In this film three leading Egyptologists explore how Cleopatra became one of the most influential and powerful women of the ancient world.
We trace how Cleopatra's learning and intelligence enabled her to gain control of her own Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt; skilfully and ruthlessly overcoming her own family and manipulating Egyptian politics and religion to her own advantage. We discover the influence that the magnificent city of Alexandria exerted over the eastern Mediterranean and how Rome's growing power impinged on Egypt. Cleopatra played a difficult and skilful game negotiating relations with Rome, engaging both diplomatically and personally first with Julius Caesar and then Marcus Antonius (Mark Antony). Our experts consider how Cleopatra's remarkable personality enabled her to play such a key role in the first century BCE.
The film uses imagery from the worlds of art and motion pictures, as well as key Egyptian artefacts and locations, to investigate the representation and story of this remarkable and much misunderstood leader - unpicking the fact from the myth.
Up Next in Expert Panels
-
The Complete History Of Vladimir Puti...
Vladimir Putin is the modern face of dictatorship, rising out of the ashes of the chaotic Yeltsin years. In the 90's, Putin was a relatively unknown figure would go on to occupy an untouchable position in a country spanning 11 timezones. We delve inside the twisted mind of Vladimir Putin.
-
Sir Thomas More - Not Just the Tudors...
How far would you go to save your immortal soul?’
This is the question that plagued Tudor High Chancellor, Sir Thomas More. Lawyer, philosophiser, and advisor to Henry VIII, when the court turned on its head at the arrival of Anne Boleyn. Hounded by prolific characters like Thomas Cromwell, his ...
-
What if the Gunpowder Plot Succeeded?...
November 5th, 1605... beneath the shadowed vaults of the Houses of Parliament, a man waits with 36 barrels of gunpowder by his side, and a plan that could change the fate of a nation forever.
Then, in a moment, it's over... Guy Fawkes is caught and the plan thwarted. But what if he wasn't?
Led ...
19 Comments