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Cleopatra of Egypt: from history to myth
Green basanite bust of Julius Caesar
In September 48 BC Julius Caesar arrived at Alexandria. His only serious rival, the Roman general Pompey, had sought refuge there after defeat by Caesar's troops at Pharsalus in Greece. Pompey believed that Cleopatra's brother-husband, Ptolemy XIII, would support him, but, seeking to gain favour with Caesar, the young king's advisors ordered his assassination. Earlier in the year Cleopatra had been forced to flee Alexandria after the same clique had encouraged rivalry between the royal couple. She was poised to try and re-take her realm, but was stopped at Mount Casius by Ptolemy's troops. Meanwhile, one of the advisors, Theodotus, sent Pompey's head and ring to Caesar as tribute.
Caesar entered the city as a conqueror, and summoned both Cleopatra and her brother in order to settle the conflict between them. Though initially cautious, Cleopatra did come to Alexandria, but fearing her brother's spies, in secret by night, and according to Plutarch, wrapped 'in a coverlet'. Caesar and Cleopatra became lovers, famously travelling up the Nile in a display of force, accompanied by huge numbers of Roman troops. At this time their son Caesarion ('little Caesar') was conceived. Caesar moved on to other battlefields and other women, leaving Cleopatra installed as queen of Egypt with three Roman legions to support her. Killed in the fighting, Ptolemy XIII was succeeded by a second younger brother, Ptolemy XIV.
This portrait is most likely an image of Caesar made fifty years or more after his murder in 44 BC. The stone is from Wadi Hamamat in Upper Egypt, and the facial structure, with high cheekbones and prominent chin, is reminiscent of many Egyptian portraits.