| Title | : | History of Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt (Makers of History, #13) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 166 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 1851 |
History of Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt (Makers of History, #13) Reviews
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A biography of Cleopatra, a bit more restrained than some later ones, but heavily dependent on Roman sources. This means that Cleopatra is a genius, a wicked woman who studies the effects of poison on her prisoners, and a mistress of the arts of seduction. I recently read a bio based on Arabic sources, which basically takes the local view that she was a philosopher queen and that all the purient sex stuff is Romans doing what Romans do when they hate foreigners. So, interesting, yes. Factual? Well…that’s arguable.
Originally reviewed on
book coasters -
This, in my opinion, could have been a much better book if:
1. There hadn't been an excessive use of long-winded sentences.
2. The author hadn't been too judgmental and overlaid his modern (Christian?) ideas of morality and deviations from what is "natural" on historical affairs that are now more than two thousand years old. -
Written in the 19th century by a Christian, the book (understandably) have several paragraphs dedicated to praise the superiority of said religion, and at many points it criticizes "the heathens". Obviously, these should all be taken with more than a grain of salt.
Cleopatra, the titular character, was painted in a most unfavorable light: the book potrayed her as a selfish ruler with no restraints, a cruel woman, and in short, an immoral temptress that ruined the life and career of two great men. The whole dynasty from which she descended received similar treatment: all its faults and vices exposed and condemned, while its every accomplishment must be somehow tainted. It was quite harsh, but not completely unfair (unobjective, maybe). Other notables figures and monuments was also mentioned at length, the wars and conflicts highlighted, making for an intriguing story. The general outline is accurate, but some details are too privy, too fancy and entirely too cliche to be anything but embellishments. I'm guessing the author's main source of references is the Greeks.
All thing considered, "story" would make for a better, and more honest title than "history", since this book is more of a tale than a record of facts. Granted, tales are almost all we have from that time, in a manner of speaking. Hence the three stars. -
A perfect story of Cleopatra and her life. Impressed with the details over few things but also a good insight of the life's of ancient legends like Octavia and octavius
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“The final downfall of an unhappy queen.” What do you mean unhappy? Perhaps words like crazy or psychotic fit a tad better…
This book quite literally overwhelmed me with the amount of information there was. Great book for people who are extremely fascinated with history or writing a thesis on this subject matter and would like to know everything that was going on and everyone that was alive in the same time period as Cleopatra. My issue is that I am more interested in learning about her rather than all the side characters in her life. Lastly, I wish the author painted her life in a more exciting way, the style was complicated.
Although there was a lot of information, I did find myself extremely fascinated with the bit about the Library of Alexandria. I’ve heard about the great fire many times, but never knew it’s significance or how it occurred. It really is a shame that so many books are forever lost and can understand why people get so irrationally upset to this day.
I also enjoyed the part about Cleopatra poising her prisoners and such. Literally what a crazy woman, I am shocked. All of the things she did to get what she want and all the men that literally fell at her feet— wow, what a woman. The most exciting parts, at least for me, were about her and Anthony’s relationship, which can be described as psychotic— a match made in heaven! I think that I would enjoy reading more about their toxic relationship in the future.
Overall, interesting, but slow, very slow due to the amount of stuff jammed into each chapter. -
It is clear to me that Cleopatra should be included on a list of nastiest people in history. Calling her a vixen does grave injustice to the fox species. She came close to bringing down two nations. For her amusement, she watched various poisons administered to prisoners, watching their effects, speed, and level of pain before death. Nice lady.
I learned more about the library of Alexandria. Ptolemy Philadelphus, a ruler of Egypt, wished to make a complete collection of all the books in the world. And this wish begot the Septuagint, a copy of the Old Testament in Greek, translated by 72 Hebrew scholars (6 from each tribe).
The later burning of this same library happened through Caesar's command to burn the Egyptian vessels in the harbor of Alexandria to prevent them from being used by his enemy, Achillas. A wind blew the ships to shore, and the flames reached the library. -
Jacob Abbott wrote his History of Cleopatra, Queen Of Egypt in 1854. In the century and a half since its publication, the book’s factual detail of this ancient life has been augmented via textual and archaeological research. What have not changed, however, are the basic outlines of the story which depict an intriguing, a surprising and indeed a shocking picture.
Cleopatra was a Ptolemy at the end of the line of Egyptian kings who were not themselves Egyptian, either nationally or culturally. Installed by Alexander The Great in the city that he founded and named after himself, this Greek-speaking succession line ruled Egypt for 300 years or so, comprising several dynasties. And, as a group, they perhaps vie for the title of the most dysfunctional family in human history.
We learn early on, for instance, how a particular king, fearful of the potential power that might accrue to his son, whose interests were being promoted by his mother. The king decided to teach the boy’s mother, his wife, a lesson in the use of power. Not only did he have the boy killed, we are told in Abbott’s account, he had the boy dismembered, probably minced, the products of the process being boxed with the head on top, and then delivered as a present to his mother. Quite normal behaviour for a potential Ptolemy, it seems.
