What You Knew About Cleopatra, The Last Egyptian Pharoah (Part 2)

Welcome back, dearest. The story continues

D. Cleopatra Dressed Up As A Goddess To Seduce Mark Antony

Cleopatra was scrambling to get a new ally in Rome after Caesar’s death. Cleopatra knew being a stellar ruler of her kingdom, Egypt, meant having a powerful ally from Rome but who equates to Julius Caesar other than his ally ‘Marcus Antonio,’ also known as Mark Antony. Mark was Caesar’s best friend, as there was no guy code then. Cleopatra knew Mark Antony was a chronic womanizer who was married multiple times, so when it was time to meet him, Cleopatra dressed to impress. When Cleopatra goes to visit a potential suitor, she doesn’t just put on sweat pants. It was time to meet Mark Antony. She sailed on the Nile and went with “A Barge of Golden Poop”. Anyway, Cleopatra was lying on the bed in the golden canopy and dressed like the Roman goddess, Aphrodite, with her servants made up as cupids. Mark Antony, feeling impressed, invited her over, but in true form, Cleopatra demanded that she met him on her boat.

Mark Antony did as told and got impressed by Cleopatra’s charm and intelligence. She was gorgeous and could speak many languages and had a firm command of political and military sciences- she was the full package. An affair was born after that night, but it didn’t cause a scandal.

It wasn’t unusual for one to have an affair in ancient times, but Mark Antony was a womanizer. The man was in his fourth marriage when he met and married Cleopatra. One fact remained that he could divorce his first wife as he had done with the other three. Why?

She was Octavia, sister of Octavian, his arched rival, also known as Augustus: The First Emperor of Rome who had defeated Cleopatra and Antony at the Battle of Actium( September 2, 31 BC).

Octavian:Emperor Augustus

This was an important alliance, and he didn’t want to blow it out, even though he was addicted to his Egyptian side chick. Therefore, Cleopatra had to work hard before she finally got Antony to herself alone.

History says that Cleopatra would pretend to be passionately in love with Antony to keep him around. She even reduced her body through a slender diet. She put on a disguise of rapture whenever he was around and that of melancholy when he was far. In this way, she manipulated him to choose his mistress wife over his lawful wife. After snatching Antony, she took him to Athens and savagely threw Octavia and her kids out of the house.

F. Suicide Either By Opium Cocktail or Snakebite

The story goes that after Cleopatra and Antony lost everything; she committed suicide by having a snake bite her. Claims have it. She hid the snake in a basket of figs and let it nibble on her.

Source: Pinterest; Cleopatra on her deathbed.

To be candid, the truth of her death, no one knows. It was also said that she carried a poisoned hollow comb in her hair. All the same, there was no sign of a poison breakout on her body. Perhaps some guessed that she kicked the bucket by drinking a cocktail filled with opium. Either way, she died at 39.

A life short-lived but feeling accomplished if not the greatest. Her memories world remain unfathomable to many people on Mother Earth till time and tide unending to come.

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