Editing Cleopatra (section)

===Cultural depictions===
{{further|List of cultural depictions of Cleopatra}}

====Depictions in ancient art====
{{further|Hellenistic art|Art of ancient Egypt|Death of Cleopatra#Depictions in art and literature}}

=====Statues=====
{{further|Roman portraiture|Roman sculpture|Esquiline Venus|Sleeping Ariadne}}
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| footer = Left: An Egyptian statue of either [[Arsinoe II]] or Cleopatra as an [[Egyptian goddess]] in black [[basalt]] from the second half of the 1st century BC,{{sfnp|Ashton|2008|pp=83–85}} located in the [[Hermitage Museum]], Saint Petersburg{{pb}}Right: The ''[[Esquiline Venus]]'', a [[Roman art|Roman]] or [[Hellenistic Egypt|Hellenistic-Egyptian]] statue of [[Venus (mythology)|Venus]] ([[Aphrodite]]) that may be a depiction of Cleopatra,{{sfnp|Pina Polo|2013|pp=186, 194, footnote 10}} located in the [[Capitoline Museums]], Rome
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Cleopatra was depicted in various ancient works of art, in the [[Art of ancient Egypt|Egyptian]] as well as [[Hellenistic art|Hellenistic-Greek]] and [[Roman art|Roman]] styles.{{sfnp|Sabino|Gross-Diaz|2016|}} Surviving works include statues, [[Bust (sculpture)|busts]], [[relief]]s, and minted coins,{{sfnp|Sabino|Gross-Diaz|2016|}}{{sfnp|Anderson|2003|p=36}} as well as ancient [[Cameo (carving)|carved cameos]],{{sfnp|Roller|2010|p=176}} such as one depicting Cleopatra and Antony in Hellenistic style, now in the [[Altes Museum]], Berlin.{{sfnp|Raia|Sebesta|2017}} Contemporary images of Cleopatra were produced both in and outside of Ptolemaic Egypt. For instance, there was once a large [[gilded]] bronze statue of Cleopatra inside the [[Temple of Venus Genetrix]] in Rome, the first time that a living person had their statue placed next to that of a deity in a [[Roman temple]].{{sfnp|Grout|2017b|}}{{sfnp|Roller|2010|pp=72, 175}}{{sfnp|Fletcher|2008|pp=195–196}} It was erected there by Caesar and remained in the temple at least until the 3rd century AD, its preservation perhaps owing to Caesar's patronage, although Augustus did not remove or destroy artworks in Alexandria depicting Cleopatra.{{sfnp|Roller|2010|pp=72, 151, 175}}{{sfnp|Varner|2004|p=20}}

[[:File:Cleopatra VII, marble, Vatican Museums, Pius-Clementine Museum, Room of the Greek Cross.jpg|A life-sized Roman-style statue of Cleopatra]] was found near the {{interlanguage link|Tomba di Nerone|it}}, Rome, along the {{lang|la|[[Via Cassia]]}}, and is now housed in the {{lang|it|[[Museo Pio-Clementino]]}}, part of the [[Vatican Museums]].{{sfnp|Raia|Sebesta|2017}}{{sfnp|Lippold|1936|pp=169–171}}{{sfnp|Curtius|1933|pp=184 ff. Abb. 3 Taf. 25–27.}} Plutarch, in his ''Life of Antonius'', said that the public statues of Antony were [[damnatio memoriae|torn down]] by Augustus, but those of Cleopatra were preserved following her death thanks to her friend Archibius paying the emperor 2,000 [[Talent (measurement)|talents]] to dissuade him from destroying hers.{{sfnp|Grout|2017a|}}{{sfnp|Roller|2010|p=151}}{{sfnp|Burstein|2004|p=65}}

Since the 1950s scholars have debated whether or not the ''[[Esquiline Venus]]''—discovered in 1874 on the [[Esquiline Hill]] in Rome and housed in the {{lang|it|[[Palazzo dei Conservatori]]}} of the [[Capitoline Museums]]—is a depiction of Cleopatra, based on the statue's [[commons:Category:Esquiline Venus (Musei Capitolini)|hairstyle and facial features]], apparent royal diadem worn over the head, and the [[uraeus]] [[Egyptian cobra]] wrapped around the base.{{sfnp|Pina Polo|2013|pp=186, 194, footnote 10}}{{sfnp|Roller|2010|p=175}}{{sfnp|Higgs|2001|pp=208–209}} Detractors of this theory argue that the face in this statue is thinner than the face on [[:File:Berlín Cleopatra 01.JPG|the Berlin portrait]] and assert that it was unlikely she would be depicted as the naked goddess [[Venus (mythology)|Venus]] (or the Greek [[Aphrodite]]).{{sfnp|Pina Polo|2013|pp=186, 194, footnote 10}}{{sfnp|Roller|2010|p=175}}{{sfnp|Higgs|2001|pp=208–209}} However, she was depicted in an Egyptian statue as the goddess [[Isis]],{{sfnp|Ashton|2008|p=83}} while some of her coinage depicts her as Venus-Aphrodite.{{sfnp|Fletcher|2008|p=205}}{{sfnp|Meadows|Ashton|2001|p=178}} She also dressed as Aphrodite when meeting Antony at Tarsos.{{sfnp|Burstein|2004|p=23}} The ''Esquiline Venus'' is generally thought to be a mid-1st-century AD [[Interpretatio graeca|Roman copy]] of a 1st-century BC Greek original from the school of [[Pasiteles]].{{sfnp|Roller|2010|p=175}}

=====Coinage portraits=====
{{further|Ptolemaic coinage|Roman currency|Ancient Greek coinage}}
[[File:Cleopatra Tetradrachm Antiochia.jpg|thumb|Cleopatra and [[Mark Antony]] on the [[obverse]] and reverse, respectively, of a silver [[tetradrachm]] struck at the [[Antioch]] mint in 36 BC, with Greek legends: BACIΛΙCCA KΛΕΟΠΑΤΡΑ ΘΕΑ ΝΕωΤΕΡΑ ([[Basilissa]] Kleopatra [[Theia#Etymology|thea]] neotera – Queen Cleopatra younger goddess), ANTωNIOC AYTOKPATωP TPITON TPIωN ANΔPωN (Antonios [[autokrator]] triton trion andron – Antony [[imperator]] for the third time [[Second Triumvirate|triumvir]])<ref>{{Cite web |title=Online Scholarly Catalogues at the Art Institute of Chicago |url=https://publications.artic.edu/roman/reader/romanart/section/510 |access-date=19 May 2024 |website=publications.artic.edu}}</ref>]]

