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Cleopatra (character of Rome)
Encyclopedia
Cleopatra is a character from the HBO/BBC
original television series Rome
, played by Lyndsey Marshal
from October 16, 2005 through March 25, 2007. The basis for this character is the famous historical Egypt
ian Queen
Cleopatra VII.
by purposely impregnating herself before an encounter with him to ensure a birth that she hopes will give her political clout in Rome. Later, her alliance with Mark Antony
and her support of his conflict with Octavian
ultimately lead to her undoing.
Cleopatra sometimes looks to her servant and advisor, Charmian, for affection and guidance; the women are affectionate, but the mistress-slave relationship remains clear.
and Titus Pullo
on the orders of Caesar, Cleopatra attempts to seduce Vorenus for her own personal agenda. Turned down by Vorenus who remains faithful to his wife, she instead beds Pullo. Later, Caesar and Cleopatra's son is named Caesarion, but it is implied that he may actually be the son of Pullo.
In Son of Hades
(2007), Cleopatra comes to Rome after Caesar's death, and Mark Antony
dismisses her request for public acknowledgement of Caesar's son Caesarion with derision, but is very physically attracted to her. Leaving Antony, Cleopatra comes face to face with Pullo, and they share an awkward look. Though Antony has assured his paramour, Atia of the Julii
, that Caesar's former mistress is unappealing, a jealous Atia is threatened by the presence of the Egyptian Queen. Later, at a party for the Egyptians, Atia is unimpressed with Cleopatra, but sees that she has an incredible appeal, for she stares at her in fear for the better part of the dinner. She feels the queen is beneath her, but sees her as a threat also, hence: as Cleopatra is leaving, Atia whispers in her ear, "Die screaming you pigspawn trollop."
Cleopatra reappears in A Necessary Fiction
(2007), when Antony is forced by Octavian
to relocate to Egypt, leaving Atia and new wife Octavia
in Rome. Arriving at the palace, he looks at an alluring Cleopatra with the sames eyes as before.
Years later in the next episode, Deus Impeditio Esuritori Nullus
(2007), Antony and Cleopatra are in Egypt raising their own twins, Helios and Selene; she urges him to declare war on Rome to free himself once and for all from Octavian's tyranny. Antony is hesitant, knowing that an attack on Rome would strip him of the people's devotion, the one thing that Octavian does not have. When Antony refuses Octavian's request for increased grain supplies for a starving Rome, Octavian sends his sister Octavia and mother Atia to intervene. Antony insists to a jealous Cleopatra that he no longer loves Atia, but Cleopatra intends to publicly flaunt their love in front of the Roman women or kill them; trying to prevent Atia's humiliation or murder, Antony has his wife and former lover sent away without seeing them.
In the 2007 series finale, De Patre Vostro (About Your Father)
, Antony has lost the Battle of Actium
to Octavian, who seeks Antony's personal surrender or he will burn the palace to the ground with everyone inside. Cleopatra hopes for some alternate solution, but to Antony the only way out of the situation is suicide. Octavian makes a secret offer to Cleopatra: she can keep her life and her crown in exchange for allowing his men into the palace to take Antony. She is genuinely torn between her love for Antony, her duty as queen and her personal honor. She and Antony agree to die by their own hands, but with Charmian's help Cleopatra later fakes her own suicide, prompting Antony to kill himself.
Meanwhile, both Pullo and Vorenus believe that Caesarion is actually Pullo's son, and Cleopatra herself soon confirms this. Vorenus manages to smuggle Caesarion out of the palace as Octavian takes over, knowing Octavian will murder the boy to cement his position as Caesar's heir. Cleopatra, realizing that Octavian only wants her as a trophy and will never let her keep her throne, foils him by allowing a venomous snake to bite her. "You have a rotten soul," she gasps to Octavian, and expires.
Octavian asks Octavia to raise Antony and Cleopatra's twins, and she accepts. Pullo brings Caesarion to Rome under the name Aeneas, and tells Octavian that he has murdered the boy. The series ends with the indication that Pullo is about to tell Caesarion that he is in fact his father.
's death; she was actually living in Rome when he was assassinated in 44 BC
and immediately left upon his murder, never to return. Cleopatra met Mark Antony
in Tarsus
in 41 BC
.
The historical timeline has also been manipulated in the series. Cleopatra and Antony had their twin son and daughter, Alexander Helios
and Cleopatra Selene
, in 40 BC
before he married Octavia Minor
. When he later left Rome, he settled in Athens
, Greece
with Octavia, and they had two daughters. He ultimately left his wife in Greece and reunited with Cleopatra in Egypt
; he and Cleopatra subsequently had their third child, Ptolemy Philadelphus
(whose existence is not acknowledged in the series).
