Reece (2017, p. 203) notes that "[t]he fragmentary texts of ancient Greek papyri do not often make their way into the modern public arena, but this one has, and with fascinating results, while remaining almost entirely unacknowledged is the remarkable fact that Cleopatra's one-word subscription contains a blatant spelling error: γινέσθωι, with a superfluous iotaadscript." This spelling error "has not been noted by the popular media", however, being "simply transliterated [...] including, without comment, the superfluous iota adscript" (p. 208). Even in academic sources, the misspelling was largely unacknowledged or quietly corrected (pp. 206–208, 210).Although described as "'normal' orthography" (in contrast with "'correct' orthography") by Peter van Minnen (p. 208), the spelling error is "much rarer and more puzzling" than the sort one would expect from the Greek papyri from Egypt (p. 210)—so rare, in fact, that it occurs only twice in the 70,000 Greek papyri between the 3rd century BC and 8th century AD in the Papyrological Navigator's database. This is especially so when considering it was added to a word "with no etymological or morphological reason for having an iota adscript" (p. 210) and was written by "the well-educated, native Greek-speaking, queen of Egypt" Cleopatra VII (p. 208). Reece, Steve (2017), "Cleopatra Couldn't Spell (And Neither Can We!)", in Groton, Anne Harmar (ed.), Ab Omni Parte Beatus: Classical Essays in Honor of James M. May, Mundelein, Illinois: Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, pp. 201–220, ISBN978-0-86516-843-5, LCCN2017002236, OCLC969973660, archived from the original on 9 July 2021, retrieved 2 September 2018.
Grant (1972, pp. 5–6) notes that the Hellenistic period, beginning with the reign of Alexander the Great, came to an end with the death of Cleopatra in 30 BC. Michael Grant stresses that the Hellenistic Greeks were viewed by contemporary Romans as having declined and diminished in greatness since the age of Classical Greece, an attitude that has continued even into the works of modern historiography. Regarding Hellenistic Egypt, Grant argues, "Cleopatra VII, looking back upon all that her ancestors had done during that time, was not likely to make the same mistake. But she and her contemporaries of the first century BC had another, peculiar, problem of their own. Could the 'Hellenistic Age' (which we ourselves often regard as coming to an end in about her time) still be said to exist at all, could any Greek age, now that the Romans were the dominant power? This was a question never far from Cleopatra's mind. But it is quite certain that she considered the Greek epoch to be by no means finished, and intended to do everything in her power to ensure its perpetuation." Grant, Michael (1972), Cleopatra, London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson; Richard Clay (the Chaucer Press), ISBN978-0-297-99502-9.
For a thorough explanation about the foundation of Alexandria by Alexander the Great and its largely Hellenistic Greek nature during the Ptolemaic period, along with a survey of the various ethnic groups residing there, see Burstein (2004, pp. 43–61).For further validation about the founding of Alexandria by Alexander the Great, see Jones (2006, p. 6).For further validation of Ptolemaic rulers being crowned at Memphis, see Jeffreys (1999, p. 488). Burstein, Stanley M. (2004), The Reign of Cleopatra, Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, ISBN978-0-313-32527-4. Jones, Prudence J. (2006), Cleopatra: a sourcebook, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, ISBN978-0-8061-3741-4, archived from the original on 24 December 2019, retrieved 27 March 2018. Jeffreys, David (1999), "Memphis", in Bard, Kathryn A. (ed.), Encyclopedia of the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt, London: Routledge, pp. 488–490, ISBN978-0-415-18589-9, archived from the original on 1 November 2017, retrieved 2 November 2018.
Grant (1972, p. 3) states that Cleopatra could have been born in either late 70 BC or early 69 BC. Grant, Michael (1972), Cleopatra, London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson; Richard Clay (the Chaucer Press), ISBN978-0-297-99502-9.
Fletcher (2008, p. 87) describes the painting from Herculaneum further: "Cleopatra's hair was maintained by her highly skilled hairdresser Eiras. Although rather artificial looking wigs set in the traditional tripartite style of long straight hair would have been required for her appearances before her Egyptian subjects, a more practical option for general day-to-day wear was the no-nonsense 'melon hairdo' in which her natural hair was drawn back in sections resembling the lines on a melon and then pinned up in a bun at the back of the head. A trademark style of Arsinoe II and Berenice II, the style had fallen from fashion for almost two centuries until revived by Cleopatra; yet as both traditionalist and innovator, she wore her version without her predecessor's fine head veil. And whereas they had both been blonde like Alexander, Cleopatra may well have been a redhead, judging from the portrait of a flame-haired woman wearing the royal diadem surrounded by Egyptian motifs which has been identified as Cleopatra." Fletcher, Joann (2008), Cleopatra the Great: The Woman Behind the Legend, New York: Harper, ISBN978-0-06-058558-7.
For further information and validation, see Grant (1972, pp. 12–13). In 1972, Michael Grant calculated that 6,000 talents, the price of Ptolemy XII's fee for receiving the title "friend and ally of the Roman people" from the triumvirs Pompey and Julius Caesar, would be worth roughly £7 million or US$17 million, roughly the entire annual tax revenue for Ptolemaic Egypt. Grant, Michael (1972), Cleopatra, London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson; Richard Clay (the Chaucer Press), ISBN978-0-297-99502-9.
Fletcher (2008, pp. 76–77) expresses little doubt about this: "deposed in late summer 58 BC and fearing for his life, Auletes had fled both his palace and his kingdom, although he was not completely alone. For one Greek source reveals he had been accompanied 'by one of his daughters', and since his eldest Berenice IV, was monarch, and the youngest, Arsinoe, little more than a toddler, it is generally assumed that this must have been his middle daughter and favourite child, eleven-year-old Cleopatra." Fletcher, Joann (2008), Cleopatra the Great: The Woman Behind the Legend, New York: Harper, ISBN978-0-06-058558-7.
For further information on Roman financier Rabirius, as well as the Gabiniani left in Egypt by Gabinius, see Grant (1972, pp. 18–19). Grant, Michael (1972), Cleopatra, London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson; Richard Clay (the Chaucer Press), ISBN978-0-297-99502-9.
Roller (2010, p. 70) writes the following about Caesar and his parentage of Caesarion: "The matter of parentage became so tangled in the propaganda war between Antonius and Octavian in the late 30s B.C.—it was essential for one side to prove and the other to reject Caesar's role—that it is impossible today to determine Caesar's actual response. The extant information is almost contradictory: it was said that Caesar denied parentage in his will but acknowledged it privately and allowed the use of the name Caesarion. Caesar's associate C. Oppius even wrote a pamphlet proving that Caesarion was not Caesar's child, and C. Helvius Cinna—the poet who was killed by rioters after Antonius' funeral oration—was prepared in 44 B.C. to introduce legislation to allow Caesar to marry as many wives as he wished for the purpose of having children. Although much of this talk was generated after Caesar's death, it seems that he wished to be as quiet as possible about the child but had to contend with Cleopatra's repeated assertions." Roller, Duane W. (2010), Cleopatra: a biography, Oxford: Oxford University Press, ISBN978-0-19-536553-5.
