Cleopatra





Cleopatra, the last of the pharaohs before Egypt came under Roman control, was a Macedonian Greek and a descendent of Ptolemy, one of Alexander the Great's generals who founded a dynasty that had ruled Egypt for three centuries
 * She spoke 10 languages and was an accomplished diplomat and writer as well as an effective political leader.
 * For more, see "The Search for Cleopatra," Chip Brown, National Geographic Magazine, July, 2011, p. 46.



Timeline of the Life of Cleopatra


 * Who Was Cleopatra? Mythology, Propaganda, Liz Taylor and the Real Queen of the Nile, Smithsonian Magazine.**


 * Rehabilitating Cleopatra, Stacy Schiff, Smithsonian Magazine (December 2010)**


 * Battle of Actium (September 2, 31 BCE)**

For more, see //Cleopatra: A Biography// by Duane W. Roller (Oxford University Press, 1010) who focuses on Cleopatra's roles as political, military and administrative leader



[[image:Multimedia.png link="@http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130976125"]]**Multimedia Resources**

 * How History and Hollywood Got Cleopatra Wrong from NPR.**


 * Go here to see Helen Gardner playing Cleopatra in a 1912 film**


 * Go here to see the trailer of the 1934 film Cleopatra directed by Cecil B. DeMille**. Cleopatra was played by Claudette Colbert.

Here is the trailer for the 1963 film in which Elizabeth Taylor portrayed Cleopatra

Cleopatra's Alexandria from National Geographic Magazine offers a recreation of what they city looked like during Cleopatra's reign when a multicultural mix of 325,000 people lived there.