Cleopatra and Egypt / Edition 1

by Sally-Ann Ashton

Overview

This beautifully illustrated new biography of Cleopatra draws on literary, archaeological, and art historical evidence to paint an intimate and compelling portrait of the most famous Queen of Egypt.

• Deconstructs the image of Cleopatra to uncover the complex historical figure behind the myth

• Examines Greek, Roman, and Egyptian representations of Cleopatra

• Considers how she was viewed by her contemporaries and how she presented herself

• Incorporates the author’s recent field work at a temple of Cleopatra in Alexandria

• Beautifully illustrated with over 40 images

Product Details

ISBN-13:	2901405113907
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	04/28/2008
Series:	Blackwell Ancient Lives
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 1.25(h) x 9.00(d)

About the Author

Sally-Ann Ashton studied at King’s College London and is currently Senior Assistant Keeper in the Department of Antiquities at the Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge. She has published extensively on many aspects of later periods of Egyptian history and culture, including Ptolemaic royal sculpture from Egypt, the last queens of Egypt, Petrie’s Ptolemaic and Roman Memphis and Roman Egyptomania. She has worked on excavations in Greece, Libya, and Egypt and is currently involved in projects at Karnak temple.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations     viii
Author's Foreword     xi
Acknowledgments     xiii
Cleopatra - Black and Beautiful?     1
Sources     14
King's Daughter, King's Sister, Great Royal Wife     25
Ruler, Regent, and Pharaoh     61
Cleopatra's Capital and Court     115
Cleopatra as a Goddess     126
Cleopatra, Mark Antony, and the East     147
Death of a Queen, Rebirth of a Goddess     169
The Legacy of Cleopatra     190
Bibliography     197
Index     208

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Sally-Ann Ashton's Cleopatra and Egypt provides a coherent and up-to-date background to the study of antiquity's most controversial and fascinating woman. This book will be an invaluable resource for students and teachers, and the general reader will find much to enjoy. Highly recommended."
Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones, University of Edinburgh

Editorial Reviews

"Informative general introduction to Cleopatra, it tends to focus on a wide variety of sources that provide interesting angles from which to examine this infamous queen." (Scholia Reviews, 2010)

"Ashton's careful consideration of the Egyptian material is what makes her book a valuable addition to our understanding of Cleopatra. ... A welcome addition to the growing number of texts on Cleopatra suitable for classroom use." (The Classical Outlook, Spring 2009)

"If you want a well researched and illustrated account of Cleopatra within her contemporary Egyptian context, read Ashton." (The Bulletin of the American Society of Papyrologists, 2009)

"One of the best features of Ashton's book is its assessment of the evidence, literary as well as archaeological. Ashton's book … is a valuable contribution to the literature on Cleopatra." (Bryn Mawr Classical Review)

"A must-read, scholarly book on Cleopatra for students and teachers of ancient Egypt, Cleopatra, and ancient art." (About.com)

From the Publisher