2017-06-01 Thu

Cleopatra the most famous woman of the ancient times, a woman whose beauty has never been excelled by left a legacy that is still widely discussed. A mother not only to her children but also her people, she protected them during famines, civil wars and what not but seldom do they remember her for anything except her beauty and affairs. An intelligent woman of Macedonian descent she was forced to marry her cousin Ptolemy XIII to grab the throne.

Her first lover Julius Cesar of Rome was, however, of humble origins. He first met Cleopatra in Egypt while following his enemy Pompey. As soon as he saw her, he fell in love. She became his 3rd wife after he defeated and killed Ptolemy XIII. Their union bore them a child, Caesarion, later executed to avoid his claim to the Roman Throne. Cleopatra, though still in love with Cesar, married her younger cousin Ptolemy XIV and returned to power. Cesar’s dictatorial rule earned him the Senate’s distrust for he did not consult them before making any changes. When he next met with the Senate all 60 of them stabbed him to death.

The next lover Mark Antony, an ally of Julius Cesar succeeded him as one of the Triumvirates. He met Cleopatra when he went to Egypt. In him, Cleopatra sensed a feeling of security. They eventually married and had three children Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene (twins) and Ptolemy Philadelphos. However wanting to be the sole ruler of Rome, Octavian (one of the Triumvirates) declared war on Cleopatra; Antony was on the losing end. Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide.

In the adjacent picture, there is a 1.65 Euro commemorative stamp of Julius Cesar issued in 2014 by La Poste (France). The next is a 5 Czechoslovakian Koruna commemorative stamp of Cleopatra taking a snake bite issued on 24th November 1977. The third is a coin with the bust of Mark Antony facing right issued around 36 BC.

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