Controversy over the appearance of Egyptian Queen Cleopatra

Egypt Researchers still cannot agree on the physical characteristics of Queen Cleopatra because her remains have not been found and there is no information about her biological mother.

A relief depicting Queen Cleopatra. Photo: De Agostini — A relief depicting Queen Cleopatra. Photo: *De Agostini*

Cleopatra VII may be the most famous woman in the ancient world. She was the last ruler of the dynasty that ruled ancient Egypt for about 300 years, from the death of Alexander the Great to the rise of the Roman Empire. Her face has been immortalized in numerous artifacts, including coins. Perhaps the best-known portrait of Cleopatra is a relief in the Egyptian temple of Dendera, along with her son Caesarion, according to Live Science .

Yet researchers still know very little about what the most powerful woman in the ancient world looked like. In recent years, controversy has centered on Cleopatra's skin color. Archaeological records offer few clues. Her remains have never been found. Contemporary illustrations do not accurately depict the queen's appearance. "We have no evidence from antiquity that would reveal what Cleopatra's skin color was," says Prudence Jones, a professor of anthropology and classics at Montclair State University. What's more, our notions of "white" or "black" skin color were foreign to the ancients.

Queen Cleopatra VII reigned from 51 to 30 BC. She was the last ruler of the Ptolemaic dynasty, which ruled Egypt for nearly 300 years. When Julius Caesar visited Egypt, she had a son with him named Caesarion. Cleopatra later became the lover of Mark Antony and bore him three children. After Octavian's forces invaded Egypt in 30 BC, Cleopatra committed suicide.

There are few artifacts of Cleopatra that researchers have found, including coins from the Taposiris Magna site in Egypt. In addition, there are many statues depicting Queen Cleopatra in museums around the world. However, researchers are uncertain about the origin of the statues and whether they actually depict Queen Cleopatra.

Andrew Kenrick, a visiting researcher at the University of East Anglia in England, said ancient writers often left out what their figures looked like. Statues can also be misleading because they tend to exaggerate the figure’s appearance rather than its true form. For example, a sculpture might depict a king who was more muscular than he actually was.

Additionally, scientists do not know the identities of Cleopatra's mother or grandmother, meaning the queen may have had African ancestry. They only know that Cleopatra's father was Greek. Members of the Ptolemaic dynasty sometimes married directly, and Cleopatra married her brother, Ptolemy XIV, before he was killed in 44 BC.

However, Zahi Hawass, former Minister of Antiquities, said that the Greek origin clearly shows that Cleopatra was not black. In historical documents, she was a descendant of a general in Macedonia, Greece, who was a contemporary of Alexander the Great. Cleopatra's language was Greek and in busts, she is depicted with white skin.

In 2009, researchers examined remains found in a tomb in Ephesus in modern-day Türkiye in 1926. They determined that the skeleton belonged to Arsinoë IV, Cleopatra's sister who was killed on Mark Antony's orders in 41 BC. According to ancient records, Cleopatra suspected Arsinoë of trying to usurp her throne.

Although the skull was lost during World War II, the team reconstructed and analyzed it using old photographs and drawings. They identified cranial features that indicated Arsinoë IV’s mother was of African descent. The distance from the forehead to the back of the skull was very large compared to the height of the skull, which is common in many black African groups. That means Arsinoë IV was of mixed descent, according to Caroline Wilkinson, professor of anthropology at the University of Liverpool.

Assuming Arsinoë was Cleopatra's biological sister, the queen could have had African ancestry. But Duane Roller, professor emeritus of classics at Ohio University, argues that it is unlikely that Cleopatra and Arsinoë were half-sisters, since Cleopatra's father, Ptolemy XII, fathered children with several women.

An Khang (According to Live Science )

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