Cleopatra: Part 1

When you think of any depiction of Cleopatra in any film, the first image that comes to mind is one of a beautiful, graceful woman who is physically striking. Of course, her characterisation in such films might be remembered but it is undeniable that the iconography of Cleopatra, primarily seen in the 1963 film, has influenced the way we view this pharaoh. The iconography of Cleopatra dominates our cultural perception; however, in my opinion, this perception is heavily flawed and unfair to the woman in question.

To begin with, our perception of Cleopatra’s appearance is flawed. This is partially because her appearance is most likely nothing like we imagine it. While we can never be sure of how she looked, we can gain am general impression through the archaeological sources. One such source is this coin:

Her appearance differs greatly to portrayals in films. A particularly obvious point is her nose; it is hooked and was said to be a feature of the Ptolemaic family. Furthermore, her features are what we would consider masculine as she has a strong jaw and pointed chin; overall she appears to be less feminine than what we idealise her to be. Some historians argue that she only depicted herself like this so she would be a more traditional pharaoh. The coin would be traded to foreign nations so it would make sense if her portrayal was exaggerated slightly. However, coins at the time of printing were “intended to be realistic”[1] and so it is likely an accurate depiction.  It could be said that denying that Cleopatra may have looked similar to this is ignorant and insulting. As a society, we force people to conform to an ‘acceptable’ standard of beauty and so force our cultural perceptions onto them. Standards of beauty have changed throughout the years and so if Cleopatra did look like this yet was considered beautiful, it would simply demonstrate that our beauty preferences did not necessarily agree with ancient standards. Moreover, it is demeaning to assume powerful women had to be beautiful, people do not acknowledge that it is no tragedy if Cleopatra was not traditionally beautiful.

Our literary sources are slightly contradictory on the topic of her beauty. Plutarch claimed it was not “such to strike those around her” while Dio describes her as “most striking”. Thus, her appearance was most likely pleasant; however, it was not the only memorable thing about her. By assuming her beauty was an integral part of her character is deeply problematic. There appears to be an obsession with finding beauty in women of history or examining their beauty routines. I feel it is not necessary that women should always be expected to be beautiful and we should recognise the achievements and accolades of women. By attempting to force women to our damaging standards of beauty, we reveal ourselves to be shallow and uncaring of women as people. The response to finding out about Cleopatra's appearance, through this coin, was shock and disgust, people could not believe she did not look like Elizabeth Taylor!  Definitely, this extreme reaction and our general attempt to erase women from history does show some cultural issues.

[1] Kevin Butcher, ‘The face of Cleopatra: was she really so beautiful?’