Surviving coinage of Cleopatra's reign include specimens from every regnal year, from 51 to 30 BC.{{sfnp|Roller|2010|pp=182–186}} Cleopatra, the only Ptolemaic queen to issue coins on her own behalf, almost certainly inspired her partner Caesar to become the first living Roman to present his portrait on his own coins.{{sfnp|Fletcher|2008|p=205}}<ref group="note">{{harvtxt|Fletcher|2008|p=205}} writes the following: "Cleopatra was the only female Ptolemy to issue coins on her own behalf, some showing her as Venus-Aphrodite. Caesar now followed her example and, taking the same bold step, became the first living Roman to appear on coins, his rather haggard profile accompanied by the title 'Parens Patriae', 'Father of the Fatherland'."</ref> Cleopatra was the first foreign queen to have her image appear on [[Roman currency]].{{sfnp|Roller|2010|p=107}} Coins dated to the period of her marriage to Antony, which also bear his image, portray the queen as having a very similar [[aquiline nose]] and prominent chin as that of her husband.{{sfnp|Grout|2017b|}}{{sfnp|Jones|2006|pp=31, 34}} These similar facial features followed an artistic convention that represented the mutually-observed harmony of a royal couple.{{sfnp|Grout|2017b|}}{{sfnp|Sabino|Gross-Diaz|2016|}}

Her strong, almost masculine facial features in these particular coins are strikingly different from the smoother, softer, and perhaps idealized [[Ancient Greek sculpture|sculpted images]] of her in either the Egyptian or Hellenistic styles.{{sfnp|Sabino|Gross-Diaz|2016|}}{{sfnp|Kleiner|2005|p=144}}{{sfnp|Fletcher|2008|p=104}} Her masculine facial features on minted currency are similar to that of her father, Ptolemy XII Auletes,{{sfnp|Roller|2010|pp=18, 182}}{{sfnp|Fletcher|2008|p=96}} and perhaps also to those of her Ptolemaic ancestor [[Arsinoe II]] (316–260 BC){{sfnp|Sabino|Gross-Diaz|2016|}}{{sfnp|Roller|2010|p=185}} and even depictions of earlier queens such as [[Hatshepsut]] and [[Nefertiti]].{{sfnp|Fletcher|2008|p=104}} It is likely, due to political expediency, that Antony's visage was made to conform not only to hers but also to those of her [[Macedon|Macedonian Greek]] ancestors who founded the Ptolemaic dynasty, to familiarize himself to her subjects as a legitimate member of the royal house.{{sfnp|Sabino|Gross-Diaz|2016|}}

The inscriptions on the coins are written in Greek, but also in the [[nominative case]] of Roman coins rather than the [[genitive case]] of Greek coins, in addition to having the letters placed in a circular fashion along the edges of the coin instead of across it horizontally or vertically as was customary for Greek ones.{{sfnp|Sabino|Gross-Diaz|2016|}} These facets of their coinage represent the synthesis of Roman and [[Hellenistic culture]], and perhaps also a statement to their subjects, however ambiguous to modern scholars, about the superiority of either Antony or Cleopatra over the other.{{sfnp|Sabino|Gross-Diaz|2016|}} [[Diana Kleiner]] argues that Cleopatra, in one of her coins minted with the dual image of her husband Antony, made herself more masculine-looking than other portraits and more like an acceptable [[Patronage in ancient Rome|Roman client queen]] than a Hellenistic ruler.{{sfnp|Kleiner|2005|p=144}} Cleopatra had actually achieved this masculine look in coinage predating her affair with Antony, such as the coins struck at the [[Ascalon]] mint during her brief period of exile to Syria and the [[Levant]], which [[Joann Fletcher]] explains as her attempt to appear like her father and as a legitimate successor to a male Ptolemaic ruler.{{sfnp|Fletcher|2008|p=96}}{{sfnp|Roller|2010|p=182}}

Various coins, such as a silver [[tetradrachm]] minted sometime after Cleopatra's marriage with Antony in 37 BC, depict her wearing a royal diadem and a [[Greco-Roman hairstyle|'melon' hairstyle]].{{sfnp|Grout|2017b|}}{{sfnp|Roller|2010|p=182}} The combination of this hairstyle with a diadem is also featured in two surviving sculpted marble heads.{{sfnp|Walker|Higgs|2017|}}{{sfnp|Anderson|2003|p=36}}{{sfnp|Fletcher|2008|p=195}}<ref group="note">For further information, see {{harvtxt|Raia|Sebesta|2017}}.</ref> This hairstyle, with hair braided back into a bun, is the same as that worn by her Ptolemaic ancestors Arsinoe II and [[Berenice II]] in their own coinage.{{sfnp|Grout|2017b|}}{{sfnp|Fletcher|2008|p=87}} After her visit to Rome in 46–44 BC it became fashionable for [[Roman women]] to adopt it as one of [[Roman hairstyles|their hairstyles]], but it was abandoned for a more modest, austere look during the conservative rule of Augustus.{{sfnp|Grout|2017b|}}{{sfnp|Walker|Higgs|2017|}}{{sfnp|Fletcher|2008|p=195}}