As explained by Burstein (2004, p. 23), Cleopatra, having read Antony's personality, boldly presented herself to him as the Egyptian goddess Isis (in the appearance of the Greek goddess Aphrodite) meeting her divine husband Osiris (in the form of the Greek god Dionysus), knowing that the priests of the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus had associated Antony with Dionysus shortly before this encounter. According to Brown (2011), a cult surrounding Isis had been spreading across the region for hundreds of years, and Cleopatra, like many of her predecessors, sought to identify herself with Isis and be venerated. In addition, some surviving coins of Cleopatra also depict her as Venus–Aphrodite, as explained by Fletcher (2008, p. 205). Burstein, Stanley M. (2004), The Reign of Cleopatra, Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, ISBN978-0-313-32527-4. Brown, Chip (July 2011), "The Search for Cleopatra", National Geographic, archived from the original on 10 March 2018, retrieved 27 December 2018. Fletcher, Joann (2008), Cleopatra the Great: The Woman Behind the Legend, New York: Harper, ISBN978-0-06-058558-7.
Walker (2001, p. 312) writes the following about the raised relief on the gilded silver dish: "Conspicuously mounted on the cornucopia is a gilded crescent moon set on a pine cone. Around it are piled pomegranates and bunches of grapes. Engraved on the horn are images of Helios (the sun), in the form of a youth dressed in a short cloak, with the hairstyle of Alexander the Great, the head surrounded by rays... The symbols on the cornucopia can indeed be read as references to the Ptolemaic royal house and specifically to Cleopatra Selene, represented in the crescent moon, and to her twin brother, Alexander Helios, whose eventual fate after the conquest of Egypt is unknown. The viper seems to be linked with the pantheress and the intervening symbols of fecundity rather than the suicide of Cleopatra VII. The elephant scalp could refer to Cleopatra Selene's status as ruler, with Juba II, of Mauretania. The visual correspondence with the veiled head from Cherchel encourages this identification, and many of the symbols used on the dish also appear on the coinage of Juba II." Walker, Susan (2001), "324 Gilded silver dish, decorated with a bust perhaps representing Cleopatra Selene", in Walker, Susan; Higgs, Peter (eds.), Cleopatra of Egypt: from History to Myth, Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press (British Museum Press), pp. 312–313, ISBN978-0-691-08835-8.
Burstein (2004, p. 30) writes that Virgil, in his Aeneid, described the Battle of Actium against Cleopatra "as a clash of civilizations in which Octavian and the Roman gods preserved Italy from conquest by Cleopatra and the barbaric animal-headed gods of Egypt." Burstein, Stanley M. (2004), The Reign of Cleopatra, Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, ISBN978-0-313-32527-4.
Fletcher (2008, p. 205) writes the following: "Cleopatra was the only female Ptolemy to issue coins on her own behalf, some showing her as Venus-Aphrodite. Caesar now followed her example and, taking the same bold step, became the first living Roman to appear on coins, his rather haggard profile accompanied by the title 'Parens Patriae', 'Father of the Fatherland'." Fletcher, Joann (2008), Cleopatra the Great: The Woman Behind the Legend, New York: Harper, ISBN978-0-06-058558-7.
For further information and validation of the foundation of Hellenistic Egypt by Alexander the Great and Cleopatra's ancestry stretching back to Ptolemy I Soter, see Grant (1972, pp. 7–8) and Jones (2006, p. 3). Grant, Michael (1972), Cleopatra, London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson; Richard Clay (the Chaucer Press), ISBN978-0-297-99502-9. Jones, Prudence J. (2006), Cleopatra: a sourcebook, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, ISBN978-0-8061-3741-4, archived from the original on 24 December 2019, retrieved 27 March 2018.
As explained by Burstein (2004, pp. 47–50), the main ethnic groups of Ptolemaic Egypt were Egyptians, Greeks, and Jews, each of whom were legally segregated, living in different residential quarters and forbidden to intermarry with one another in the multicultural cities of Alexandria, Naucratis, and Ptolemais Hermiou. It had been speculated in some circles that Pasherienptah III, the High Priest of Ptah at Memphis, Egypt, was Cleopatra's half-cousin, speculation which has been recently refuted by Cheshire (2011, pp. 20–30). Burstein, Stanley M. (2004), The Reign of Cleopatra, Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, ISBN978-0-313-32527-4. Cheshire, Wendy (2011), "The Phantom Sister of Ptolemy Alexander", Enchoria, 32: 120–130.
Grant (1972, p. 5) argues that Cleopatra's grandmother, i.e. the mother of Ptolemy XII, might have been a Syrian (though conceding that "it is possible she was also partly Greek"), but almost certainly not an Egyptian because there is only one known Egyptian mistress of a Ptolemaic ruler throughout their entire dynasty. Grant, Michael (1972), Cleopatra, London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson; Richard Clay (the Chaucer Press), ISBN978-0-297-99502-9.
Schiff (2011, p. 42) further argues that, considering Cleopatra's ancestry, she was not dark-skinned, though notes Cleopatra was likely not among the Ptolemies with fair features, and instead would have been honey-skinned, citing as evidence that her relatives were described as such and it "would have presumably applied to her as well." Goldsworthy (2010, pp. 127, 128) agrees to this, contending that Cleopatra, having Macedonian blood with a little Syrian, was probably not dark-skinned (as Roman propaganda never mentions it), writing "fairer skin is marginally more likely considering her ancestry," though also notes she could have had a "darker more Mediterranean complexion" because of her mixed ancestry. Grant (1972, p. 5) agrees to Goldsworthy's latter speculation of her skin color, that though almost certainly not Egyptian, Cleopatra had a darker complexion due to being Greek mixed with Persian and possible Syrian ancestry. Preston (2009, p. 77) agrees with Grant that, considering this ancestry, Cleopatra was "almost certainly dark-haired and olive-skinned." Bradford (2000, p. 14) contends that it is "reasonable to infer" Cleopatra had dark hair and "pale olive skin." Schiff, Stacy (2011), Cleopatra: A Life, UK: Random House, ISBN978-0-7535-3956-9. Goldsworthy, Adrian Keith (2010), Antony and Cleopatra, New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, ISBN978-0-300-16534-0. Grant, Michael (1972), Cleopatra, London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson; Richard Clay (the Chaucer Press), ISBN978-0-297-99502-9. Preston, Diana (2009), Cleopatra and Antony: Power, Love, and Politics in the Ancient World, New York: Walker and Company, ISBN978-0-8027-1738-2, archived from the original on 19 May 2020, retrieved 18 June 2018. Bradford, Ernle (2000) [1971], Cleopatra, Penguin Group, ISBN978-0-14-139014-7.
