Cody Simpson

3/30/2020

HIST 404C

Plutarch’s Portrayal of Cleopatra

Word Count: 1003

 Plutarch portrays Cleopatra VII as a seductress, who is cunning and knows how to

manipulate men. Chronologically speaking, beginning with Plutarch’s work on Caesar, Plutarch

states that when Cleopatra was presented to Caesar, he was captivated by her, especially her

boldness.1 While this may have been the case, Plutarch spends a large portion of this description

detailing how Cleopatra devised her plan to be presented to the Roman. Plutarch does not focus

on the power or political prowess of Cleopatra at this time. Instead, when Caesar left Egypt,

Plutarch states that he left “Cleopatra on the throne (a little later she had a son by him whom the

Alexandrians called Caesarion)”.2 The author does not focus at all on the romantic relations

between Caesar and Cleopatra, or any political reason for being on the throne. Instead she is

presented as a seductress who used Caesar's power to be given political control over Egypt.

This portrayal is also shown in Plutarch’s work on Antony. In this case, Plutarch’s first

mention of Cleopatra VII is related to Fulvia (one of Antony’s wives) making Antony obedient

to women.3 Plutarch relates that Cleopatra should have been grateful to Fluvia for this, because

she now could have control over Antony.4 Again, Plutarch shows ways in which Cleopatra is a

manipulator, able to control a man and make him do what she wishes. Plutarch continues on to

state that the evil passions of Antony allowed him to be controlled by Cleopatra.5 Plutarch once

again removes any power from Cleopatra. There is no romance in Plutarch’s portrayal of any of

Cleopatra’s romantic interests. She is simply a manipulator, who uses the passions of man to her

advantage.

Plutarch also discredits the appearance of Cleopatra, stating that “her beauty, as we are

told, was not incomparable...but conversation with her had an irresistible charm”.6 This is an
1 Plutarch, Caesar, 49.1-49.4.
2 Plutarch, Caesar, 49.10.
3 Plutarch, Antony, 10.
4 Plutarch, Antony, 10.
5 Plutarch, Antony, 25.
6 Plutarch, Antony, 27.
important point for many reasons. Firstly, Plutarch discredits the appearance of Cleopatra, and

instead attributes her desirability to some kind of mysterious desire to converse with her. He’s

attributed boldness, passion, and persuasiveness to her charm, but never appearance.

Furthermore, the fact that Plutarch states that as far as he knows, based on other sources from

around that time, Cleopatra was not very visually appealing. This shows many things about the

Roman portrayal of Cleopatra. In fact, it may have not been shocking in that time period to state

that Cleopatra was not attractive. Instead this could have been an image of Cleopatra that had

been circulated since the days of the civil wars between Antony and Octavian. Julliette Harrison,

a PHD in Classics shares this view, stating that Octavian used the adulterous ways of Cleopatra

and Antony as propaganda.7 Harrison also attests to the emasculated appearance of Antony

throughout Roman history.8 Adam Lukaszewicz, a PHD in archaeology from the University of

Warsaw, also states that the image spread by Octavian portrayed her as a “depraved witch and

evil-doer”.9 Plutarch reaffirms this by stating that Romans pitied Antony because Cleopatra was

not nearly as beautiful or young as Octavia.10 Plutarch makes the point that all Romans held this

view of Antony and Cleopatra, especially those that had actually seen Cleopatra.11 This shows

that Romans widely held disdain for Cleopatra, and held negative views of her appearance

without having even seen her. This shows that the same could be said for any other aspects that

the Romans generally disliked about her.

Plutarch continues his image of a manipulator by showing how concerned Cleopatra was

at maintaining control over Antony. Plutarch states that Cleopatra worried Octavia would gain

control over Antony, and in order to prevent this she became slimmer and worked harder to

7 Harrison, “Antony and Atia: Tragic Romance in Rome”, 155.

8 Harrison, “Antony and Atia: Tragic Romance in Rome”, 157.
9 Lukaszewicz, “Octavian in Egypt. Propaganda and graffiti”, 100.
10 Plutarch, Antony, 57.
11 Plutarch, Antony, 57.
maintain his attention.12 This image continues to be put forth by Plutarch, that Cleopatra is

willing to do anything to manipulate Antony. Plutarch even states that Cleopatra would pretend

to cry in order to keep him in Alexandria.13 Plutarch also shows this when he states that

Cleopatra “wiped off some of [Antony’s] blood upon her face, and called him master, husband,

and imperator; indeed, she almost forgot her own ills in her pity for his”.14 At this point Plutarch

seems to be making the point that she had become so invested in her acting, that she almost

forgot that she was manipulating Antony.

Plutarch somewhat attests to Cleopatra’s intelligence, stating that “it was not easy to see

how Cleopatra was inferior in intelligence to anyone of the princes who took part in the

expedition, she who for a long time had governed so large a kingdom by herself, and by long

association with Antony had learned to manage large affairs”.15 In this case, it is important to

note that Cleopatra is not given credit for having a large intellect. Instead Plutarch states that he

finds difficulty that anyone could believe her intellect is below that of a prince. Furthermore,

Plutarch does not entirely credit her with obtaining her own knowledge. Instead part of her

knowledge comes from spending so much time with Antony.

Plutarch does not entirely credit Cleopatra VII for what she was in reality. Instead of a

Queen that protected Egypt from Roman conquest, or a significant other to some of Rome’s most

powerful leaders, she is portrayed as a seductress or a manipulator. She is given the image of an

adulterer, who gains control of Antony by any means beside her own beauty. Sally-Ann Ashton,

a PHD in Egyptian Archeology, states that “within Egypt Cleopatra VII was presented as

12 Plutarch, Antony, 53.

13 Plutarch, Antony, 53.
14 Plutarch, Antony, 77.
15 Plutarch, Antony, 56.
the Egyptian queen, mother and protectress and goddess”.16 This image is entirely different from

the image shown throughout Plutarch. A large part of this seems to be attributed to the Roman

image of Cleopatra created by Octavian. In reality, it seems that Plutarch perpetuated an image

of Cleopatra that had been popular to the Romans. That image being that Cleopatra was able to

manipulate men through a type of magic. She wasn’t credited for her intelligence or cunning.

Instead terms like “bold” or “stimulating” are attributed to Cleopatra by Plutarch.

Bibliography

Ashton, Sally-Ann. "Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt." In Cleopatra: A Sphinx Revisited, edited by

Miles Margaret M., 21-36. University of California Press, 2011. Accessed March 30, 2020.

www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/j.ctt1pnvmm.6.

Łukaszewicz, Adam. "Octavian in Egypt.: Propaganda and Graffiti." In Augustus: From

Republic to Empire, edited by Bąkowska-Czerner Grażyna and Bodzek Jarosław, 100-06.

Oxford: Archaeopress, 2017. Accessed March 30, 2020.

16 Ashton, “Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt”, 28.

Harrisson, Juliette. "Antony and Atia: Tragic Romance in Rome." In Rome Season Two: Trial

and Triumph, edited by Cyrino Monica S., 155-68. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press,

2015. Accessed March 30, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/10.3366/j.ctt16r0jjn.21.

Plutarch. Antony. 1-87.

Plutarch. Caesar. 46-69.