Alliance With Julius Caesar
Statue of Julius Caesar
Cleopatra's cunning brother along with his advisers, exiled her from her seat of power. She was powerless without the throne. Meanwhile, Pompey, one of the triumvirs with great Caesar, asked to meet with Ptolemy-XIII. Ptolemy and his advisers did not want Pompey to side with Cleopatra neither could they anger Caesar who could attack them. Therefore, they deceitfully killed Pompey.
Cleopatra ruled in a world where only men handled government affairs. She tried to make a place for herself in a male dominated society. She tried to raise an army and fight battles, but the male commanders got irritated. The army didn't help. Cleopatra had to use diplomacy to meet Caesar, the most powerful Roman leader and ally with him to regain power.
"[Caesar] was so much master of the goodwill and service of his soldiers that those who in other expeditions were but ordinary men displayed a courage past defeating or withstanding when they went upon any danger where Caesar's glory was concerned... [T]here was no danger to which he did not willingly expose himself, no labor from which he pleaded an exemption. His contempt of danger was not so much wondered at by his soldiers because they knew how much he coveted. But his enduring so much hardship which he did to all appearance beyond his natural strength, very much astonished them. For he was a spare man, had a soft and white skin...[B]y indefatigable journeys, coarse diet, frequent lodging in the field, and continual laborious exercise, he ... fortified his body against all attacks."
-Plutarch the Greek Historian (Plutarch The lives of the noble Grecians and Romans)
Cleopatra planned to roll herself up in a carpet scheduled for delivery at Caesar's palace. The plan worked with the help of a commoner. When Julius Caesar received the carpet, he unrolled it and out came Cleopatra! They fell in love as soon as they saw each other.
"For she was a woman of surpassing beauty, and at that time, when she was in the prime of her youth, she was most striking. she also possessed a most charming voice and a knowledge of how to make herself agreeable to every one."
-DioCassius (penelope.uchicago.edu)
Cleopatra ruled in a world where only men handled government affairs. She tried to make a place for herself in a male dominated society. She tried to raise an army and fight battles, but the male commanders got irritated. The army didn't help. Cleopatra had to use diplomacy to meet Caesar, the most powerful Roman leader and ally with him to regain power.
"[Caesar] was so much master of the goodwill and service of his soldiers that those who in other expeditions were but ordinary men displayed a courage past defeating or withstanding when they went upon any danger where Caesar's glory was concerned... [T]here was no danger to which he did not willingly expose himself, no labor from which he pleaded an exemption. His contempt of danger was not so much wondered at by his soldiers because they knew how much he coveted. But his enduring so much hardship which he did to all appearance beyond his natural strength, very much astonished them. For he was a spare man, had a soft and white skin...[B]y indefatigable journeys, coarse diet, frequent lodging in the field, and continual laborious exercise, he ... fortified his body against all attacks."
-Plutarch the Greek Historian (Plutarch The lives of the noble Grecians and Romans)
Cleopatra planned to roll herself up in a carpet scheduled for delivery at Caesar's palace. The plan worked with the help of a commoner. When Julius Caesar received the carpet, he unrolled it and out came Cleopatra! They fell in love as soon as they saw each other.
"For she was a woman of surpassing beauty, and at that time, when she was in the prime of her youth, she was most striking. she also possessed a most charming voice and a knowledge of how to make herself agreeable to every one."
-DioCassius (penelope.uchicago.edu)
Video Cleopatra: Portrait of a Killer (discovery.com) This video shows the dilemma and fear in the Ptolemy family about Rome.