For further information on the identity of Cleopatra's mother, see Burstein (2004, p. 11), Fletcher (2008, p. 73), Goldsworthy (2010, pp. 127, 128), Grant (1972, p. 4), Roller (2010, pp. 165–166) and Bennett (1997, pp. 39–66). Joann Fletcher finds this hypothesis to be dubious and lacking evidence. Stanley M. Burstein claims that strong circumstantial evidence suggests Cleopatra's mother could have been a member of the priestly family of Ptah, but that historians generally assume her mother was Cleopatra V Tryphaena, wife of Ptolemy XII. Adrian Goldsworthy dismisses the idea of Cleopatra's mother being a member of an Egyptian priestly family as "pure conjecture," adding that either Cleopatra V or a concubine "probably of Greek origin" would be Cleopatra VII's mother. Michael Grant contends that Cleopatra V was most likely Cleopatra VII's mother. Duane W. Roller notes that while Cleopatra could have been the daughter of the priestly family of Ptah, the other main candidate would be Cleopatra VI, maintaining the uncertainty stems from Cleopatra V/VI's "loss of favor" that "obscured the issue." He also posits that Cleopatra being the only known ruler of the Ptolemaic Dynasty to speak Egyptian, along with her daughter Cleopatra Selene II as Queen of Mauretania publicly honoring the native Egyptian elite, both lend credence to the priestly class mistress hypothesis for maternity. Christopher Bennett points out that with Cleopatra VII having a birthdate of 69 BC, she was "certainly conceived before Cleopatra V disappears from the record" and thus it follows that Cleopatra V had to be the mother of Cleopatra VII. He further argues that this fact alone, among others he discusses, is "sufficient to dispose" of the argument of a hypothetical Egyptian Memphite aristocrat as the mother of Cleopatra VII. Part of Burstein's and Roller's argument rests on a speculated earlier marriage between Psenptais II and a certain "Berenice", once argued to possibly be a daughter of Ptolemy VIII. However, this speculation was refuted by Egyptologist Wendy Cheshire, which was later validated by papyrologist Sandra Lippert. See Cheshire (2011, pp. 20–30) and Lippert (2013, pp. 33–48). Burstein, Stanley M. (2004), The Reign of Cleopatra, Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, ISBN978-0-313-32527-4. Fletcher, Joann (2008), Cleopatra the Great: The Woman Behind the Legend, New York: Harper, ISBN978-0-06-058558-7. Goldsworthy, Adrian Keith (2010), Antony and Cleopatra, New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, ISBN978-0-300-16534-0. Grant, Michael (1972), Cleopatra, London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson; Richard Clay (the Chaucer Press), ISBN978-0-297-99502-9. Roller, Duane W. (2010), Cleopatra: a biography, Oxford: Oxford University Press, ISBN978-0-19-536553-5. Bennett, Christopher J. (1997). "Cleopatra V Tryphæna and the Genealogy of the Later Ptolemies". Ancient Society. 28: 39–66. doi:10.2143/AS.28.0.630068. ISSN0066-1619. JSTOR44079777. (registration required) Cheshire, Wendy (2011), "The Phantom Sister of Ptolemy Alexander", Enchoria, 32: 120–130. Lippert, Sandra (2013), "What's New in Demotic Studies? An Overview of the Publications 2010–2013"(PDF), The Journal of Juristic Papyrology: 33–48, archived(PDF) from the original on 4 June 2023, retrieved 27 April 2023.
Grant (1972, p. 4) argues that if Cleopatra had been illegitimate, her "numerous Roman enemies would have revealed this to the world." Grant, Michael (1972), Cleopatra, London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson; Richard Clay (the Chaucer Press), ISBN978-0-297-99502-9.
There is academic disagreement on whether the following portraits are considered "heads" or "busts". For instance, Raia & Sebesta (2017) exclusively uses the former, while Grout (2017b) prefers the latter. Raia, Ann R.; Sebesta, Judith Lynn (September 2017), The World of State, College of New Rochelle, archived from the original on 6 March 2018, retrieved 6 March 2018. Grout, James (1 April 2017b), "Was Cleopatra Beautiful?", Encyclopaedia Romana, University of Chicago, archived from the original on 30 June 2012, retrieved 6 March 2018.
For a thorough explanation about the foundation of Alexandria by Alexander the Great and its largely Hellenistic Greek nature during the Ptolemaic period, along with a survey of the various ethnic groups residing there, see Burstein (2004, pp. 43–61).For further validation about the founding of Alexandria by Alexander the Great, see Jones (2006, p. 6).For further validation of Ptolemaic rulers being crowned at Memphis, see Jeffreys (1999, p. 488). Burstein, Stanley M. (2004), The Reign of Cleopatra, Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, ISBN978-0-313-32527-4. Jones, Prudence J. (2006), Cleopatra: a sourcebook, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, ISBN978-0-8061-3741-4, archived from the original on 24 December 2019, retrieved 27 March 2018. Jeffreys, David (1999), "Memphis", in Bard, Kathryn A. (ed.), Encyclopedia of the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt, London: Routledge, pp. 488–490, ISBN978-0-415-18589-9, archived from the original on 1 November 2017, retrieved 2 November 2018.
For further information and validation, see Jones (2006, pp. xiv, 78). Jones, Prudence J. (2006), Cleopatra: a sourcebook, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, ISBN978-0-8061-3741-4, archived from the original on 24 December 2019, retrieved 27 March 2018.
Jones (2006, p. xiv) writes that "Octavian waged a propaganda war against Antony and Cleopatra, stressing Cleopatra's status as a woman and a foreigner who wished to share in Roman power." Jones, Prudence J. (2006), Cleopatra: a sourcebook, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, ISBN978-0-8061-3741-4, archived from the original on 24 December 2019, retrieved 27 March 2018.
As explained by Jones (2006, p. 147), "politically, Octavian had to walk a fine line as he prepared to engage in open hostilities with Antony. He was careful to minimize associations with civil war, as the Roman people had already suffered through many years of civil conflict and Octavian could risk losing support if he declared war on a fellow citizen." Jones, Prudence J. (2006), Cleopatra: a sourcebook, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, ISBN978-0-8061-3741-4, archived from the original on 24 December 2019, retrieved 27 March 2018.
For the translated accounts of both Plutarch and Dio, Jones (2006, pp. 194–195) writes that the implement used to puncture Cleopatra's skin was a hairpin. Jones, Prudence J. (2006), Cleopatra: a sourcebook, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, ISBN978-0-8061-3741-4, archived from the original on 24 December 2019, retrieved 27 March 2018.
Jones (2006, p. 187), translating Plutarch, quotes Arius Didymus as saying to Octavian that "it is not good to have too many Caesars", which was apparently enough to convince Octavian to have Caesarion killed. Jones, Prudence J. (2006), Cleopatra: a sourcebook, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, ISBN978-0-8061-3741-4, archived from the original on 24 December 2019, retrieved 27 March 2018.