=====Greco-Roman busts and heads=====
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| footer = An ancient [[Roman sculpture|Roman]] [[Roman portraiture|portrait head]], {{circa|50–30 BC}}, now located in the [[British Museum]], London, that depicts a woman from Ptolemaic Egypt, either Queen Cleopatra or a member of her entourage during her 46–44 BC visit to Rome with her lover [[Julius Caesar]]{{sfnp|Walker|Higgs|2017|}}
}}
Of the surviving Greco-Roman-style busts and heads of Cleopatra,<ref group="note">There is academic disagreement on whether the following portraits are considered "heads" or "busts". For instance, {{harvtxt|Raia|Sebesta|2017}} exclusively uses the former, while {{harvtxt|Grout|2017b|}} prefers the latter.</ref> the sculpture known as the "[[commons:Category:Bust of Cleopatra VII in the Altes Museum Berlin|Berlin Cleopatra]]", located in the [[Antikensammlung Berlin]] collection at the Altes Museum, possesses her full nose, whereas the head known as the "[[commons:Category:Bust of Cleopatra VII in the Vatican Museums, Museo Gregoriano Profano|Vatican Cleopatra]]", located in the Vatican Museums, is damaged with a missing nose.{{sfnp|Roller|2010|pp=174–175}}{{sfnp|Pina Polo|2013|pp=185–186}}{{sfnp|Fletcher|2008|pp=198–199}}<ref group="note">For further information and validation, see {{harvtxt|Curtius|1933|pp=182–192}}, {{harvtxt|Walker|2008|p=348}}, {{harvtxt|Raia|Sebesta|2017}} and {{harvtxt|Grout|2017b|}}.</ref> Both the Berlin Cleopatra and Vatican Cleopatra have royal diadems, similar facial features, and perhaps once resembled the face of her bronze statue housed in the Temple of Venus Genetrix.{{sfnp|Pina Polo|2013|pp=185–186}}{{sfnp|Kleiner|2005|pp=151–153, 155}}{{sfnp|Fletcher|2008|pp=198–199}}<ref group="note">For further information and validation, see {{harvtxt|Grout|2017b|}} and {{harvtxt|Roller|2010|pp=174–175}}.</ref>

Both heads are dated to the mid-1st century BC and were found in Roman villas along the [[Via Appia]] in Italy, the Vatican Cleopatra having been unearthed in the [[Villa of the Quintilii]].{{sfnp|Grout|2017b|}}{{sfnp|Roller|2010|pp=174–175}}{{sfnp|Fletcher|2008|pp=198–199}}<ref group="note">For further information, see {{harvtxt|Curtius|1933|pp=182–192}}, {{harvtxt|Walker|2008|p=348}} and {{harvtxt|Raia|Sebesta|2017}}.</ref> Francisco Pina Polo writes that Cleopatra's coinage present her image with certainty and asserts that the sculpted portrait of the Berlin head is confirmed as having a similar profile with her hair pulled back into a bun, a diadem, and a hooked nose.{{sfnp|Pina Polo|2013|pp=184–186}}<ref group="note">[[Blaise Pascal]] remarked in his ''[[Pensées]]'' (1670): "Cleopatra's nose: had it been shorter, the whole aspect of the world would have been altered." {{harv|Pascal|1910|loc=sec. II, no. 162}} According to {{harv|Perry|Williams|2019}}, a less aquiline nose would have diminished her chances of becoming ruler of Egypt and attract men of the [[First Triumvirate|First]] and [[Second Triumvirate]], which would have changed the [[Battle of Actium]], and subsequent European history.</ref>

A third [[commons:category:Bust of Cleopatra Selene II (Archaeological Museum of Cherchell)|sculpted portrait of Cleopatra]] accepted by scholars as being authentic survives at the [[Archaeological Museum of Cherchell]], Algeria.{{sfnp|Varner|2004|p=20}}{{sfnp|Ferroukhi|2001a|p=219}}{{sfnp|Kleiner|2005|pp=155–156}} This portrait features the royal diadem and similar facial features as the Berlin and Vatican heads, but has a more unique hairstyle and may actually depict Cleopatra Selene II, daughter of Cleopatra.{{sfnp|Kleiner|2005|pp=155–156}}{{sfnp|Preston|2009|p=305}}{{sfnp|Roller|2003|p=139}}<ref group="note" name="Cherchel bust">{{harvtxt|Ferroukhi|2001a|p=219}} provides a detailed discussion about [[commons:category:Bust of Cleopatra Selene II (Archaeological Museum of Cherchell)|this bust]] and its ambiguities, noting that it could represent Cleopatra, but that it is more likely her daughter [[Cleopatra Selene II]]. {{harvtxt|Kleiner|2005|pp=155–156}} argues in favor of its depicting Cleopatra rather than her daughter, while {{harvtxt|Varner|2004|p=20}} mentions only Cleopatra as a possible likeness. {{harvtxt|Roller|2003|p=139}} observes that it could be either Cleopatra or Cleopatra Selene II, while arguing the same ambiguity applies to [[commons:File:An ancient Roman bust of Cleopatra VII of Ptolemaic Egypt2.jpg|the other sculpted head from Cherchel featuring a veil]]. In regards to the latter head, {{harvtxt|Ferroukhi|2001b|p=242}} indicates it as a possible portrait of Cleopatra, not Cleoptra Selene II, from the early 1st century AD while also arguing that its masculine features, earrings, and apparent [[toga]] (the veil being a component of it) could likely mean it was intended to depict a [[Numidians|Numidian]] nobleman. {{harvtxt|Fletcher|2008|loc=image plates between pp. 246–247}} disagrees about the veiled head, arguing that it was commissioned by Cleopatra Selene II at Iol (Caesarea Mauretaniae) and was meant to depict her mother, Cleopatra.</ref> A possible [[Parian marble|Parian-marble]] [[:File:Isismontemartini.JPG|sculpture of Cleopatra]] wearing a vulture headdress in Egyptian style is located at the Capitoline Museums.{{sfnp|Fletcher|2008|pp=199–200}} Discovered near a sanctuary of Isis in Rome and dated to the 1st century BC, it is either Roman or Hellenistic-Egyptian in origin.{{sfnp|Ashton|2001a|p=217}}

