20+ Amazing Facts About Cleopatra — The Woman Who Conquered the Ancient World

Queen Cleopatra is perhaps the most famous woman in antiquity. She is well known for her unusual rituals to take care of health and aesthetics, and for her torrid romances with Júlio César and Marco Antônio. However, some details of this great ruler of old still remain little known.

With that in mind, we at awesome.club, we decided to select some of the most remarkable and unexpected facts from Cleopatra’s biography exclusively for you. Check out!

The Ptolemaic dynasty ruled Egypt for 275 years. Cleopatra became the last queen of this dynasty. And indeed, her full name is Cleopatra VII, i.e. she went to seventh woman of that name in the family of the Egyptian pharaohs.

As shown in Plutarch’s notes, the ruler did not have the exceptional beauty that is usually shown in cinemas. But she, according to him, was admired for her speeches, her behavior and her velvety voice. The Roman historian Aurelius Victor, on the other hand, wrote that she was such an attractive woman that “many men were willing to give their lives for a night with her.”

But after studying Cleopatra’s carvings, as well as her images on ancient coins, scientists came to the conclusion that she had a large nose, narrow lips, and a pointed chin. Her height was 1.52 m and used to be a little overweight.

Cleopatra’s image is still sold well to this day. Marketers love to use it as a means of publicity emphasizing that “Cleopatra herself did it”. These are her best-known beauty tips:

It is believed that she bathed in warm milk and honey, and the result left the queen’s skin incredibly soft. And also that she used a scrub made from sour cream with sea salt. Cleopatra’s famous black eyeliner was not used for decorative purposes, but rather as a remedy. The substance used as makeup helped protect from eye infections, which were quite common at that time. This substance was antimony, responsible for preventing the development of these diseases. The queen knew that honey had antibacterial properties, so she applied it to her face as a cream. When recreating Cleoprata-style makeup, most people use gold or nude colors. However, the queen painted her lips and cheeks a bright red. For this, she used a red ocher ground and mixed with water. She washed her face several times a day with oil and lemon. and rinsed it off with apple cider vinegar. To keep her skin smooth and clean, Cleopatra used rose water as a tonic. Surprisingly, to this day this ingredient is found in most toners and cleansers. And you can do it yourself at home: just put the rose petals in a pot of water and bring to a boil. Once the petals have lost most of their color, turn off the heat and let the broth cool. If you wish, you can add some vitamin E to the solution.

Cleopatra used a plant called henna as a natural nail polish. It gives the nails a beautiful reddish brown color. Cucumber, gum, oil and sycamore juice mixed with boiled and crushed bones of a specific bird, were used by Queen Cleopatra as a hair removal cream. If you run out of pencils or eyeshadow, toast some almonds. The queen of Egypt used this burnt oilseed to darken her eyebrows. Cleopatra had a special recipe for getting rid of unwanted sunburn. And many people still use it: in a glass, put green grapes and a tablespoon of honey. Mix and apply to the skin. After 15 minutes, the stain will disappear from the body.

The queen was considered one of the most educated women of her time. His knowledge of literature, art, politics and philosophy surprised his interlocutors. Possessing incredible grace and elegance, the queen played the lute and harp to perfection, as well as singing and dancing. Cleopatra still you knew at least seven languagesso he rarely resorted to translators, preferring to communicate personally with foreigners.

Once, the population revolted in Egypt. Julius Caesar soon decided to intervene in the matter, simultaneously levying more taxes on the Egyptians. Only Ptolemy went to the meeting on this subject with the Roman Emperor. Surprised by Cleopatra’s absence, Caesar sent a messenger to her. She knew she needed to see him, but she didn’t know how to get to Alexandria, where an angry mob was ready to kill her. So the queen, together with a colleague, sailed to the capital, where she wrapped herself in a sack and her friend, pretending to be a fisherman, managed to take her to the palace. Impressed by such cunning, the Roman Emperor fell madly in love with Cleopatra.

Julius Caesar would do anything for the queen of Egypt. So much so that in the Roman temple of Venus, by his order, a golden statue of Cleopatra was erected and divine honors were bestowed upon her.

In Rome, they began to believe that Julius Caesar wanted to proclaim his son with the Egyptian queen as his heir. So, according to rumors, because of this, a conspiracy was made against the emperor, which led to his tragic death.

Cleopatra realized that she could only remain queen of Egypt if she seduced Mark Antony. Therefore, she decided to win the Roman soldier’s heart in every way. She knew that the commander considered himself the personification of the Greek god Dionysus, and to impress him, she decided to play with him. She appeared in the city in the robes of the Greek goddess Aphrodite. Seeing her, the commander lost his mind

Witnesses said that Cleopatra was behaved differently with Mark Antony and with Julius Caesar. If with the Roman Emperor she was always witty, charming, graceful, talked about art, literature and politics, with the commander she behaved like a courtesan: she spoke obscene things, drank a lot, sang indecent songs, etc.

Mark Antony, hopelessly in love, did everything for her, everything the queen wanted. His love for Cleopatra was so strong that he The thesis divorced of his lawful wife, Octavia.

The queen studied mathematics, astronomy, oratory and philosophy. Cleopatra became the only one of the entire dynasty who adopted the Egyptian religion and was interested in the culture of Egypt. Before her reign, the Ptolemies were not particularly interested in the gods and customs of their people. Cleopatra had a great sense of humor. Along with Mark Antony, She founded a club called “Inimitable Livers” (a kind of “Drinking Club”, for the good connoisseurs). Its members threw loud parties washed down with a lot of alcohol. The empress and Mark Antony dressed in special costumes so that no one would recognize them and wandered around the city at night. Cleopatra spent the equivalent, nowadays, of 20 million dollars in a cocktail🇧🇷 to do such drink, she needed a cup of vinegar and a giant pearl. She dropped the stone into the glass and watched it slowly dissolve. After that, she calmly drank this unusual drink. The queen gave birth to children to Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. From Caesar there was a son named Caesarion. From Antony — the twins Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selena, as well as Ptolemy Philadelphus. Cleopatra was convinced that scents could be a tool of persuasion. So, she had her own perfume factory. As well as, in the vicinity of her residence, had a beauty salon and a spa🇧🇷 The ruins of these environments were found during excavations.

The brother of Mark Antony’s ex-wife, Octavian, decided to go to war with Egypt. The enemy won the troops of the queen and the commander, so Cleopatra decided to take drastic action. When she found out that they were going to drive her chained like a slave behind Octavian’s carriage, she said, “These wrists were made to wear jewelry, handcuffs are for commoners and criminals🇧🇷 The Queen of Egypt will never be defeated!🇧🇷

On his last day, he gave a sumptuous feast for the victors. During the party, she retired to her room. And, according to one version, she took poison, with another, she was bitten by a viper.

Cleopatra thus became the last queen of Egypt, as her death coincided with the decline of this great kingdom and once mighty empire, which became one of the Roman colonies. Her life was full of intriguing twists and was so brilliant and unusual that Cleopatra is remembered and revered to this day.

What do you think of this great ruler? Tell us in the comments section.