The scenes where Cleopatra schemes to give birth to "Caesar"'s child by seducing Vorenus or Pullo, gives color to the historical debate about who Caesarion
's true father was. After he was born, Cleopatra openly declared that he was Caesar's child, while several of her political enemies, including Octavian, sought to prove otherwise. According to historian Michael Grant
, there is at least one potent argument in favor of each side:
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
original television series Rome
Rome (TV series)
Rome is a British-American–Italian historical drama television series created by Bruno Heller, John Milius and William J. MacDonald. The show's two seasons premiered in 2005 and 2007, and were later released on DVD. Rome is set in the 1st century BC, during Ancient Rome's transition from Republic...
, played by Lyndsey Marshal
Lyndsey Marshal
Lyndsey Marshal is an English actress best known for her performance in The Hours as the recurring character Cleopatra on HBO's Rome, and as Lady Sarah Hill in BBC period drama Garrow's Law.-Biography:...
from October 16, 2005 through March 25, 2007. The basis for this character is the famous historical Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian Queen
Queen regnant
A queen regnant is a female monarch who reigns in her own right, in contrast to a queen consort, who is the wife of a reigning king. An empress regnant is a female monarch who reigns in her own right over an empire....
Cleopatra VII.
Personality
Strong and sexual, Cleopatra works hard to be everything to nearly everyone especially those in power. Although addicted to opium she has enough will to set plans in motion to secure her foothold on Julius CaesarGaius Julius Caesar (character of Rome)
Gaius Julius Caesar is a historical figure who features as a character in the HBO/BBC2 original television series Rome, played by Irish actor Ciarán Hinds...
by purposely impregnating herself before an encounter with him to ensure a birth that she hopes will give her political clout in Rome. Later, her alliance with Mark Antony
Mark Antony (character of Rome)
Mark Antony is a historical figure who features as a character in the HBO/BBC2 original television series Rome, played by James Purefoy. Like the real Mark Antony he was a Roman general and politician and a close supporter of Julius Caesar.- Season 1 :...
and her support of his conflict with Octavian
Gaius Octavian (character of Rome)
Gaius Octavian is a character in the HBO/BBC2 original television series Rome, played by Max Pirkis as a child in season one and the beginning of season two, and in the rest of the second season he is played by Simon Woods. He is portrayed as a shrewd, if somewhat cold, young man, with an...
ultimately lead to her undoing.
Cleopatra sometimes looks to her servant and advisor, Charmian, for affection and guidance; the women are affectionate, but the mistress-slave relationship remains clear.
Character history
Opium-addicted Cleopatra Selene Philopator is introduced in the episode Caesarion (2005), put in exile by her brother Ptolemy XIII in Egypt. Tracked down by Lucius VorenusLucius Vorenus (character of Rome)
Lucius Vorenus is a semi-fictional character in the British-Italian-American historical drama television series Rome, a show about the fall of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire. Played by Scottish actor Kevin McKidd in the series, Lucius Vorenus is introduced as a main character...
and Titus Pullo
Titus Pullo (character of Rome)
Titus Pullo is a fictional character from the HBO/BBC original television series Rome, played by Ray Stevenson. He is depicted as a hedonistic, devil-may-care soldier who discovers hidden ideals and integrity within himself...
on the orders of Caesar, Cleopatra attempts to seduce Vorenus for her own personal agenda. Turned down by Vorenus who remains faithful to his wife, she instead beds Pullo. Later, Caesar and Cleopatra's son is named Caesarion, but it is implied that he may actually be the son of Pullo.
In Son of Hades
Son of Hades
"Son of Hades" is the second episode of the second season of the television series Rome.-Plot summary:With Erastes Fulmen gone, the Aventine is up for grabs, and rival gangs have taken to the streets in a struggle for control, stabbing each other in the open markets.Having surrendered to his grief,...