Other possible sculpted depictions of Cleopatra include one in the [[British Museum]], London, made of limestone, which perhaps only depicts a woman in her entourage during her trip to Rome.{{sfnp|Raia|Sebesta|2017}}{{sfnp|Walker|Higgs|2017|}} The woman in [[commons:Category:Bust of Cleopatra VII in the British Museum|this portrait]] has facial features similar to others (including the pronounced aquiline nose), but lacks a royal diadem and sports a different hairstyle.{{sfnp|Raia|Sebesta|2017}}{{sfnp|Walker|Higgs|2017|}} However, the British Museum head, once belonging to a full statue, could potentially represent Cleopatra at a different stage in her life and may also betray an effort by Cleopatra to discard the use of royal insignia (i.e. the diadem) to make herself more appealing to the citizens of Republican Rome.{{sfnp|Walker|Higgs|2017|}} [[Duane W. Roller]] speculates that the British Museum head, along with those in the [[Egyptian Museum]], Cairo, the Capitoline Museums, and in the private collection of Maurice Nahmen, while having similar facial features and hairstyles as the Berlin portrait but lacking a royal diadem, most likely represent members of the royal court or even Roman women imitating Cleopatra's popular hairstyle.{{sfnp|Roller|2010|pp=175–176}}

<gallery widths="165px" heights="200px" perrow="4">
File:Cleopatra VII, Marble, 40-30 BC, Vatican Museums 001.jpg|Cleopatra, mid-1st century BC, with a "melon" hairstyle and [[Hellenistic]] royal [[diadem]] worn over her head, now in the [[Vatican Museums]]{{sfnp|Raia|Sebesta|2017}}{{sfnp|Grout|2017b|}}{{sfnp|Roller|2010|pp=174–175}}
File:Cleopatra VII, Marble, 40-30 BC, Vatican Museums 003.jpg|Profile view of the Vatican Cleopatra
File:-0035 Altes Museum Portrait Kleopatra VII anagoria.JPG|Cleopatra, mid-1st century BC, showing Cleopatra with a "melon" hairstyle and [[Hellenistic]] royal [[diadem]] worn over the head, now in the [[Altes Museum]]{{sfnp|Raia|Sebesta|2017}}{{sfnp|Grout|2017b|}}{{sfnp|Roller|2010|pp=174–175}}
File:Bust of Cleopatra VII - Altes Museum - Berlin - Germany 2017 (3).jpg|Profile view of the Berlin Cleopatra
</gallery>

=====Paintings=====
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|image1=Venus and Cupid from the House of Marcus Fabius Rufus at Pompeii, most likely a depiction of Cleopatra VII (2).jpg
|image2=Venus and Cupid from the House of Marcus Fabius Rufus at Pompeii, most likely a depiction of Cleopatra VII (5).jpg
|footer=A Roman [[Pompeian Styles|Second Style]] painting in the [[commons:Category:House of Marcus Fabius Rufus|House of Marcus Fabius Rufus]] at [[Pompeii]], Italy, depicting Cleopatra as [[Venus (mythology)#Epithets|Venus Genetrix]] and her son [[Caesarion]] as a [[cupid]], mid-1st century BC{{sfnp|Roller|2010|p=175}}{{sfnp|Walker|2008|pp=35, 42–44}}}}

In the [[commons:Category:House of Marcus Fabius Rufus|House of Marcus Fabius Rufus]] at [[Pompeii]], Italy, a mid-1st century BC [[Pompeian Styles|Second Style]] wall painting of the goddess Venus holding a [[cupid]] near massive temple doors is most likely a depiction of Cleopatra as [[Venus (mythology)#Epithets|Venus Genetrix]] with her son Caesarion.{{sfnp|Roller|2010|p=175}}{{sfnp|Walker|2008|pp=35, 42–44}} The commission of the painting most likely coincides with the erection of the Temple of Venus Genetrix in the [[Forum of Caesar]] in September 46 BC, where Caesar had a gilded statue erected depicting Cleopatra.{{sfnp|Roller|2010|p=175}}{{sfnp|Walker|2008|pp=35, 42–44}} This statue likely formed the basis of her depictions in both sculpted art as well as [[:File:Venus and Cupid from the House of Marcus Fabius Rufus at Pompeii, most likely a depiction of Cleopatra VII.jpg|this painting at Pompeii]].{{sfnp|Roller|2010|p=175}}{{sfnp|Walker|2008|pp=35, 44}}

The [[:File:Venus and Cupid from the House of Marcus Fabius Rufus at Pompeii, most likely a depiction of Cleopatra VII (full view).jpg|woman in the painting]] wears a royal diadem over her head and is strikingly similar in appearance to the Vatican Cleopatra, which bears possible marks on the marble of its left cheek where a cupid's arm may have been torn off.{{sfnp|Roller|2010|p=175}}{{sfnp|Walker|2008|p=40}}{{sfnp|Fletcher|2008|pp=198–199}}<ref group="note">The observation that the left cheek of the [[:commons:Category:Bust of Cleopatra VII in the Vatican Museums, Museo Gregoriano Profano|Vatican Cleopatra]] once had a cupid's hand that was broken off was first suggested by [[Ludwig Curtius]] in 1933. Kleiner concurs with this assessment. See {{harvtxt|Kleiner|2005|p=153}}, as well as {{harvtxt|Walker|2008|p=40}} and {{harvtxt|Curtius|1933|pp=182–192}}. While {{harvtxt|Kleiner|2005|p=153}} has suggested the lump on top of this marble head perhaps contained a broken-off uraeus, {{harvtxt|Curtius|1933|p=187}} offered the explanation that it once held a sculpted representation of a jewel.</ref> The room with the painting was walled off by its owner, perhaps in reaction to the execution of Caesarion in 30 BC by order of Octavian, when public depictions of Cleopatra's son would have been unfavorable with the new Roman regime.{{sfnp|Roller|2010|p=175}}{{sfnp|Walker|2008|pp=43–44}}

