Below: Egyptian- 

 style statue 

 identified as 

 Cleopatra from 

 details of her 

 head ornamenta- 

 tion; until recently 

 it was thought to 

 be of Arsinoe II 

 (316-270 B.C.). At 

 right: Silver denar- 

 ius coin portraying 

 Cleopatra, issued 

 in the eastern 

 Roman domain 

 in 32 b.c. Antony 

 is shown on the 

 other side. 



younger sister Arsinoe was not so wise. She (led the palace, and the populace 

 proclaimed her queen of Egypt. With her encouragement, the people then 

 demanded the release of Ptolemy, who had been imprisoned at the palace. 

 Caesar, thinking that would bring peace, agreed. But once he was free, 

 Ptolemy , foolish boy, turned on Caesar and rallied his followers. Soon after, 

 Caesar's allies captured Pelusium and marched on Alexandria. 



The battle was short and decisive. Alexandria surrendered, Arsinoe was 

 captured (and later exiled), and Ptolemy drowned as he tried to escape in 

 a disastrously overcrowded boat. The heavy golden armor that had made it 

 impossible for him to swim was displayed to the people as proof of their king's 

 death. Caesar restored me to my throne, now to rule alongside my next brother 

 in line, also called Ptolemy, a boy of twelve at the time. 



Worn out with campaigning, Caesar dallied in Alexandria. Thus he was 

 present when my first son was bom. I had fulfilled every queen's dutv and 

 provided Egypt with an heir. It still makes me smile to remember how much 

 gossip the birth provoked. Was the child, Ptolemy Caesar, the son of Julius 

 Caesar? Was he the son of my dead brother Ptolemy? Or fathered by someone 

 else? I never spoke on this matter. 



My son's father was irrelevant. As his mother, however, I had been 

 transformed into the new incarnation of Isis— the single mother of the 

 divine child Horus, the mother of all of Egypt's living kings. Now I wore the 

 ceremonial garments of Isis: a crown of a moon disk held in place by twin 

 snakes, and a multicolored robe with an embroidered hem of fruit and flowers, 

 covered with a black cloak. Priests and scholars spoke of a new Savior who 

 was to come from the east— for a time I believed that mv son and I would fulfill 

 that prophecy. Meanwhile, I had a new purpose in life: the 

 preserv ation of my throne for my child. 



I paid two visits to Rome— an unpleasant, 

 overcrowded city with none of the grandeur of 

 Alexandria. Thus I was in Rome on that fateful 

 day in March when Caesar's friends betrayed 

 him. Within a month I had returned to 

 Alexandria. Soon after, mv brother Ptolemy 

 died— I cannot deny I wished it so— enabling 

 my son to take his place as king. Three years of 

 low Nile levels, failing crops, and hunger and 

 plague followed. Persistent inflation forced me to 

 lower the silver content of my coins, making them 

 compatible with the Roman denarius. Nevertheless, ] 

 felt secure: with my brothers dead, my surviving sister in 

 exile, and their supporters removed, I had absolute power. 



\wt6kte ^(Cyy/)/ //ti/iy-j were /a r from /)e«ce/i(/ . Mark 

 Antony, a friend of the late Caesar, had united with Caesar's young heir. 

 Octavian, and Caesar's supporter Marcus Aemilius Lepidus to capture Brutus 

 and Cassius, the principal assassins. They expected my Egypt, still a relatively 

 prosperous nation, to help. Meanwhile, Brutus and Cassius also looked to Egypt 

 for aid. I delayed as long as I could, but was eventually forced to take sides. 



Raising a fleet, I sailed to join Octavian and Antony in Greece. 

 Unfortunately, a mighty storm blew up, and my ships sustained serious 

 damage. While I waited for a second fleet to be made ready , news came that 

 Brutus and Cassius had committed suicide. 



Two men, Octavian and Antony, now held power in Rome. I needed a 

 protector, and Anton) seemed my natural ally. Not only was he the controller 



44 natural history October 2008 



If fir tffjr .,-jw ims-'L- 4 