Jones (2006, p. 60) offers speculation that the author of De Bello Alexandrino, written in Latin prose sometime between 46 and 43 BC, was a certain Aulus Hirtius, a military officer serving under Caesar. Jones, Prudence J. (2006), Cleopatra: a sourcebook, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, ISBN978-0-8061-3741-4, archived from the original on 24 December 2019, retrieved 27 March 2018.
For further information and extracts of Strabo's account of Cleopatra in his Geographica see Jones (2006, pp. 28–30). Jones, Prudence J. (2006), Cleopatra: a sourcebook, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, ISBN978-0-8061-3741-4, archived from the original on 24 December 2019, retrieved 27 March 2018.
As explained by Chauveau (2000, pp. 2–3), this source material from Egypt dated to the reign of Cleopatra includes about 50 papyri documents in Ancient Greek, mostly from the city of Heracleopolis, and only a few papyri from Faiyum, written in the Demotic Egyptian language. Overall this is a much smaller body of surviving native texts than those of any other period of Ptolemaic Egypt. Chauveau, Michel (2000) [1997], Egypt in the Age of Cleopatra: History and Society Under the Ptolemies, translated by David Lorton, Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, ISBN978-0-8014-8576-3, archived from the original on 19 May 2020, retrieved 12 April 2018.
For the description of Cleopatra by Plutarch, who claimed that her beauty was not "completely incomparable" but that she had a "captivating" and "stimulating" personality, see Jones (2006, pp. 32–33). Jones, Prudence J. (2006), Cleopatra: a sourcebook, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, ISBN978-0-8061-3741-4, archived from the original on 24 December 2019, retrieved 27 March 2018.
The observation that the left cheek of the Vatican Cleopatra once had a cupid's hand that was broken off was first suggested by Ludwig Curtius in 1933. Kleiner concurs with this assessment. See Kleiner (2005, p. 153), as well as Walker (2008, p. 40) and Curtius (1933, pp. 182–192). While Kleiner (2005, p. 153) has suggested the lump on top of this marble head perhaps contained a broken-off uraeus, Curtius (1933, p. 187) offered the explanation that it once held a sculpted representation of a jewel. Kleiner, Diana E. E. (2005), Cleopatra and Rome, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, ISBN978-0-674-01905-8, archived from the original on 11 May 2020, retrieved 6 March 2018. Walker, Susan (2008). "Cleopatra in Pompeii?". Papers of the British School at Rome. 76: 35–46, 345–348. doi:10.1017/S0068246200000404. JSTOR40311128. Curtius, Ludwig (1933). "Ikonographische Beitrage zum Porträt der Römischen Republik und der Julisch-Claudischen Familie: IV Kleopatra VII. Philopator". Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Römische Abteilung (in German). 48. Berlin: 182–243. OCLC633408511. Kleiner, Diana E. E. (2005), Cleopatra and Rome, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, ISBN978-0-674-01905-8, archived from the original on 11 May 2020, retrieved 6 March 2018. Curtius, Ludwig (1933). "Ikonographische Beitrage zum Porträt der Römischen Republik und der Julisch-Claudischen Familie: IV Kleopatra VII. Philopator". Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Römische Abteilung (in German). 48. Berlin: 182–243. OCLC633408511.
For further information about the painting in the House of Giuseppe II (Joseph II) at Pompeii and the possible identification of Cleopatra as one of the figures, see Pucci (2011, pp. 206–207, footnote 27). Pucci, Giuseppe (2011), "Every Man's Cleopatra", in Miles, Margaret M. (ed.), Cleopatra : a sphinx revisited, Berkeley: University of California Press, pp. 195–207, ISBN978-0-520-24367-5, archived from the original on 24 March 2023, retrieved 18 June 2020.
Preston (2009, p. 305) comes to a similar conclusion about native Egyptian depictions of Cleopatra: "Apart from certain temple carvings, which are anyway in a highly stylised pharaonic style and give little clue to Cleopatra's real appearance, the only certain representations of Cleopatra are those on coins. The marble head in the Vatican is one of three sculptures generally, though not universally, accepted by scholars to be depictions of Cleopatra." Preston, Diana (2009), Cleopatra and Antony: Power, Love, and Politics in the Ancient World, New York: Walker and Company, ISBN978-0-8027-1738-2, archived from the original on 19 May 2020, retrieved 18 June 2018.
For further information and validation of the foundation of Hellenistic Egypt by Alexander the Great and Cleopatra's ancestry stretching back to Ptolemy I Soter, see Grant (1972, pp. 7–8) and Jones (2006, p. 3). Grant, Michael (1972), Cleopatra, London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson; Richard Clay (the Chaucer Press), ISBN978-0-297-99502-9. Jones, Prudence J. (2006), Cleopatra: a sourcebook, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, ISBN978-0-8061-3741-4, archived from the original on 24 December 2019, retrieved 27 March 2018.
Schiff (2011, p. 42) further argues that, considering Cleopatra's ancestry, she was not dark-skinned, though notes Cleopatra was likely not among the Ptolemies with fair features, and instead would have been honey-skinned, citing as evidence that her relatives were described as such and it "would have presumably applied to her as well." Goldsworthy (2010, pp. 127, 128) agrees to this, contending that Cleopatra, having Macedonian blood with a little Syrian, was probably not dark-skinned (as Roman propaganda never mentions it), writing "fairer skin is marginally more likely considering her ancestry," though also notes she could have had a "darker more Mediterranean complexion" because of her mixed ancestry. Grant (1972, p. 5) agrees to Goldsworthy's latter speculation of her skin color, that though almost certainly not Egyptian, Cleopatra had a darker complexion due to being Greek mixed with Persian and possible Syrian ancestry. Preston (2009, p. 77) agrees with Grant that, considering this ancestry, Cleopatra was "almost certainly dark-haired and olive-skinned." Bradford (2000, p. 14) contends that it is "reasonable to infer" Cleopatra had dark hair and "pale olive skin." Schiff, Stacy (2011), Cleopatra: A Life, UK: Random House, ISBN978-0-7535-3956-9. Goldsworthy, Adrian Keith (2010), Antony and Cleopatra, New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, ISBN978-0-300-16534-0. Grant, Michael (1972), Cleopatra, London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson; Richard Clay (the Chaucer Press), ISBN978-0-297-99502-9. Preston, Diana (2009), Cleopatra and Antony: Power, Love, and Politics in the Ancient World, New York: Walker and Company, ISBN978-0-8027-1738-2, archived from the original on 19 May 2020, retrieved 18 June 2018. Bradford, Ernle (2000) [1971], Cleopatra, Penguin Group, ISBN978-0-14-139014-7.
Pucci (2011), p. 201. Pucci, Giuseppe (2011), "Every Man's Cleopatra", in Miles, Margaret M. (ed.), Cleopatra : a sphinx revisited, Berkeley: University of California Press, pp. 195–207, ISBN978-0-520-24367-5, archived from the original on 24 March 2023, retrieved 18 June 2020.