Behind her golden diadem, crowned with a red jewel, is a translucent veil with crinkles that suggest the "melon" hairstyle favored by the queen.{{sfnp|Walker|2008|p=40}}<ref group="note">{{harvtxt|Curtius|1933|p=187}} wrote that the damaged lump along the hairline and diadem of the [[:commons:Category:Bust of Cleopatra VII in the Vatican Museums, Museo Gregoriano Profano|Vatican Cleopatra]] likely contained a sculpted representation of a jewel, which {{harvtxt|Walker|2008|p=40}} directly compares to the painted red jewel in the diadem worn by Venus, most likely Cleopatra, in the [[fresco]] from Pompeii.</ref> Her [[ivory-white skin]], round face, long aquiline nose, and large round eyes were features common in both Roman and Ptolemaic depictions of deities.{{sfnp|Walker|2008|p=40}} Roller affirms that "there seems little doubt that this is a depiction of Cleopatra and Caesarion before the doors of the Temple of Venus in the Forum Julium and, as such, it becomes the only extant contemporary painting of the queen."{{sfnp|Roller|2010|p=175}}
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| footer = A [[steel engraving]] published by [[John Sartain]] in 1885 (left) depicting the now lost painted death portrait of Cleopatra, an [[encaustic painting]] discovered in 1818 in the ancient Roman ruins of the [[Egyptian temple]] of [[Serapis]] at [[Hadrian's Villa]] in [[Tivoli, Lazio]];{{sfnp|Pratt|Fizel|1949|pp=14–15}} she is seen here wearing the knotted garment of [[Isis]] (corresponding with [[Plutarch]]'s description of her wearing the robes of Isis),{{sfnp|Plutarch|1920|p=9}} as well as the [[radiant crown]] of the [[Ptolemaic rulers]] such as [[Ptolemy V]] (pictured to the right in a golden [[Drachm|octodrachm]] minted in 204–203 BC).{{sfnp|Sartain|1885|pp=41, 44}}
}}

[[:File:Roman Wall painting from the House of Giuseppe II, Pompeii, 1st century AD, death of Sophonisba, but more likely Cleopatra VII of Egypt consuming poison (2).jpg|Another painting from Pompeii]], dated to the early 1st century AD and located in the House of Giuseppe II, contains a possible depiction of Cleopatra with her son Caesarion, both wearing royal diadems while she reclines and consumes poison in an act of suicide.{{sfnp|Roller|2010|pp=178–179}}{{sfnp|Elia|1956|pp=3–7}}<ref group="note">For further information about the painting in the House of Giuseppe II (Joseph II) at Pompeii and the possible identification of Cleopatra as one of the figures, see {{harvtxt|Pucci|2011|pp=206–207, footnote 27}}.</ref> The painting was originally thought to depict the Carthaginian noblewoman [[Sophonisba]], who toward the end of the [[Second Punic War]] (218–201 BC) drank poison and committed suicide at the behest of her lover [[Masinissa]], [[King of Numidia]].{{sfnp|Roller|2010|pp=178–179}} Arguments in favor of it depicting Cleopatra include the strong connection of her house with that of the Numidian royal family, Masinissa and [[Ptolemy VIII Physcon]] having been associates, and Cleopatra's own daughter marrying the Numidian prince Juba II.{{sfnp|Roller|2010|pp=178–179}}

Sophonisba was also a more obscure figure when the painting was made, while Cleopatra's suicide was far more famous.{{sfnp|Roller|2010|pp=178–179}} An asp is absent from the painting, but many Romans held the view that she received poison in another manner than a venomous snakebite.{{sfnp|Roller|2010|pp=148, 178–179}} A set of double doors on the rear wall of the painting, positioned very high above the people in it, suggests the described layout of Cleopatra's tomb in Alexandria.{{sfnp|Roller|2010|pp=178–179}} A male servant holds the mouth of an artificial [[Nile crocodile|Egyptian crocodile]] (possibly an elaborate tray handle), while another man standing by is [[Toga|dressed as a Roman]].{{sfnp|Roller|2010|pp=178–179}}

In 1818 a now lost [[encaustic painting]] was discovered in the Temple of [[Serapis]] at [[Hadrian's Villa]], near [[Tivoli, Lazio]], Italy, that [[:File:Encaustic painting cleopatra.png|depicted Cleopatra committing suicide]] with an asp biting her bare chest.{{sfnp|Pratt|Fizel|1949|pp=14–15}} A chemical analysis performed in 1822 confirmed that the medium for the painting was composed of one-third [[wax]] and two-thirds [[resin]].{{sfnp|Pratt|Fizel|1949|pp=14–15}} The thickness of the painting over Cleopatra's bare flesh and her drapery were reportedly similar to the paintings of the [[Fayum mummy portraits]].{{sfnp|Pratt|Fizel|1949|p=14}} A [[steel engraving]] published by [[John Sartain]] in 1885 depicting the painting as described in the archaeological report shows Cleopatra wearing [[Clothing in ancient Greece|authentic clothing]] and jewelry of Egypt in the late Hellenistic period,{{sfnp|Pratt|Fizel|1949|p=15}} as well as the [[radiant crown]] of the Ptolemaic rulers, as seen in their portraits on various coins minted during their respective reigns.{{sfnp|Sartain|1885|pp=41, 44}} After Cleopatra's suicide, Octavian commissioned a painting to be made depicting her being bitten by a snake, parading this image in her stead during his triumphal procession in Rome.{{sfnp|Pratt|Fizel|1949|p=14}}{{sfnp|Roller|2010|p=149}}{{sfnp|Burstein|2004|pp=xxiii, 31}} The portrait painting of Cleopatra's death was perhaps among the great number of artworks and treasures taken from Rome by Emperor [[Hadrian]] to decorate his private villa, where it was found in an [[Egyptian temple]].{{sfnp|Pratt|Fizel|1949|pp=14–15}}<ref group="note">In {{harvtxt|Pratt|Fizel|1949|pp=14–15}}, Frances Pratt and Becca Fizel rejected the idea proposed by some scholars in the 19th and early 20th centuries that the painting was perhaps done by an artist of the [[Italian Renaissance]]. Pratt and Fizel highlighted the [[Classical antiquity|Classical style]] of the painting as preserved in textual descriptions and [[:File:Cleopatra VII, steel engraving of the encaustic painting found at Hadrian's Villa in 1818.jpg|the steel engraving]]. They argued that it was unlikely for a Renaissance period painter to have created works with encaustic materials, conducted thorough research into Hellenistic period Egyptian clothing and jewelry as depicted in the painting, and then precariously placed it in the ruins of the Egyptian temple at Hadrian's Villa.</ref>

