Kids are going back to school this week, so I thought we’d do a 4-day theme week on some Weird History that you may not learn in history class!
Did you know that the time period Cleopatra ruled Egypt was closer to the moon landings than to the Great Pyramid being built? The Queen of the Nile reigned from 51 BC to 30 BC, roughly 2,500 after the Great Pyramid of Giza was built, and around 2,000 years before the first moon landings in 1969! She also wasn’t Egyptian at all. She was Greek, and was the first person in her dynasty to speak Ancient Egyptian. She spoke 8 other languages too, and was a scholar, scientist, and talented chemist.
She ascended the throne at 17, co-ruling Egypt with her brother. This joint reign didn’t go so well, and the 2 ended up at war for supremacy. Julius Caesar and his Roman forces sided with Cleopatra and they eventually won. At the height of her power, her empire was the largest amount of territory any woman ever ruled. She was also one of the richest women in the world, worth about $95.8 billion in today’s currency.
According to popular belief, Cleopatra died by letting an Egyptian cobra bite her. But that likey didn’t happen. According to writers of the time, Cleopatra poisoned herself using either a toxic ointment or introducing the poison with something sharp, like a hairpin. Her burial place is a mystery.
Cleopatra has been a popular figure since her death, appearing in a Shakespearean play, famous paintings and sculptures, and in Hollywood movies. By the end of the 20th century, the character of Cleopatra had appeared in 43 films. She was most famously portrayed by Elizabeth Taylor in 1963. That movie, Cleopatra, was one of the most expensive movies ever made.
Learn more here.