Was it truth that cleopatra was a kind of witch? ?

Question

that she use to practice spells and stuff?

Answer 1

Yes, she was a witch. She is the a seductress, and seduced powerful men of Rome (in our day standards, the most powerful leaders), such as Julius Caesar and Mark Anthony. Cleoeprata had a shallow forehead, pointed chin, thin lips and a witch-like nose.



She wasn't pretty, it is jsut a hollywood image. She isn't pretty because we have discovered this from archelogical evidence. She actually did produce withcraft. So she is a witch as well as do the "magic" in her pagan(comapred to Christianity) religion.



For more info on Cleopatra go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleopatra_VII_of_Egypt#Cultural_depictions_of_Cleopatra_VII



So, yes she was a witch I believe would be the terminology you would classify a witch as.



P.S. Magic back then, witchcraft was more common then, that's why it is in the Bible, Koran, Torah etc. There was a lot of witchcraft and demon usage, especially by the Ancient Egyptians.

Answer 2

No she wasn't a witch as far as any historian can tell. She was of course a pagan of the Egyptian pantheon and performed the practices associated with the religion.

Primarily, she was called a witch by Octavian as a propaganda strategy against Anthony i.e. to "paint her black" to the Roman people. Otherwise his war on Anthony would have been construed as a civil war whereas now with the propaganda, the war could be shown as against a foreign queen who used dark arts to seduce first Caesar then Anthony. She did actually try to seduce Octavian as well but didn't succeed.

She wasn't bad as such, she was ruler and a queen who tried to reestablish the independence of Egypt from Rome, an independence that her father sold to Rome. And she married her younger brother [not cousin!] as was the custom amongst the Egyptian royals. She and her brother was engaged in civil war when Caesar came to Egypt and with Caesar's help she had her brother assassinated and took the throne as sole ruler of Egypt, but still under Roman rule.

And no, apparently she wasn't beautiful but she was very well educated and had power over the province [Egypt] that was the bread basket of Rome.

Answer 3

Jingizu is right about Kleopatra's image being part of Octavian's propaganda machine, arguably the most successful in history, as you are asking this question over two thousand years after the campaign began. Other factors that might contribute to the perception of withcraft is her great learning, her gift with languages - she spoke eight, and as a way of explaining the birth of her twins to Marc Antony. The only aspect I disagree with Jingizu about is Octavian's motive behind spreading these nasty rumours about Kleopatra. It is true that he needed to make the war about her and not Antony, but it is not to avoid civil war, they had been going on for over fifty years, but to get around the fact that Marc Antony was so popular with the people of Rome, the focus of the war had to be shifted in order for Octavian to make the necessary moves. By the way, the only reason she married her own brother is because the Pharaohs had to marry divinity - which is why the interest in the Julii clan.

Answer 4

It all depends on what you view of a witch is. Many egyptian customs from that period could be seen as witchcraft by todays standards.



Anthony Pittarelli

Answer 5

Part of the Egyptian culture was incantations and pagan beliefs.



She practiced the religion of the time. It wasn't called witchcraft, it just was part of their belief system.

Answer 6

she also married her younger cousin.