{{multiple image
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| image1 = Fresco of a woman in profile, possibly Cleopatra VII of Ptolemaic Egypt, from the House of the Orchard at Pompeii.jpg
| width1 = 120
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| image2 = Fresco of a woman in profile, possible portrait bust of Cleopatra VII of Egypt, from the House of the Orchard at Pompeii.jpg
| width2 = 180
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| footer = An ancient Roman fresco in the [[Pompeian Styles|Pompeian Third Style]] possibly depicting Cleopatra, from the House of the Orchard at [[Pompeii]], Italy, mid-1st century AD{{sfnp|Walker|Higgs|2001|pp=314–315}}
}}
A Roman [[panel painting]] from [[Herculaneum]], Italy, dated to the 1st century AD possibly depicts Cleopatra.{{sfnp|Walker|Higgs|2001|pp=314–315}}{{sfnp|Fletcher|2008|loc=p. 87, image plates and captions between pp. 246–247}} In it she wears a royal diadem, red or reddish-brown hair pulled back into a bun,<ref group="note">{{harvtxt|Walker|Higgs|2001|pp=314–315}} describe her hair as reddish brown, while {{harvtxt|Fletcher|2008|p=87}} describes her as a flame-haired redhead and, in {{harvtxt|Fletcher|2008|loc=image plates and captions between pp. 246–247}}, likewise describes her as a red-haired woman.</ref> pearl-studded hairpins,{{sfnp|Fletcher|2008|loc=image plates and captions between pp. 246–247}} and earrings with ball-shaped pendants, [[:File:Posthumous painted portrait of Cleopatra VII of Egypt, from Herculaneum, Italy.jpg|the white skin of her face and neck set against a stark black background]].{{sfnp|Walker|Higgs|2001|pp=314–315}} Her hair and facial features are similar to those in the sculpted Berlin and Vatican portraits as well as her coinage.{{sfnp|Walker|Higgs|2001|pp=314–315}} A highly similar painted bust of a woman with a blue headband in the [[House of the Orchard]] at Pompeii features Egyptian-style imagery, such as a Greek-style [[sphinx]], and may have been created by the same artist.{{sfnp|Walker|Higgs|2001|pp=314–315}}

=====Portland Vase=====
{{further|Portland Vase}}
[[File:Portland Vase BM Gem4036 n6.jpg|thumb|A possible depiction of [[Mark Antony]] on the [[Portland Vase]] being lured by Cleopatra, straddling a serpent, while Anton, Antony's alleged ancestor, looks on and [[Eros]] flies above{{sfnp|Roller|2010|p=178}}{{sfnp|Caygill|2009|p=146}}|upright]]

The [[Portland Vase]], a [[Roman glass|Roman]] [[cameo glass]] vase dated to the Augustan period and now in the British Museum, includes a possible depiction of Cleopatra with Antony.{{sfnp|Roller|2010|p=178}}{{sfnp|Walker|2004|pp=41–59}} In this interpretation, Cleopatra can be seen grasping Antony and drawing him toward her while a serpent (i.e. the asp) rises between her legs, [[Eros]] floats above, and Anton, the alleged ancestor of the Antonian family, looks on in despair as his descendant Antony is led to his doom.{{sfnp|Roller|2010|p=178}}{{sfnp|Caygill|2009|p=146}} The other side of the vase perhaps contains a scene of Octavia, abandoned by her husband Antony but watched over by her brother, the emperor Augustus.{{sfnp|Roller|2010|p=178}}{{sfnp|Caygill|2009|p=146}} The vase would thus have been created no earlier than 35 BC, when Antony sent his wife Octavia back to Italy and stayed with Cleopatra in Alexandria.{{sfnp|Roller|2010|p=178}}

=====Native Egyptian art=====
{{further|Portraiture in ancient Egypt|Reign of Cleopatra#Egypt under the monarchy of Cleopatra}}
[[File:Denderah3 Cleopatra Cesarion.jpg|thumb|right|A carved relief of Cleopatra and her son [[Caesarion]] at the [[Temple of Dendera]], Egypt, 1st century BC|upright]]
The ''[[Bust of Cleopatra]]'' in the [[Royal Ontario Museum]] represents a bust of Cleopatra in the Egyptian style.{{sfnp|Ashton|2002|p=39}} Dated to the mid-1st century BC, it is perhaps the earliest depiction of Cleopatra as both a goddess and ruling pharaoh of Egypt.{{sfnp|Ashton|2002|p=39}} The sculpture also has pronounced eyes that share similarities with Roman copies of Ptolemaic sculpted works of art.{{sfnp|Ashton|2002|p=36}} The [[Dendera Temple complex]], near Dendera, Egypt, contains Egyptian-style carved relief images along the exterior walls of the Temple of [[Hathor]] depicting Cleopatra and her young son Caesarion as a grown adult and ruling pharaoh making [[Ancient Egyptian offering formula|offerings to the gods]].{{sfnp|Kleiner|2005|p=87}}{{sfnp|Roller|2010|pp=113–114, 176–177}} Augustus had his name inscribed there following the death of Cleopatra.{{sfnp|Kleiner|2005|p=87}}{{sfnp|Roller|2010|pp=113–114}}

