Cleopatra

69 BCE – 30 BCE · died at about 39^[1][2]

Politics & Leadership

Fun Facts About Cleopatra

• Cleopatra was the first ruler of her Greek-speaking Ptolemaic dynasty known to have learned the Egyptian language. Earlier Ptolemies refused to learn it.^[1]
• According to Plutarch, Cleopatra was smuggled into the palace to meet Julius Caesar bound inside a bed sack.^[1][3][4]
• Sosigenes of Alexandria, a member of Cleopatra's court, helped Julius Caesar with the calculations for the new Julian calendar.^[1][3][4]
• Pliny the Elder claimed Cleopatra once dissolved a pearl worth tens of millions of sesterces in vinegar just to win a dinner-party bet.^[1]
• Ancient writers disagreed about the asp: Plutarch suggested Cleopatra's poison came from a scratching implement, Dio said a needle, and Strabo an ointment.^[1]
• Cleopatra was the first foreign queen on Roman currency, and she almost certainly inspired Caesar to become the first living Roman to put himself on his own coins.^[1][3][4]
• Cleopatra and Julius Caesar were not just contemporaries; they were lovers.^[1][2][3][4]
• Cleopatra was alive at the same time as Ovid — their lives overlapped for 13 years (43 BCE–30 BCE).^[1][2][5][6]

Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and the last active Hellenistic pharaoh. A member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, she was a descendant of its founder Ptolemy I Soter, a Macedonian Greek general and companion of Alexander the Great. Her first language was Koine Greek, and she is the only Ptolemaic ruler known to have learned the Egyptian language, among several others. After her death, Egypt became a province of the Roman Empire, marking the end of the Hellenistic period in the Mediterranean, which had begun during the reign of Alexander.^[1]

Contemporaries

Virgil

39 yr overlap

Horace

35 yr overlap

Augustus

33 yr overlap

Cicero

26 yr overlap

Julius Caesar

25 yr overlap

Ovid

13 yr overlap

Questions About Cleopatra

When was Cleopatra born?

Cleopatra was born in 69 BCE and died in 30 BCE.

How old was Cleopatra at death?

Cleopatra died in 30 BCE at about 39 years old (69 BCE–30 BCE).

What was Cleopatra known for?

Cleopatra was known for: Last active ruler of Ptolemaic Egypt. Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and the last active Hellenistic pharaoh. A member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, she was a descendant of its founder Ptolemy I Soter, a Macedonian Greek general and companion of Alexander the Great. Her first language was Koine Greek, and she is the only Ptolemaic ruler known to have learned the Egyptian language, among several others. After her death, Egypt became a province of the Roman Empire, marking the end of the Hellenistic period in the Mediterranean, which had begun during the reign of Alexander.

Who was alive at the same time as Cleopatra?

Cleopatra's closest contemporary was Virgil. Their lives overlapped for 39 years.