Pucci (2011), pp. 198, 201. Pucci, Giuseppe (2011), "Every Man's Cleopatra", in Miles, Margaret M. (ed.), Cleopatra : a sphinx revisited, Berkeley: University of California Press, pp. 195–207, ISBN978-0-520-24367-5, archived from the original on 24 March 2023, retrieved 18 June 2020.
Pucci (2011), p. 195. Pucci, Giuseppe (2011), "Every Man's Cleopatra", in Miles, Margaret M. (ed.), Cleopatra : a sphinx revisited, Berkeley: University of California Press, pp. 195–207, ISBN978-0-520-24367-5, archived from the original on 24 March 2023, retrieved 18 June 2020.
For further information, see Raia & Sebesta (2017). Raia, Ann R.; Sebesta, Judith Lynn (September 2017), The World of State, College of New Rochelle, archived from the original on 6 March 2018, retrieved 6 March 2018.
There is academic disagreement on whether the following portraits are considered "heads" or "busts". For instance, Raia & Sebesta (2017) exclusively uses the former, while Grout (2017b) prefers the latter. Raia, Ann R.; Sebesta, Judith Lynn (September 2017), The World of State, College of New Rochelle, archived from the original on 6 March 2018, retrieved 6 March 2018. Grout, James (1 April 2017b), "Was Cleopatra Beautiful?", Encyclopaedia Romana, University of Chicago, archived from the original on 30 June 2012, retrieved 6 March 2018.
The observation that the left cheek of the Vatican Cleopatra once had a cupid's hand that was broken off was first suggested by Ludwig Curtius in 1933. Kleiner concurs with this assessment. See Kleiner (2005, p. 153), as well as Walker (2008, p. 40) and Curtius (1933, pp. 182–192). While Kleiner (2005, p. 153) has suggested the lump on top of this marble head perhaps contained a broken-off uraeus, Curtius (1933, p. 187) offered the explanation that it once held a sculpted representation of a jewel. Kleiner, Diana E. E. (2005), Cleopatra and Rome, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, ISBN978-0-674-01905-8, archived from the original on 11 May 2020, retrieved 6 March 2018. Walker, Susan (2008). "Cleopatra in Pompeii?". Papers of the British School at Rome. 76: 35–46, 345–348. doi:10.1017/S0068246200000404. JSTOR40311128. Curtius, Ludwig (1933). "Ikonographische Beitrage zum Porträt der Römischen Republik und der Julisch-Claudischen Familie: IV Kleopatra VII. Philopator". Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Römische Abteilung (in German). 48. Berlin: 182–243. OCLC633408511. Kleiner, Diana E. E. (2005), Cleopatra and Rome, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, ISBN978-0-674-01905-8, archived from the original on 11 May 2020, retrieved 6 March 2018. Curtius, Ludwig (1933). "Ikonographische Beitrage zum Porträt der Römischen Republik und der Julisch-Claudischen Familie: IV Kleopatra VII. Philopator". Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Römische Abteilung (in German). 48. Berlin: 182–243. OCLC633408511.
Curtius (1933, p. 187) wrote that the damaged lump along the hairline and diadem of the Vatican Cleopatra likely contained a sculpted representation of a jewel, which Walker (2008, p. 40) directly compares to the painted red jewel in the diadem worn by Venus, most likely Cleopatra, in the fresco from Pompeii. Curtius, Ludwig (1933). "Ikonographische Beitrage zum Porträt der Römischen Republik und der Julisch-Claudischen Familie: IV Kleopatra VII. Philopator". Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Römische Abteilung (in German). 48. Berlin: 182–243. OCLC633408511. Walker, Susan (2008). "Cleopatra in Pompeii?". Papers of the British School at Rome. 76: 35–46, 345–348. doi:10.1017/S0068246200000404. JSTOR40311128.
For further information on the identity of Cleopatra's mother, see Burstein (2004, p. 11), Fletcher (2008, p. 73), Goldsworthy (2010, pp. 127, 128), Grant (1972, p. 4), Roller (2010, pp. 165–166) and Bennett (1997, pp. 39–66). Joann Fletcher finds this hypothesis to be dubious and lacking evidence. Stanley M. Burstein claims that strong circumstantial evidence suggests Cleopatra's mother could have been a member of the priestly family of Ptah, but that historians generally assume her mother was Cleopatra V Tryphaena, wife of Ptolemy XII. Adrian Goldsworthy dismisses the idea of Cleopatra's mother being a member of an Egyptian priestly family as "pure conjecture," adding that either Cleopatra V or a concubine "probably of Greek origin" would be Cleopatra VII's mother. Michael Grant contends that Cleopatra V was most likely Cleopatra VII's mother. Duane W. Roller notes that while Cleopatra could have been the daughter of the priestly family of Ptah, the other main candidate would be Cleopatra VI, maintaining the uncertainty stems from Cleopatra V/VI's "loss of favor" that "obscured the issue." He also posits that Cleopatra being the only known ruler of the Ptolemaic Dynasty to speak Egyptian, along with her daughter Cleopatra Selene II as Queen of Mauretania publicly honoring the native Egyptian elite, both lend credence to the priestly class mistress hypothesis for maternity. Christopher Bennett points out that with Cleopatra VII having a birthdate of 69 BC, she was "certainly conceived before Cleopatra V disappears from the record" and thus it follows that Cleopatra V had to be the mother of Cleopatra VII. He further argues that this fact alone, among others he discusses, is "sufficient to dispose" of the argument of a hypothetical Egyptian Memphite aristocrat as the mother of Cleopatra VII. Part of Burstein's and Roller's argument rests on a speculated earlier marriage between Psenptais II and a certain "Berenice", once argued to possibly be a daughter of Ptolemy VIII. However, this speculation was refuted by Egyptologist Wendy Cheshire, which was later validated by papyrologist Sandra Lippert. See Cheshire (2011, pp. 20–30) and Lippert (2013, pp. 33–48). Burstein, Stanley M. (2004), The Reign of Cleopatra, Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, ISBN978-0-313-32527-4. Fletcher, Joann (2008), Cleopatra the Great: The Woman Behind the Legend, New York: Harper, ISBN978-0-06-058558-7. Goldsworthy, Adrian Keith (2010), Antony and Cleopatra, New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, ISBN978-0-300-16534-0. Grant, Michael (1972), Cleopatra, London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson; Richard Clay (the Chaucer Press), ISBN978-0-297-99502-9. Roller, Duane W. (2010), Cleopatra: a biography, Oxford: Oxford University Press, ISBN978-0-19-536553-5. Bennett, Christopher J. (1997). "Cleopatra V Tryphæna and the Genealogy of the Later Ptolemies". Ancient Society. 28: 39–66. doi:10.2143/AS.28.0.630068. ISSN0066-1619. JSTOR44079777. (registration required) Cheshire, Wendy (2011), "The Phantom Sister of Ptolemy Alexander", Enchoria, 32: 120–130. Lippert, Sandra (2013), "What's New in Demotic Studies? An Overview of the Publications 2010–2013"(PDF), The Journal of Juristic Papyrology: 33–48, archived(PDF) from the original on 4 June 2023, retrieved 27 April 2023.