A large Ptolemaic black [[basalt]] statue measuring {{convert|41|in|cm|order=flip|0}} in height, now in the [[Hermitage Museum]], [[Saint Petersburg]], is thought to represent Arsinoe II, wife of [[Ptolemy II]], but recent analysis has indicated that it could depict her descendant Cleopatra due to the three uraei adorning her headdress, an increase from the two used by Arsinoe II to symbolize her rule over [[Lower Egypt|Lower]] and [[Upper Egypt]].{{sfnp|Grout|2017a|}}{{sfnp|Roller|2010|p=176}}{{sfnp|Ashton|2008|pp=83–85}} The woman in the basalt statue also holds a divided, double [[cornucopia]] (''dikeras''), which can be seen on coins of both Arsinoe II and Cleopatra.{{sfnp|Grout|2017a|}}{{sfnp|Ashton|2008|pp=83–85}} In his {{lang|de|Kleopatra und die Caesaren}} (2006), {{interlanguage link|Bernard Andreae|de}} contends that this basalt statue, like other idealized Egyptian portraits of the queen, does not contain realistic facial features and hence adds little to the knowledge of her appearance.{{sfnp|Pina Polo|2013|p=194, footnote 11}}<ref group="note">{{harvtxt|Preston|2009|p=305}} comes to a similar conclusion about native Egyptian depictions of Cleopatra: "Apart from certain temple carvings, which are anyway in a highly stylised pharaonic style and give little clue to Cleopatra's real appearance, the only certain representations of Cleopatra are those on coins. The marble head in the Vatican is one of three sculptures generally, though not universally, accepted by scholars to be depictions of Cleopatra."</ref> [[Adrian Goldsworthy]] writes that, despite these representations in the traditional Egyptian style, Cleopatra would have dressed as a native only "perhaps for certain rites" and instead would usually dress as a Greek monarch, which would include the Greek headband seen in her Greco-Roman busts.{{sfnp|Goldsworthy|2010|p=8}}

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px" perrow="4">
File:Bust of Cleopatra at the Royal Ontario Museum.jpg|A granite Egyptian [[bust of Cleopatra]] from the [[Royal Ontario Museum]], mid-1st century BC
File:Statue of a Ptolemaic Queen, perhaps Cleopatra VII MET 89.2.660 EGDP013678.jpg|A marble statue of Cleopatra with her [[cartouche]] inscribed on the upper right arm and wearing a [[diadem]] with a triple [[uraeus]], from the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]]{{sfnp|Ashton|2001b|p=165}}
File:Isismontemartini.JPG|Possible sculpted head of Cleopatra VII wearing an Egyptian-style vulture headdress, discovered in Rome, either [[Roman art|Roman]] or [[Hellenistic Egypt]]ian art, [[Parian marble]], 1st century BC, from the [[Capitoline Museums]]{{sfnp|Fletcher|2008|pp=199–200}}{{sfnp|Ashton|2001a|p=217}}
</gallery>

====Medieval and Early Modern reception====
{{further||Medieval art|Medieval literature|Renaissance art|Renaissance literature|Early Modern literature|}}
[[File:Giambattista Tiepolo - The Banquet of Cleopatra - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|''[[The Banquet of Cleopatra (Tiepolo)|The Banquet of Cleopatra]]'' (1744), by [[Giovanni Battista Tiepolo]], now in the [[National Gallery of Victoria]], Melbourne{{sfnp|Anderson|2003|pp=11–36}}]]
In modern times Cleopatra has become an icon of popular culture,{{sfnp|Anderson|2003|p=36}} a reputation shaped by theatrical representations dating back to the Renaissance as well as paintings and films.{{sfnp|Roller|2010|pp=6–7}} This material largely surpasses the scope and size of existent historiographic literature about her from classical antiquity and has made a greater impact on the general public's view of Cleopatra than the latter.{{sfnp|Roller|2010|pp=6–9}} The 14th-century English poet [[Geoffrey Chaucer]], in ''[[The Legend of Good Women]]'', contextualized Cleopatra for the Christian world of the [[Middle Ages]].{{sfnp|Gurval|2011|pp=73–74}} His depiction of Cleopatra and Antony, her shining [[knight]] engaged in [[courtly love]], has been interpreted in modern times as being either playful or misogynistic satire.{{sfnp|Gurval|2011|pp=73–74}}

Chaucer highlighted Cleopatra's relationships with only two men as hardly the life of a seductress and wrote his works partly in reaction to the negative depiction of Cleopatra in {{lang|la|[[De Mulieribus Claris]]}} and {{lang|la|[[De Casibus Virorum Illustrium]]}}, Latin works by the 14th-century Italian poet [[Giovanni Boccaccio]].{{sfnp|Anderson|2003|pp=51–54}}{{sfnp|Burstein|2004|p=68}} The [[Renaissance humanist]] {{interlanguage link|Bernardino Cacciante|it}}, in his 1504 ''Libretto apologetico delle donne'', was the first Italian to defend the reputation of Cleopatra and criticize the perceived moralizing and misogyny in Boccaccio's works.{{sfnp|Anderson|2003|pp=54–55}} Works of Islamic historiography [[Arabic literature|written in Arabic]] covered the reign of Cleopatra, such as the 10th-century ''[[Meadows of Gold]]'' by [[Al-Masudi]],{{sfnp|Preston|2009|p=25}} although his work erroneously claimed that Octavian died soon after Cleopatra's suicide.{{sfnp|Jones|2006|pp=271–274}}

Cleopatra appeared in [[Miniature (illuminated manuscript)|miniatures]] for [[illuminated manuscript]]s, such as a [[:File:Tomb of Cleopatra and Mark Antony, illuminated manuscript of Boccaccio, miniature by the Boucicaut master, 1409 AD (cropped).jpg|depiction of her and Antony]] lying in a [[International Gothic|Gothic-style]] tomb by the [[Boucicaut Master]] in 1409.{{sfnp|Anderson|2003|p=54}} In the visual arts, the sculpted depiction of Cleopatra as a free-standing nude figure committing suicide began with the 16th-century sculptors [[Bartolommeo Bandinelli]] and [[Alessandro Vittoria]].{{sfnp|Anderson|2003|p=60}} [[Old master print|Early prints]] depicting Cleopatra include designs by the Renaissance artists [[Raphael]] and [[Michelangelo]], as well as 15th-century [[woodcut]]s in illustrated editions of Boccaccio's works.{{sfnp|Anderson|2003|pp=51, 60–62}}

