CLEOPATRA'S DAUGHTER

An engaging scholarly study of one of the few children of Cleopatra and Antony to thrive after their deaths.

In this deep work of historical excavation, Draycott, an archaeologist and professor of ancient history at the University of Glasgow, re-creates with keen contextual evidence the life and turbulent times of Cleopatra’s surviving daughter, Cleopatra Selene (circa 40 B.C.E.-circa 5 B.C.E.), who was young when her parents died during Octavian’s invasion of Egypt. Unlike her two older half siblings, whom Octavian murdered immediately, Cleopatra Selene; her fraternal twin, Alexander Helios; and her younger brother, Ptolemy Philadelphos, survived the politically fraught transition. When she was sent to Rome (her brothers died shortly thereafter), she became thoroughly Romanized in Octavian’s household. As the daughter of the conquered and reviled queen of Egypt, she was subjected to the defilement of her ancient Egyptian culture. At the same time, writes the author, she “used her time in Rome wisely, learning exactly which aspects of Egypt and Egyptian culture the Romans found the most appealing.” Deemed to be a valuable pawn but somewhat dangerous, she was maneuvered into marriage in 25 B.C.E. to Gaius Julius Juba of Numidia, another North African member of royalty in exile in Rome, and installed as queen in that North African client kingdom. The two monarchs modeled their own multicultural capital on Alexandria, and Cleopatra Selene’s 20-year reign allowed her to regain her status, “effectively reconstituting the Ptolemaic dynasty,” which would have been immensely satisfying to her mother. Though Draycott’s subject “will undoubtedly never reach the heights of fame, or infamy,” of her mother, the author presents a useful portrait by which she can “be judged on her own merits as an individual rather than as an idea or an archetype.” The book includes a few helpful maps and family trees.

A vivid portrayal of the difficult journey of an overlooked African queen.