Pfrommer & Towne-Markus (2001, p. 34) writes the following about the sibling marriage of Ptolemy II and Arsinoe II: "Ptolemy Keraunos, who wanted to become king of Macedon... killed Arsinoë's small children in front of her. Now queen without a kingdom, Arsinoë fled to Egypt, where she was welcomed by her full brother Ptolemy II. Not content, however, to spend the rest of her life as a guest at the Ptolemaic court, she had Ptolemy II's wife exiled to Upper Egypt and married him herself around 275 B.C. Though such an incestuous marriage was considered scandalous by the Greeks, it was allowed by Egyptian custom. For that reason, the marriage split public opinion into two factions. The loyal side celebrated the couple as a return of the divine marriage of Zeus and Hera, whereas the other side did not refrain from profuse and obscene criticism. One of the most sarcastic commentators, a poet with a very sharp pen, had to flee Alexandria. The unfortunate poet was caught off the shore of Crete by the Ptolemaic navy, put in an iron basket, and drowned. This and similar actions seemingly slowed down vicious criticism." Pfrommer, Michael; Towne-Markus, Elana (2001), Greek Gold from Hellenistic Egypt, Getty Museum Studies on Art, Los Angeles: Getty Publications (J. Paul Getty Trust), ISBN978-0-89236-633-0, archived from the original on 22 June 2018, retrieved 22 June 2018.
In Pratt & Fizel (1949, pp. 14–15), Frances Pratt and Becca Fizel rejected the idea proposed by some scholars in the 19th and early 20th centuries that the painting was perhaps done by an artist of the Italian Renaissance. Pratt and Fizel highlighted the Classical style of the painting as preserved in textual descriptions and the steel engraving. They argued that it was unlikely for a Renaissance period painter to have created works with encaustic materials, conducted thorough research into Hellenistic period Egyptian clothing and jewelry as depicted in the painting, and then precariously placed it in the ruins of the Egyptian temple at Hadrian's Villa. Pratt, Frances; Fizel, Becca (1949), Encaustic Materials and Methods, New York: Lear Publishers, OCLC560769, archived from the original on 19 May 2020, retrieved 7 March 2018.
The observation that the left cheek of the Vatican Cleopatra once had a cupid's hand that was broken off was first suggested by Ludwig Curtius in 1933. Kleiner concurs with this assessment. See Kleiner (2005, p. 153), as well as Walker (2008, p. 40) and Curtius (1933, pp. 182–192). While Kleiner (2005, p. 153) has suggested the lump on top of this marble head perhaps contained a broken-off uraeus, Curtius (1933, p. 187) offered the explanation that it once held a sculpted representation of a jewel. Kleiner, Diana E. E. (2005), Cleopatra and Rome, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, ISBN978-0-674-01905-8, archived from the original on 11 May 2020, retrieved 6 March 2018. Walker, Susan (2008). "Cleopatra in Pompeii?". Papers of the British School at Rome. 76: 35–46, 345–348. doi:10.1017/S0068246200000404. JSTOR40311128. Curtius, Ludwig (1933). "Ikonographische Beitrage zum Porträt der Römischen Republik und der Julisch-Claudischen Familie: IV Kleopatra VII. Philopator". Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Römische Abteilung (in German). 48. Berlin: 182–243. OCLC633408511. Kleiner, Diana E. E. (2005), Cleopatra and Rome, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, ISBN978-0-674-01905-8, archived from the original on 11 May 2020, retrieved 6 March 2018. Curtius, Ludwig (1933). "Ikonographische Beitrage zum Porträt der Römischen Republik und der Julisch-Claudischen Familie: IV Kleopatra VII. Philopator". Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Römische Abteilung (in German). 48. Berlin: 182–243. OCLC633408511.
Curtius (1933, p. 187) wrote that the damaged lump along the hairline and diadem of the Vatican Cleopatra likely contained a sculpted representation of a jewel, which Walker (2008, p. 40) directly compares to the painted red jewel in the diadem worn by Venus, most likely Cleopatra, in the fresco from Pompeii. Curtius, Ludwig (1933). "Ikonographische Beitrage zum Porträt der Römischen Republik und der Julisch-Claudischen Familie: IV Kleopatra VII. Philopator". Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Römische Abteilung (in German). 48. Berlin: 182–243. OCLC633408511. Walker, Susan (2008). "Cleopatra in Pompeii?". Papers of the British School at Rome. 76: 35–46, 345–348. doi:10.1017/S0068246200000404. JSTOR40311128.
For further information on the identity of Cleopatra's mother, see Burstein (2004, p. 11), Fletcher (2008, p. 73), Goldsworthy (2010, pp. 127, 128), Grant (1972, p. 4), Roller (2010, pp. 165–166) and Bennett (1997, pp. 39–66). Joann Fletcher finds this hypothesis to be dubious and lacking evidence. Stanley M. Burstein claims that strong circumstantial evidence suggests Cleopatra's mother could have been a member of the priestly family of Ptah, but that historians generally assume her mother was Cleopatra V Tryphaena, wife of Ptolemy XII. Adrian Goldsworthy dismisses the idea of Cleopatra's mother being a member of an Egyptian priestly family as "pure conjecture," adding that either Cleopatra V or a concubine "probably of Greek origin" would be Cleopatra VII's mother. Michael Grant contends that Cleopatra V was most likely Cleopatra VII's mother. Duane W. Roller notes that while Cleopatra could have been the daughter of the priestly family of Ptah, the other main candidate would be Cleopatra VI, maintaining the uncertainty stems from Cleopatra V/VI's "loss of favor" that "obscured the issue." He also posits that Cleopatra being the only known ruler of the Ptolemaic Dynasty to speak Egyptian, along with her daughter Cleopatra Selene II as Queen of Mauretania publicly honoring the native Egyptian elite, both lend credence to the priestly class mistress hypothesis for maternity. Christopher Bennett points out that with Cleopatra VII having a birthdate of 69 BC, she was "certainly conceived before Cleopatra V disappears from the record" and thus it follows that Cleopatra V had to be the mother of Cleopatra VII. He further argues that this fact alone, among others he discusses, is "sufficient to dispose" of the argument of a hypothetical Egyptian Memphite aristocrat as the mother of Cleopatra VII. Part of Burstein's and Roller's argument rests on a speculated earlier marriage between Psenptais II and a certain "Berenice", once argued to possibly be a daughter of Ptolemy VIII. However, this speculation was refuted by Egyptologist Wendy Cheshire, which was later validated by papyrologist Sandra Lippert. See Cheshire (2011, pp. 20–30) and Lippert (2013, pp. 33–48). Burstein, Stanley M. (2004), The Reign of Cleopatra, Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, ISBN978-0-313-32527-4. Fletcher, Joann (2008), Cleopatra the Great: The Woman Behind the Legend, New York: Harper, ISBN978-0-06-058558-7. Goldsworthy, Adrian Keith (2010), Antony and Cleopatra, New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, ISBN978-0-300-16534-0. Grant, Michael (1972), Cleopatra, London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson; Richard Clay (the Chaucer Press), ISBN978-0-297-99502-9. Roller, Duane W. (2010), Cleopatra: a biography, Oxford: Oxford University Press, ISBN978-0-19-536553-5. Bennett, Christopher J. (1997). "Cleopatra V Tryphæna and the Genealogy of the Later Ptolemies". Ancient Society. 28: 39–66. doi:10.2143/AS.28.0.630068. ISSN0066-1619. JSTOR44079777. (registration required) Cheshire, Wendy (2011), "The Phantom Sister of Ptolemy Alexander", Enchoria, 32: 120–130. Lippert, Sandra (2013), "What's New in Demotic Studies? An Overview of the Publications 2010–2013"(PDF), The Journal of Juristic Papyrology: 33–48, archived(PDF) from the original on 4 June 2023, retrieved 27 April 2023.
