cleopatra is just about impossible because of the lack of contemporary documentary evidence. So, a lot of this book is a compare-and-contrast of other historians' viewpoints (many of which are in the vein of "let's undercut the woman, the powerful, wealthy ruler, and paint her as a sexual conniver" - a huge disservice to Caesar and Mark Antony). For too long, history has been controlled by and told by men, but Cleopatra forces us to see otherwise.

The kingdom of Egypt at the beginning of Cleopatra's reign was an wealthy, educated, and generally prosperous land. The city of Alexandria seemed to have surpassed Rome in terms of cultural development. Egypt's riches (spices, gemstones, gold, warships) naturally drew quarreling (and perpetually broke) Roman leaders.

As Schiff points out, Cleopatra must have realized it was in her …