Talk: The Cleopatras: the forgotten Queens of Egypt with
Professor Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones
Date: Sunday 2 February, 15.00
Location: Online on Zoom
Tickets
Free for Members. Please keep an eye on your emails for the zoom link
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Talk information
One of history’s most iconic figures, Cleopatra is rightly remembered as a clever and charismatic ruler. But few today realize that she was the last in a long line of Egyptian queens who bore that name.
In The Cleopatras, we learn the dramatic story of the seven incomparable women all named Cleopatra, recapturing the lost world of Hellenistic Egypt and tracing the kingdom’s final centuries before its fall to Rome.
The Cleopatras were Greek-speaking descendants of Ptolemy, the general who conquered Egypt alongside Alexander the Great. They were closely related as mothers, daughters, sisters, half-sisters, and nieces. Each wielded absolute power, easily overshadowing their husbands or sons, and all proved to be shrewd and capable leaders.
Styling themselves as goddess-queens, the Cleopatras ruled through the canny deployment of arcane rituals, opulent spectacles, and unparalleled wealth. They navigated political turmoil and court intrigues, led armies into battle and commanded fleets of ships, and ruthlessly dispatched their dynastic rivals.
The Cleopatras restores these queens to their deserved place among history’s greatest rulers.
Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones is a Welsh professor of ancient history, with a focus on ancient Iran, in particular the Achaemenid period. Before this, he specialized in the study of ancient Greece. Since 2016, he has held the Chair of Ancient History at Cardiff University.
Image: Cleopatra II and Cleopatra III depicted at Kom Ombo