Egypt: ‘Cleopatra’s Banquet’—a 1680 oil painting by Gerard Lairesse.

Cleopatra VII (69—30 BCE) was the last pharaoh of ancient Egypt and last of the Ptolemaic dynasty.

Famed historically as a classic femme fatale, Cleopatra seduced Roman emperor Julius Caesar in order to secure her place on the Egyptian throne. After Caesar’s assassination in 44 BCE, Rome became divided between his heir, Gaius Octavian (later known as Augustus), and his military commander Mark Anthony. Cleopatra aligned herself with Mark Anthony and used her powers of seduction upon him. He fell in love with her and stayed with her at the Egyptian court in Alexandria. The couple had two children. But after losing the Battle of Actium, both Mark Anthony and Cleopatra committed suicide rather than be taken to Rome as prisoners. Cleopatra famously killed herself on 12th August, 30 BCE, by the bite of an asp.

In this scene from her court in Alexandria, Cleopatra has bet her lover Mark Anthony that she could there and then host a banquet for the princely sum of 10 million sestertia. After Mark Anthony accepted the wager, Cleopatra removed one of her pearl earrings, dissolved it in vinegar, then drank it. She is in the process of removing her second earring to do likewise, but is stopped by the disapproving former Roman senator Lucius Plancus.

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Supplier: CPA Media Co. Ltd.

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Pictures From History