Blaise Pascal remarked in his Pensées (1670): "Cleopatra's nose: had it been shorter, the whole aspect of the world would have been altered." (Pascal 1910, sec. II, no. 162) According to (Perry & Williams 2019), a less aquiline nose would have diminished her chances of becoming ruler of Egypt and attract men of the First and Second Triumvirate, which would have changed the Battle of Actium, and subsequent European history. Pascal, Blaise (1910). Pensées. Translated by William Finlayson Trotter. New York: P. F. Collier & Son. Perry, David; Williams, Tom (5 December 2019). "Causation and Cleopatra's nose". Lexology. Archived from the original on 21 June 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
Reece (2017, p. 203) notes that "[t]he fragmentary texts of ancient Greek papyri do not often make their way into the modern public arena, but this one has, and with fascinating results, while remaining almost entirely unacknowledged is the remarkable fact that Cleopatra's one-word subscription contains a blatant spelling error: γινέσθωι, with a superfluous iotaadscript." This spelling error "has not been noted by the popular media", however, being "simply transliterated [...] including, without comment, the superfluous iota adscript" (p. 208). Even in academic sources, the misspelling was largely unacknowledged or quietly corrected (pp. 206–208, 210).Although described as "'normal' orthography" (in contrast with "'correct' orthography") by Peter van Minnen (p. 208), the spelling error is "much rarer and more puzzling" than the sort one would expect from the Greek papyri from Egypt (p. 210)—so rare, in fact, that it occurs only twice in the 70,000 Greek papyri between the 3rd century BC and 8th century AD in the Papyrological Navigator's database. This is especially so when considering it was added to a word "with no etymological or morphological reason for having an iota adscript" (p. 210) and was written by "the well-educated, native Greek-speaking, queen of Egypt" Cleopatra VII (p. 208). Reece, Steve (2017), "Cleopatra Couldn't Spell (And Neither Can We!)", in Groton, Anne Harmar (ed.), Ab Omni Parte Beatus: Classical Essays in Honor of James M. May, Mundelein, Illinois: Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, pp. 201–220, ISBN978-0-86516-843-5, LCCN2017002236, OCLC969973660, archived from the original on 9 July 2021, retrieved 2 September 2018.
As explained by Burstein (2004, p. 23), Cleopatra, having read Antony's personality, boldly presented herself to him as the Egyptian goddess Isis (in the appearance of the Greek goddess Aphrodite) meeting her divine husband Osiris (in the form of the Greek god Dionysus), knowing that the priests of the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus had associated Antony with Dionysus shortly before this encounter. According to Brown (2011), a cult surrounding Isis had been spreading across the region for hundreds of years, and Cleopatra, like many of her predecessors, sought to identify herself with Isis and be venerated. In addition, some surviving coins of Cleopatra also depict her as Venus–Aphrodite, as explained by Fletcher (2008, p. 205). Burstein, Stanley M. (2004), The Reign of Cleopatra, Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, ISBN978-0-313-32527-4. Brown, Chip (July 2011), "The Search for Cleopatra", National Geographic, archived from the original on 10 March 2018, retrieved 27 December 2018. Fletcher, Joann (2008), Cleopatra the Great: The Woman Behind the Legend, New York: Harper, ISBN978-0-06-058558-7.
For further information on the identity of Cleopatra's mother, see Burstein (2004, p. 11), Fletcher (2008, p. 73), Goldsworthy (2010, pp. 127, 128), Grant (1972, p. 4), Roller (2010, pp. 165–166) and Bennett (1997, pp. 39–66). Joann Fletcher finds this hypothesis to be dubious and lacking evidence. Stanley M. Burstein claims that strong circumstantial evidence suggests Cleopatra's mother could have been a member of the priestly family of Ptah, but that historians generally assume her mother was Cleopatra V Tryphaena, wife of Ptolemy XII. Adrian Goldsworthy dismisses the idea of Cleopatra's mother being a member of an Egyptian priestly family as "pure conjecture," adding that either Cleopatra V or a concubine "probably of Greek origin" would be Cleopatra VII's mother. Michael Grant contends that Cleopatra V was most likely Cleopatra VII's mother. Duane W. Roller notes that while Cleopatra could have been the daughter of the priestly family of Ptah, the other main candidate would be Cleopatra VI, maintaining the uncertainty stems from Cleopatra V/VI's "loss of favor" that "obscured the issue." He also posits that Cleopatra being the only known ruler of the Ptolemaic Dynasty to speak Egyptian, along with her daughter Cleopatra Selene II as Queen of Mauretania publicly honoring the native Egyptian elite, both lend credence to the priestly class mistress hypothesis for maternity. Christopher Bennett points out that with Cleopatra VII having a birthdate of 69 BC, she was "certainly conceived before Cleopatra V disappears from the record" and thus it follows that Cleopatra V had to be the mother of Cleopatra VII. He further argues that this fact alone, among others he discusses, is "sufficient to dispose" of the argument of a hypothetical Egyptian Memphite aristocrat as the mother of Cleopatra VII. Part of Burstein's and Roller's argument rests on a speculated earlier marriage between Psenptais II and a certain "Berenice", once argued to possibly be a daughter of Ptolemy VIII. However, this speculation was refuted by Egyptologist Wendy Cheshire, which was later validated by papyrologist Sandra Lippert. See Cheshire (2011, pp. 20–30) and Lippert (2013, pp. 33–48). Burstein, Stanley M. (2004), The Reign of Cleopatra, Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, ISBN978-0-313-32527-4. Fletcher, Joann (2008), Cleopatra the Great: The Woman Behind the Legend, New York: Harper, ISBN978-0-06-058558-7. Goldsworthy, Adrian Keith (2010), Antony and Cleopatra, New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, ISBN978-0-300-16534-0. Grant, Michael (1972), Cleopatra, London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson; Richard Clay (the Chaucer Press), ISBN978-0-297-99502-9. Roller, Duane W. (2010), Cleopatra: a biography, Oxford: Oxford University Press, ISBN978-0-19-536553-5. Bennett, Christopher J. (1997). "Cleopatra V Tryphæna and the Genealogy of the Later Ptolemies". Ancient Society. 28: 39–66. doi:10.2143/AS.28.0.630068. ISSN0066-1619. JSTOR44079777. (registration required) Cheshire, Wendy (2011), "The Phantom Sister of Ptolemy Alexander", Enchoria, 32: 120–130. Lippert, Sandra (2013), "What's New in Demotic Studies? An Overview of the Publications 2010–2013"(PDF), The Journal of Juristic Papyrology: 33–48, archived(PDF) from the original on 4 June 2023, retrieved 27 April 2023.
