How Do Roman Depictions Of Cleopatra
To what extent do Roman depictions of Cleopatra appear to have influenced how she has been depicted on TV and in Film?
Mention the name Cleopatra, and most people will think of the character portrayed by Elizabeth Taylor from the 1963 classic film “Cleopatra” - but is she the true depiction of the Queen of Egypt? This essay will be looking at to what extent Roman historians have influenced the way that she has been portrayed in film and TV in the modern age.
Cleopatra VII was the last queen of the Ptolemaic family that ruled Egypt for nearly 300 years. During her reign as Queen she made alliances and had relationships with two of the most powerful men of the world at the time - the leader of the Roman Empire Julius Caesar and later with his designated Consul and right-hand man Mark Antony after Caesar was murdered. She was …show more content…
Lee 2009).
The first time Cleopatra’s story was told on film, she was played by Theda Bara in 1917. Bara portrayed Cleopatra as a sexual predator with a threatening and ominous air. Bara was also depicted as a re-incarnation of Cleopatra, because she favoured playing the role of the sexual manipulator (Holland 1997).
The portrayal of Cleopatra over the following fifty years depicted her as a nonchalant, smiling sophisticated queen to a shrewd stateswoman. But it is still the sexual nature of Cleopatra that more often than not is the central trait of the queen that is portrayed by the modern media. Even in the 21st century she is portrayed as a slave to Rome, to evoke an erotic image of a woman, comfortable using her sexuality as a political
Mention the name Cleopatra, and most people will think of the character portrayed by Elizabeth Taylor from the 1963 classic film “Cleopatra” - but is she the true depiction of the Queen of Egypt? This essay will be looking at to what extent Roman historians have influenced the way that she has been portrayed in film and TV in the modern age.
Cleopatra VII was the last queen of the Ptolemaic family that ruled Egypt for nearly 300 years. During her reign as Queen she made alliances and had relationships with two of the most powerful men of the world at the time - the leader of the Roman Empire Julius Caesar and later with his designated Consul and right-hand man Mark Antony after Caesar was murdered. She was …show more content…
Lee 2009).
The first time Cleopatra’s story was told on film, she was played by Theda Bara in 1917. Bara portrayed Cleopatra as a sexual predator with a threatening and ominous air. Bara was also depicted as a re-incarnation of Cleopatra, because she favoured playing the role of the sexual manipulator (Holland 1997).
The portrayal of Cleopatra over the following fifty years depicted her as a nonchalant, smiling sophisticated queen to a shrewd stateswoman. But it is still the sexual nature of Cleopatra that more often than not is the central trait of the queen that is portrayed by the modern media. Even in the 21st century she is portrayed as a slave to Rome, to evoke an erotic image of a woman, comfortable using her sexuality as a political