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Description
Queen Cleopatra VII (69 B.C.E.-30B.C.E) is arguably the most famous and influential woman who ever lived. Everyone knows her name and her story. However, very few people know what she actually looked like. There are very few surviving <nobr>sculptures</nobr> and a handful of <nobr>copper coins</nobr> bearing her likeness. Today, there’s a huge debate over what she looked like amongst the general population and even between historians themselves. Furthering the feud, artistic representations in paintings and films have further confused the general populace about Cleopatra’s appearance. The debate has gone from people fighting over what her hair color was to fighting over her race. Some historians even speculate the ridiculous ideas that Cleopatra was <nobr>Persian</nobr>, Asian, or African. This is ridiculous due to the fact Cleopatra was descended from a long line of Greek ancestors (some cases many ancestors committed incest). The truth of what she looked like is right in front of us. We have plenty of coins and a few busts bearing her image not to mention descriptions from those who actually saw her.
Ancient text from Cleopatra’s lifetime (many from her stay in Rome) state that she was a beautiful woman heavy of Greek features with reddish-blonde hair. Her skin was darker than the average Greek woman, reflecting a Persian grandmother (however this only makes her roughly 1% Persian and 99%% Greek in all honesty). Her eyes are debatable. Greeks back in ancient times didn’t look like they do today. They were much lighter and they consisted of various hair and eye colors. Most likely her eyes were a blue, green or brown. Most likely Cleopatra’s eyes would’ve had a neutral color that held enough of blue and green that they could pass as either depending on the colors she wore. Most historians agree that she was a highly intelligent and NOT a harlot and only bedded two men: Caesar and Antony, whom she loved. She was a devoted lover and mother who fought to bring her country back top greatness and unite the wor.ds of Egypt and Rome as one.
The best depiction of Cleopatra we have is the bust located at the Altes Museum in Berlin. This bust is a postmortem construction commissioned by her daughter Cleopatra Selene. Combing this bust with the coins and Cleopatra’s description I have constructed this artistic rendering of what she most likely would have looked like. The colors are accurate enough but her exact features will slightly vary. We will only know her true features when an exact sculpture of her likeness is found or her tomb is discovered.
In this reconstruction Cleopatra stands dressed in her ceremonial robes where she is depicted as the Egyptian goddess Isis. The Greek vase behind her symbolizes her family’s heritage. I've included all the images used in the reconstruction below;
Links to elements in the reconstruction:
Berlin Cleopatra Bust:
www.livius.org/a/1/egypt/cleop…
Cleopatra coins:
24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m7b…
www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=&…
realhistoryww.com/world_histor…
Isis robes:
webpage.pace.edu/nreagin/F2005…
Headdress:
