71 Queen of the Nile

Legend has made Cleopatra one of the world’s best-known women and has created an image of her that is both incomplete and greatly embellished. Thanks to Shakespeare and other writers, she is thought of as a dark Egyptian seductress and a killer of powerful men—a woman who was Mark Antony’s passion. The truth’s extent to begin with Cleopatra was blond, not dark, and despite the fact that she ruled Egypt, she was actually Greek.

Examination of the historical record doesn’t support the notion that Cleopatra pursued men to any great extent. In fact, there is no evidence connecting her to any men other than Julius Caesar and then Mark Antony. Her relationship with Antony did not first full four years after Caesar’s death. Both unions were teeming with men, Egypt as begin and she was apparently a faithful and helpful wife to both men.

Much has been made of the Queen of the Nile’s beauty, yet one contemporary observer wrote that her looks were far from remarkable. Her passionate nature has also been overemphasized. But her impressive knowledge of languages and skill in military strategy and political negotiations have been either ignored or forgotten.

Then there is the belief that Cleopatra killed herself for love. The truth is that she coolly ended her life in order to avoid humiliation and execution at the hands of Egypt’s conqueror, Augustus Caesar.

71 尼罗河女王

传说让克利奥帕特拉成为世界上最知名的女性之一，还塑造了一个既不完整又被大肆美化的她的形象。多亏了莎士比亚和其他作家，她被描绘成一个深色皮肤的埃及诱惑者，是杀害强权男性的凶手——一个让马克·安东尼为之痴迷的女人。而事实的开端是：克利奥帕特拉是金发而非深色皮肤，而且尽管她统治着埃及，她实际上是希腊人。

查阅历史记录，并没有证据支持克利奥帕特拉极力追求男性的说法。事实上，没有证据表明她与除尤利乌斯·凯撒和之后的马克·安东尼之外的任何男性有牵连。她与安东尼的关系是在凯撒去世四年后才开始的。这两段结合都与权力相关，而她显然是这两个男人忠实且得力的妻子。

人们对尼罗河女王的美貌大肆渲染，但一位同时代的观察者写道，她的容貌远称不上出众。她热情的天性也被过分强调了。但她令人印象深刻的语言知识，以及在军事战略和政治谈判方面的技能，要么被忽视，要么被遗忘。

还有一种观点认为克利奥帕特拉是为爱自杀。事实是，她冷静地结束自己的生命，是为了避免在埃及征服者奥古斯都·凯撒手中遭受羞辱和处决。