Episode #63 – What Should We Believe About Cleopatra? (Part II)

Ancient authors would have us believe that the Egyptian Queen, Cleopatra, used an intoxicating blend of sexuality and extravagant living to manipulate powerful men. In fact some have gone so far as to lay every bad decision made by her lovers at her feet. Julius Caesar was obviously taken by the Queen, but was he really “bewitched” and “manipulated”. Tune in an find out how Indian tortoises, fake boat trips, and a golden armor death-trap all play a role in the story.

Works Cited

Ashton, Sally-Ann. Cleopatra and Egypt. Blackwell, 2008.

Lucan, and Susanna Morton. Braund. Lucan: Civil War. Oxford University Press, 1992.

Lucanus, Marcus Annaeus., and Robert Graves. Pharsalia: Dramatic Episodes of the Civil Wars. Cassell, 1961.

Miles, Margaret Melanie. Cleopatra: a Sphinx Revisited. University of California Press, 2011.

Plutarch, et al. The Complete Works of Plutarch. Crowell, 1910.

Preston, Diana. Cleopatra and Antony: Power, Love, and Politics in the Ancient World. Walker & Co., 2010.

Roller, Duane W. Cleopatra: a Biography. Oxford University Press, 2012.

Sax, Boria. The Mythical Zoo: Animals in Life, Legend and Literature. Duckworth, 2014.