Cleopatra`s Effect on History

The Different Faces of Cleopatra

Sculptures , bust , coins and bas-reliefs are among the artifacts that illustrate the countenance of the powerful Egyptian Queen , Cleopatra She is the seventh Cleopatra of the Ptolemy dynasty and has ruled Egypt in the first century BC . This enumerates some of her different faces and contributions as she influenced several aspects of our history

The intricacies of Cleopatra 's dealings in Egypt , her leadership and fall to her sibling rivals as well as her relations with the Roman empire and love affair with Roman leaders Julius

Ceasar and Mark Antony has made her a famous in the art especially in prose and film . As enumerated by Meadows (2001 , some of the famous artworks which was inspired by her colorful life are Michelangelo 's sketch entitled the "Head of Cleopatra , Guido Cagnacci 's "Death of Cleopatra , Jan Lys "Death of Cleopatra , Guido Reni 's "Cleopatra , Massimo Stanzione 's "Cleopatra " HYPERLINK "http /www .culturalresources .com /images /Octavian2 .jpg " \t "zappy and Octavian rejects Cleopatra by an unknown artist (via culturalresources .com ) among others . Literary pieces have also used Cleopatra as subject which mostly portrays the tragic suicide of Cleopatra by a poisonous snake because of the death of Mark Antony Among the many works about her include Horace Ode 1 .37 , Geoffrey Chaucer 's "The Legend of Cleopatra " and the famous Shakespearean version Antony and Cleopatra Act 5 Scene 2

Since Cleopatra lived in a time of where immense sources of learning and discoveries are available , she was said to be well educated and politically astute . In addition , she learned to speak several languages and was reported to be mature beyond her years . As a great leader of Egypt , she gave a rebirth to an ailing Egypt from her father Ptolemy XII 's reign by pushing rewarding economic reforms and helping Egypt survive a time of draught while safely holding on to power that many rivals are constantly grabbing (Egyptology Online

Stories of the historical beauty of Cleopatra have told how she has used the elements from nature to preserve her beauty and youth . The Aloe extract (Aloe barbadenis ) which is commonly used in anti hemorrhagic treatments , cosmetics , burn ointments and lotions was theorized to have been used by Cleopatra to accentuate her legendary beauty (Gutierrez and Fuller , 2004 . Long before scientific evidence have proved that cucumber has helpful effects as antioxidants due to its vitamin content and soothing power , it is said that Cleopatra has attributed her good looks to a hearty diet of pickles ' and that Roman emperors , among them Julius Caesar , fed pickles to their troops in the belief that they lent physical and spiritual strength (http / HYPERLINK "http /www .nyfoodmuseum .org " www .nyfoodmuseum .org /_ptime .htm . She was also believed to have developed hair care recipes that would prevent hair loss (Viegas , 2004

However , the Queen of Egypt 's physical appearance is still subject to debate and our picture of her is influenced by many films which tell us of her...