In the performing arts, the death of [[Elizabeth I of England]] in 1603, and the German publication in 1606 of alleged letters of Cleopatra, inspired [[Samuel Daniel]] to alter and republish his 1594 play ''Cleopatra'' in 1607.{{sfnp|Rowland|2011|p=232}} He was followed by [[William Shakespeare]], whose ''[[Antony and Cleopatra]]'', largely based on Plutarch, was first performed in 1608 and provided a somewhat salacious view of Cleopatra in stark contrast to England's own [[Virgin Queen]].{{sfnp|Rowland|2011|pp=232–233}} Cleopatra was also featured in operas, such as [[George Frideric Handel]]'s 1724 ''[[Giulio Cesare in Egitto]]'', which portrayed the love affair of Caesar and Cleopatra;{{sfnp|Woodstra|Brennan|Schrott|2005|p=548}} [[Domenico Cimarosa]] wrote ''[[Cleopatra (Cimarosa)|Cleopatra]]'' on a similar subject in 1789.{{sfnp|Woodstra|Brennan|Schrott|2005|p=299}}

====Modern depictions and brand imaging====
{{further|List of cultural depictions of Cleopatra|Ancient Egypt in the Western imagination}}
[[File:Etty Cleopatra.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1.15|''[[The Triumph of Cleopatra]]'' (1821), by [[William Etty]], now in the [[Lady Lever Art Gallery]], [[Port Sunlight]], England|alt=Bare-breasted woman on a boat, surrounded by naked and semi-naked people]]

In [[Victorian Britain]], Cleopatra was highly associated with many aspects of ancient [[Egyptian culture]] and her image was used to market various household products, including oil lamps, [[lithograph]]s, postcards and cigarettes.{{sfnp|Wyke|Montserrat|2011|pp=173–174}} [[Victorian literature|Fictional novels]] such as [[H. Rider Haggard]]'s ''[[Cleopatra (Haggard novel)|Cleopatra]]'' (1889) and [[Théophile Gautier]]'s ''[[One of Cleopatra's Nights]]'' (1838) depicted the queen as a sensual and mystic Easterner, while the Egyptologist [[Georg Ebers]]'s ''Cleopatra'' (1894) was more grounded in historical accuracy.{{sfnp|Wyke|Montserrat|2011|pp=173–174}}{{sfnp|Pucci|2011|p=201}} The French dramatist [[Victorien Sardou]] and Irish playwright [[George Bernard Shaw]] produced plays about Cleopatra, while [[Victorian burlesque|burlesque]] shows such as [[F. C. Burnand]]'s ''Antony and Cleopatra'' offered satirical depictions of the queen connecting her and the environment she lived in with the modern age.{{sfnp|Wyke|Montserrat|2011|pp=173–177}}

Shakespeare's ''Antony and Cleopatra'' was considered canonical by the Victorian era.{{sfnp|Wyke|Montserrat|2011|p=173}} Its popularity led to the perception that [[:File:Lawrence Alma-Tadema- Anthony and Cleopatra.JPG|the 1885 painting]] by [[Lawrence Alma-Tadema]] depicted the meeting of Antony and Cleopatra on her pleasure barge in Tarsus, although Alma-Tadema revealed in a private letter that it depicts a subsequent meeting of theirs in Alexandria.{{sfnp|DeMaria Smith|2011|p=161}} Also based on Shakespeare's play was [[Samuel Barber]]'s opera ''[[Antony and Cleopatra (1966 opera)|Antony and Cleopatra]]'' (1966), commissioned for the opening of the [[Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center)|Metropolitan Opera House]].{{sfnp|Woodstra|Brennan|Schrott|2005|p=1175}} In his unfinished 1825 short story ''[[:Wikisource:The Egyptian Nights (Pushkin/Keane)|The Egyptian Nights]]'', [[Alexander Pushkin]] popularized the claims of the 4th-century Roman historian [[Aurelius Victor]], previously largely ignored, that Cleopatra had prostituted herself to men who paid for sex with their lives.{{sfnp|Jones|2006|pp=260–263}}{{sfnp|Pucci|2011|pp=198, 201}} Cleopatra also became appreciated outside the Western world and Middle East, as the [[Qing-dynasty]] Chinese scholar [[Yan Fu]] wrote an extensive biography of her.{{sfnp|Hsia|2004|p=227}}

[[Georges Méliès]]'s ''[[Robbing Cleopatra's Tomb]]'' ({{langx|fr|link=no|Cléopâtre}}), an 1899 French [[Silent film|silent]] horror film, was the first film to depict the character of Cleopatra.{{sfnp|Jones|2006|p=325}} [[Hollywood (film industry)|Hollywood]] films of the 20th century were influenced by earlier Victorian media, which helped to shape the character of Cleopatra played by [[Theda Bara]] in ''[[Cleopatra (1917 film)|Cleopatra]]'' (1917), [[Claudette Colbert]] in ''[[Cleopatra (1934 film)|Cleopatra]]'' (1934), and [[Elizabeth Taylor]] in ''[[Cleopatra (1963 film)|Cleopatra]]'' (1963).{{sfnp|Wyke|Montserrat|2011|pp=172–173, 178}} In addition to her portrayal as a "[[vampire]]" queen, Bara's Cleopatra also incorporated tropes familiar from 19th-century [[Orientalist painting]], such as [[despotism|despotic behavior]], mixed with dangerous and overt female sexuality.{{sfnp|Wyke|Montserrat|2011|pp=178–180}} Colbert's character of Cleopatra served as a [[glamour model]] for selling Egyptian-themed products in department stores in the 1930s, targeting female moviegoers.{{sfnp|Wyke|Montserrat|2011|pp=181–183}} In preparation for the film starring Taylor as Cleopatra, [[women's magazines]] of the early 1960s advertised how to use makeup, clothes, jewelry, and hairstyles to achieve the "Egyptian" look similar to the queens Cleopatra and [[Nefertiti]].{{sfnp|Wyke|Montserrat|2011|pp=172–173}} By the end of the 20th century there were forty-three films, two hundred plays and novels, forty-five operas, and five ballets associated with Cleopatra.{{sfnp|Pucci|2011|p=195}}