Of course, nowadays, no one could possibly get away with having a political rival killed on personal whim. No one would have such a rival actually dismembered and disposed of, and then be pardoned of all guilt. Of course not… But in Ptolemaic Egypt in the first century before the current era, anything was possible.
Cleopatra herself kept the family tradition alive. She had her sister murdered. She married both of her younger brothers and had both of them killed. She watched mock naval battles for entertainment where the only mockery was that of the ruler towards the ruled. Thousands of participants actually died in this spectator sport. It all sounds like the perfect vehicle for Technicolor. Perhaps someone might even make a film.
On a recent visit to Egypt, I concluded that the ancient society might have been the perfect Keynesian economy. Most people seem to have been involved in public works and, effectively, paid by the state to aggrandize the presence of that state. Having read Cleopatra, Queen Of Egypt by Jacob Abbott, I now realize that this was pure illusion. This was a slave society where the rulers’ proclaimed proximity to god gave him or her absolute power to abuse. It, of course, could not happen these days. -
• When we talk about The Cleopatra, we should know that there were 6 Cleopatras before her.
• She was the last known Cleopatra in the history who ruled her Empire. She was the daughter of Ptolemy XII Auletes (The illegitimate son Ptolemy IX). She shared the Throne with her brother; Ptolemy XIII whom she married later on as per Egyptian custom in that time. Through the history she has been described as the most intelligent female who let men fall in love with her strong bright personality and her endurance. Some even witnessed that these were the reason of describing her as the most beautiful and attractive female in history. What ultimately made Cleopatra attractive were her wit, charm and "sweetness in the tones of her voice and the amount of knowledge to make herself agreeable to everyone.
• During her time the great Empire of Egypt was under the protection of Romanian. She ruled the Empire a few years. She fall in love with Marcus Antonius Marci (he was a leader, politician and Roman consul who was born in Rome and died in Alexandria) whom his romantic relationship cost him prestige in Rome.
On the piled, falling cushions of her seat
With violet eyelids moving not she rests;
The collars of thick gold heaved by her breasts
Betray her silent, languorous fever-heat.
A rose farewell floats on the pyramids,
Eve droops a shadow from his velvet lids;
And while afar the crocodiles are weeping,
Clenching her fingers, sighing into the air,
She shakes to feel lascivious and creeping
Hands, which in the wind exhaust her hair. -
A concise outline of the life of Cleopatra VII. Abbott gets the history across without being vulgar, which I appreciated, but the book has solidified my opinion of her as being nothing more than the world’s most famous whore who killed anyone she didn’t like and seduced anyone she did like.
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What a marvelous read. I honestly listened to this book rather than read it, simply because it is available for free on librivox. Yet the writing is beautiful, and it is such a captivating book that one will not have the usual stray of thought as one has with audiobooks.
The story is rather more than just Cleopatra, it is a nice brush over the entire Ptolemaic dynasty. Though Egyptian myself, I was astonished how little do I know of the horrid history of the Ptolemaic dynasty. They ruled Egypt for 275 years with history of parents killing their daughters and children in pursuit of the thrown. Yet I guess t his is true for any dynasty. The character of Mark Anthony is also rather beautiful. I always thought the movies has fantasized a false impression of him, yet historically it does seem like he was a prince charming in every since.
This book is a nice introduction for people like myself who don't have the time to read gigantic books on well publicized figures yet hate to gain only a vague idea of reality. -
كليوباترا ..أحد أهم ملكات التاريخ وأحد شخصياتي النسائية المفضلة
ربما سابقٱ..
چاكوب أبوت يتتبع في هذا الكتاب حياة كليوباترا ،لكن ليس من بدايتها ،بل من قبل بدايتها ؛فيبدأ الكتاب بتاريخ البطالمة في مصر وممارساتهم الغريبة ،ويتعرض لجغرافيا مصر ثم يصل إلي حياة كليوباترا.
هذا الكتاب جاذب لأبعد الحدود ،الترجمة رائعة ،وتسلسل الأحداث يمنع الملل .
يبرز هذا الكتاب مساويء شخصية كليوباترا ،واستغلالها لجمالها بذكاء لتضمن استقرارها على العرش .
من أفضل الكتب التي قرأتها هذا العام . -
(LibriVox) It’s a shame that these books were meant for young people and modern young people probably won’t read them. They’re written in the style of their time; lots of “thithers” and “thuses.” But beyond that, really great accessible biography.
Recommending for anyone looking for some background on Cleo. -
was supposed to be a historical book, turned out to be a Christian critique of incest and pagans.
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Another famous story of how a woman ruined a man's career... Mark Anthony could have been the next Caesar in Roman Empire had it not been for Cleopatra's charms...