(2007), Cleopatra comes to Rome after Caesar's death, and Mark Antony
Mark Antony (character of Rome)
Mark Antony is a historical figure who features as a character in the HBO/BBC2 original television series Rome, played by James Purefoy. Like the real Mark Antony he was a Roman general and politician and a close supporter of Julius Caesar.- Season 1 :...
dismisses her request for public acknowledgement of Caesar's son Caesarion with derision, but is very physically attracted to her. Leaving Antony, Cleopatra comes face to face with Pullo, and they share an awkward look. Though Antony has assured his paramour, Atia of the Julii
Atia of the Julii
Atia of the Julii is a fictional character from the HBO/BBC/RAI original television series Rome, played by Polly Walker. The niece of Julius Caesar and mother of Octavian/Augustus and Octavia, she is depicted as a cheerfully amoral and opportunistic manipulator...
, that Caesar's former mistress is unappealing, a jealous Atia is threatened by the presence of the Egyptian Queen. Later, at a party for the Egyptians, Atia is unimpressed with Cleopatra, but sees that she has an incredible appeal, for she stares at her in fear for the better part of the dinner. She feels the queen is beneath her, but sees her as a threat also, hence: as Cleopatra is leaving, Atia whispers in her ear, "Die screaming you pigspawn trollop."
Cleopatra reappears in A Necessary Fiction
A Necessary Fiction
"A Necessary Fiction" is the eighth episode of the second season of the television series Rome. The air date is March 11, 2007.-Plot summary:...
(2007), when Antony is forced by Octavian
Gaius Octavian (character of Rome)
Gaius Octavian is a character in the HBO/BBC2 original television series Rome, played by Max Pirkis as a child in season one and the beginning of season two, and in the rest of the second season he is played by Simon Woods. He is portrayed as a shrewd, if somewhat cold, young man, with an...
to relocate to Egypt, leaving Atia and new wife Octavia
Octavia of the Julii
Octavia of the Julii is a fictional character in the HBO/BBC2 original television series Rome, played by Irish actress Kerry Condon. The character is based on the Roman matron Octavia Thurina Minor, sister of Roman Emperor Augustus.-Season One:...
in Rome. Arriving at the palace, he looks at an alluring Cleopatra with the sames eyes as before.
Years later in the next episode, Deus Impeditio Esuritori Nullus
Deus Impeditio Esuritori Nullus (No God Can Stop a Hungry Man)
"Deus Impeditio Esuritori Nullus" is the ninth episode of the second season of the television series Rome. The air date is March 18, 2007...
(2007), Antony and Cleopatra are in Egypt raising their own twins, Helios and Selene; she urges him to declare war on Rome to free himself once and for all from Octavian's tyranny. Antony is hesitant, knowing that an attack on Rome would strip him of the people's devotion, the one thing that Octavian does not have. When Antony refuses Octavian's request for increased grain supplies for a starving Rome, Octavian sends his sister Octavia and mother Atia to intervene. Antony insists to a jealous Cleopatra that he no longer loves Atia, but Cleopatra intends to publicly flaunt their love in front of the Roman women or kill them; trying to prevent Atia's humiliation or murder, Antony has his wife and former lover sent away without seeing them.
De Patre Vostro (About Your Father)
"De Patre Vostro" is the tenth and final episode of the second season of the television series Rome. It originally aired on March 25, 2007....
, Antony has lost the Battle of Actium
Battle of Actium
The Battle of Actium was the decisive confrontation of the Final War of the Roman Republic. It was fought between the forces of Octavian and the combined forces of Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII. The battle took place on 2 September 31 BC, on the Ionian Sea near the city of Actium, at the Roman...
to Octavian, who seeks Antony's personal surrender or he will burn the palace to the ground with everyone inside. Cleopatra hopes for some alternate solution, but to Antony the only way out of the situation is suicide. Octavian makes a secret offer to Cleopatra: she can keep her life and her crown in exchange for allowing his men into the palace to take Antony. She is genuinely torn between her love for Antony, her duty as queen and her personal honor. She and Antony agree to die by their own hands, but with Charmian's help Cleopatra later fakes her own suicide, prompting Antony to kill himself.
Meanwhile, both Pullo and Vorenus believe that Caesarion is actually Pullo's son, and Cleopatra herself soon confirms this. Vorenus manages to smuggle Caesarion out of the palace as Octavian takes over, knowing Octavian will murder the boy to cement his position as Caesar's heir. Cleopatra, realizing that Octavian only wants her as a trophy and will never let her keep her throne, foils him by allowing a venomous snake to bite her. "You have a rotten soul," she gasps to Octavian, and expires.
Octavian asks Octavia to raise Antony and Cleopatra's twins, and she accepts. Pullo brings Caesarion to Rome under the name Aeneas, and tells Octavian that he has murdered the boy. The series ends with the indication that Pullo is about to tell Caesarion that he is in fact his father.
Comparison with the historical Cleopatra
Historically, Cleopatra did not come to Rome after CaesarJulius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
's death; she was actually living in Rome when he was assassinated in 44 BC
44 BC
Year 44 BC was either a common year starting on Sunday or Monday or a leap year starting on Friday or Saturday of the Julian calendar and a common year starting on Sunday of the Proleptic Julian calendar...
and immediately left upon his murder, never to return. Cleopatra met Mark Antony
Mark Antony
Marcus Antonius , known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general. As a military commander and administrator, he was an important supporter and loyal friend of his mother's cousin Julius Caesar...
in Tarsus
Tarsus (city)
Tarsus is a historic city in south-central Turkey, 20 km inland from the Mediterranean Sea. It is part of the Adana-Mersin Metropolitan Area, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in Turkey with a population of 2.75 million...
in 41 BC
41 BC
Year 41 BC was either a common year starting on Wednesday or Thursday or a leap year starting on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday of the Julian calendar and a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Proleptic Julian calendar...
.
The historical timeline has also been manipulated in the series. Cleopatra and Antony had their twin son and daughter, Alexander Helios
Alexander Helios
Alexander Helios was a Ptolemaic prince and was the eldest son of Greek Ptolemaic queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt and Roman triumvir Mark Antony. His twin was Cleopatra Selene II. He was of Greek and Roman heritage. Cleopatra named him Alexander in honour of her Macedonian heritage, and after her...
and Cleopatra Selene
Cleopatra Selene (II)
Cleopatra Selene II , also known as Cleopatra VIII of Egypt or Cleopatra VIII was a Ptolemaic Princess and was the only daughter to Greek Ptolemaic queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt and Roman triumvir Mark Antony. She was the fraternal twin of Ptolemaic prince Alexander Helios...
, in 40 BC
40 BC
Year 40 BC was either a common year starting on Thursday, Friday or Saturday or a leap year starting on Thursday or Friday of the Julian calendar and a common year starting on Friday of the Proleptic Julian calendar...
before he married Octavia Minor
Octavia Minor
Octavia the Younger , also known as Octavia Minor or simply Octavia, was the sister of the first Roman Emperor, Augustus , half-sister of Octavia the Elder, and fourth wife of Mark Antony...
. When he later left Rome, he settled in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
with Octavia, and they had two daughters. He ultimately left his wife in Greece and reunited with Cleopatra in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
; he and Cleopatra subsequently had their third child, Ptolemy Philadelphus
Ptolemy Philadelphus (Cleopatra)
Ptolemy Philadelphus was a Ptolemaic prince and was the youngest and fourth child of Greek Ptolemaic Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt, and her third with Roman Triumvir Mark Antony. Ptolemy was of Greek and Roman heritage. He was born in Antioch, Syria...
(whose existence is not acknowledged in the series).
The scenes where Cleopatra schemes to give birth to "Caesar"'s child by seducing Vorenus or Pullo, gives color to the historical debate about who Caesarion
Caesarion
Ptolemy XV Philopator Philometor Caesar , better known by the nicknames Caesarion and Ptolemy Caesar , was the last king of the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt, who reigned jointly with his mother Cleopatra VII of Egypt, from September 2, 44 BC...
's true father was. After he was born, Cleopatra openly declared that he was Caesar's child, while several of her political enemies, including Octavian, sought to prove otherwise. According to historian Michael Grant
Michael Grant (author)
Michael Grant was an English classicist, numismatist, and author of numerous popular books on ancient history. His 1956 translation of Tacitus’s Annals of Imperial Rome remains a standard of the work. Having studied and held a number of academic posts in the United Kingdom and the Middle East, he...
, there is at least one potent argument in favor of each side:
-
- On the one hand, the portrayal of Cleopatra as promiscuous or sexually voracious is an invention of later propaganda (much of it from Octavian), and there is no hard evidence that she had relations with any man other than Caesar or Mark Antony.
- On the other hand, there is speculation that Caesar was infertile - a theory reinforced by the fact that, in the course of three marriages and numerous liaisons with other women, he had produced only one child, his daughter JuliaJulia (daughter of Julius Caesar)Julia Caesaris , 83 or 82 BC-54 BC, was the daughter of Gaius Julius Caesar the Roman dictator, by his first wife, Cornelia Cinna, and his only child in marriage. Julia became the fourth wife of Pompey the Great and was renowned for her beauty and virtue.-Life:Julia was born around 83 BC–82 BC...
- and thus could not have fathered Caesarion.