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I enjoyed this biography of one of Egypt's great Queens; however I have some criticisms which I will get into.
It starts with the story of Egypt, and Cleopatra's family, who are mostly barbaric and cruel and incestuous. Written with a purely 19th Century spin, its not an entire surprise that her and her culture are spoken of with such contempt.
We move on to Cleopatra's father, a most hateful man who is barbaric, for his own amusement, and in his will declares Cleopatra and her brother, who is much younger (about 7 years if I am remembering correctly) in order to protect the kingdom and thus ensure further ruling by the same family.
Whilst the facts are all included, we don't learn much about this great queen other than through the eyes of the major Roman rulers of that time (Julius Ceaser and Mark Antony). Very interesting men, with some very interesting exploits, but what about Cleopatra herself. What was her life like? How was she treated? She was a powerful and wealthy ruler (evidenced by the many descriptions of her ostentatious wealth), how was it accumulated? and what did her subjects think of her?
This book won't answer those questions, and instead reads like the movie of the same name. Whilst this book gave me the bare bones, it didn't give me what I needed - an indepth look into Cleopatra herself.
My other major issue with this book, is that each chapter begins with a summary of the previous chapter. This feels very unnecessary and is further repeated throughout the text, with comments such as "we will get into this in much further detail later on" and some such comments. Whilst other peripheral characters and their impact on Cleopatra and her events are almost ignored. For example, she was attended too in her final days by several handmaidens, who were devoted to her. However, there reasons for devotion are completely ignored.
Overall, it was a decent introduction into Cleopatra, but I would like to see her framed without the context of a 19th Century religious historian, who used predominately Roman historical documents. -
In 1854, this history of Cleopatra was first published by the Maine State author Jacob Abbott. He was a graduate of Bowdoin College and became a prolific author, writing histories, biographies, religious books for the general reader, juvenile fiction, and a few works in popular science. He wrote 180 books and was a coauthor or editor of 31 more. He died in Farmington, Maine.
I'd heard of Abbott about 1940 when my father collected his publications for Colby College. I read a few of his books aimed as educational, ethical and moralistic works for young people. This biography of Cleopatra surprises me for for its clear, thorough, and informative presentation of this biography. One example is Abbott's description of Egypt, a long unique valley, isolated from other civilized lands by being hemmed in by deserts, east and west, and created fertile by the north-flowing Nile. Abbott's writing here is not scholarly or pedantic, merely given simple informative treatment.
Here is a sample from this book I have read, showing how Abbott weaves together history, science, and local circumstance while engaging the reader in biography.
"At the division of Alexander's empire, after his death, Egypt fell to one of his generals,
named Ptolemy. Ptolemy made it his kingdom, and left it, at his death, to his heirs. A long line of sovereigns succeeded him, known in history as the dynasty of the Ptolemies—Greek princes, reigning over an Egyptian realm. Cleopatra was the daughter of the eleventh in the line. The capital of the Ptolemies was Alexandria. Until the time of Alexander's conquest, Egypt had no sea-port. There were several landing-places along the coast, but no proper harbor. In fact Egypt had then so little commercial intercourse with the rest of the world, that she scarcely needed any. Alexander's engineers, however, in exploring the shore, found a point not far from the Canopic mouth of the Nile where the water was deep, and where there was an anchorage ground protected by an island. Alexander founded a city there, which he called by his own name." -
I read the history of Cleopatra and her love stories with the Roman kings for the first time through this book. It gives deep insights about the times, how the politics worked back then, the incest and the reforms for the people. However, the author seemed quite biased against Cleopatra in her simplest of acts. The fall of Caesar had nothing to do with Cleopatra in my opinion. It seemed to be just politics. And Antonio was created into an innocent boy who was blindly following her everywhere. But he was a roman king using his own judgement too. Eager to find a more objective version of this history soon. Hopefully a writer who is not intimated by a powerful woman and doesn't reduce her success to her sexuality.
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Read this book after watching the better than Game of thrones HBO series Rome, I was suprised to learn this book is written almost 170 years ago, it's a fun read if you like Roman history and the time when Rome used to rule most of Europe and Asia Minor and Africa, it features well known personalities like Mark Anthony, Caesar,Pompey,Octavian,Cleopatra, Ptolemy.
My recommendation would be to watch the series and then read the book. -
I would have recommended the name of the book "History of Egypt and Greece" than "History of Cleopatra" as very less facts about Cleopatra but overall good summery of history about Egypt, Greece and neighbouring places.
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i just finished the book and i think it is so exciting, especially after half. the beginning of the book may seem boring to some people, but it contains parts necessary to understand the story. actually we all know the story but it is still influential 🪽
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Great translation of Plutarch's writing. It just goes to show you that there are great writers in every age. Another life of a person that could read as a great novel. A must read.
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An interesting narrative, and mostly presents the life of Cleopatra through Roman perception
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The books was written as multicentric rather than Cleopatra-centric.