There is academic disagreement on whether the following portraits are considered "heads" or "busts". For instance, Raia & Sebesta (2017) exclusively uses the former, while Grout (2017b) prefers the latter. Raia, Ann R.; Sebesta, Judith Lynn (September 2017), The World of State, College of New Rochelle, archived from the original on 6 March 2018, retrieved 6 March 2018. Grout, James (1 April 2017b), "Was Cleopatra Beautiful?", Encyclopaedia Romana, University of Chicago, archived from the original on 30 June 2012, retrieved 6 March 2018.
For a thorough explanation about the foundation of Alexandria by Alexander the Great and its largely Hellenistic Greek nature during the Ptolemaic period, along with a survey of the various ethnic groups residing there, see Burstein (2004, pp. 43–61).For further validation about the founding of Alexandria by Alexander the Great, see Jones (2006, p. 6).For further validation of Ptolemaic rulers being crowned at Memphis, see Jeffreys (1999, p. 488). Burstein, Stanley M. (2004), The Reign of Cleopatra, Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, ISBN978-0-313-32527-4. Jones, Prudence J. (2006), Cleopatra: a sourcebook, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, ISBN978-0-8061-3741-4, archived from the original on 24 December 2019, retrieved 27 March 2018. Jeffreys, David (1999), "Memphis", in Bard, Kathryn A. (ed.), Encyclopedia of the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt, London: Routledge, pp. 488–490, ISBN978-0-415-18589-9, archived from the original on 1 November 2017, retrieved 2 November 2018.
Pfrommer & Towne-Markus (2001, p. 34) writes the following about the sibling marriage of Ptolemy II and Arsinoe II: "Ptolemy Keraunos, who wanted to become king of Macedon... killed Arsinoë's small children in front of her. Now queen without a kingdom, Arsinoë fled to Egypt, where she was welcomed by her full brother Ptolemy II. Not content, however, to spend the rest of her life as a guest at the Ptolemaic court, she had Ptolemy II's wife exiled to Upper Egypt and married him herself around 275 B.C. Though such an incestuous marriage was considered scandalous by the Greeks, it was allowed by Egyptian custom. For that reason, the marriage split public opinion into two factions. The loyal side celebrated the couple as a return of the divine marriage of Zeus and Hera, whereas the other side did not refrain from profuse and obscene criticism. One of the most sarcastic commentators, a poet with a very sharp pen, had to flee Alexandria. The unfortunate poet was caught off the shore of Crete by the Ptolemaic navy, put in an iron basket, and drowned. This and similar actions seemingly slowed down vicious criticism." Pfrommer, Michael; Towne-Markus, Elana (2001), Greek Gold from Hellenistic Egypt, Getty Museum Studies on Art, Los Angeles: Getty Publications (J. Paul Getty Trust), ISBN978-0-89236-633-0, archived from the original on 22 June 2018, retrieved 22 June 2018.
For further information and validation, see Jones (2006, pp. xiv, 78). Jones, Prudence J. (2006), Cleopatra: a sourcebook, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, ISBN978-0-8061-3741-4, archived from the original on 24 December 2019, retrieved 27 March 2018.
As explained by Burstein (2004, p. 23), Cleopatra, having read Antony's personality, boldly presented herself to him as the Egyptian goddess Isis (in the appearance of the Greek goddess Aphrodite) meeting her divine husband Osiris (in the form of the Greek god Dionysus), knowing that the priests of the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus had associated Antony with Dionysus shortly before this encounter. According to Brown (2011), a cult surrounding Isis had been spreading across the region for hundreds of years, and Cleopatra, like many of her predecessors, sought to identify herself with Isis and be venerated. In addition, some surviving coins of Cleopatra also depict her as Venus–Aphrodite, as explained by Fletcher (2008, p. 205). Burstein, Stanley M. (2004), The Reign of Cleopatra, Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, ISBN978-0-313-32527-4. Brown, Chip (July 2011), "The Search for Cleopatra", National Geographic, archived from the original on 10 March 2018, retrieved 27 December 2018. Fletcher, Joann (2008), Cleopatra the Great: The Woman Behind the Legend, New York: Harper, ISBN978-0-06-058558-7.
Jones (2006, p. xiv) writes that "Octavian waged a propaganda war against Antony and Cleopatra, stressing Cleopatra's status as a woman and a foreigner who wished to share in Roman power." Jones, Prudence J. (2006), Cleopatra: a sourcebook, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, ISBN978-0-8061-3741-4, archived from the original on 24 December 2019, retrieved 27 March 2018.
Reece (2017, p. 203) notes that "[t]he fragmentary texts of ancient Greek papyri do not often make their way into the modern public arena, but this one has, and with fascinating results, while remaining almost entirely unacknowledged is the remarkable fact that Cleopatra's one-word subscription contains a blatant spelling error: γινέσθωι, with a superfluous iotaadscript." This spelling error "has not been noted by the popular media", however, being "simply transliterated [...] including, without comment, the superfluous iota adscript" (p. 208). Even in academic sources, the misspelling was largely unacknowledged or quietly corrected (pp. 206–208, 210).Although described as "'normal' orthography" (in contrast with "'correct' orthography") by Peter van Minnen (p. 208), the spelling error is "much rarer and more puzzling" than the sort one would expect from the Greek papyri from Egypt (p. 210)—so rare, in fact, that it occurs only twice in the 70,000 Greek papyri between the 3rd century BC and 8th century AD in the Papyrological Navigator's database. This is especially so when considering it was added to a word "with no etymological or morphological reason for having an iota adscript" (p. 210) and was written by "the well-educated, native Greek-speaking, queen of Egypt" Cleopatra VII (p. 208). Reece, Steve (2017), "Cleopatra Couldn't Spell (And Neither Can We!)", in Groton, Anne Harmar (ed.), Ab Omni Parte Beatus: Classical Essays in Honor of James M. May, Mundelein, Illinois: Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, pp. 201–220, ISBN978-0-86516-843-5, LCCN2017002236, OCLC969973660, archived from the original on 9 July 2021, retrieved 2 September 2018.
As explained by Jones (2006, p. 147), "politically, Octavian had to walk a fine line as he prepared to engage in open hostilities with Antony. He was careful to minimize associations with civil war, as the Roman people had already suffered through many years of civil conflict and Octavian could risk losing support if he declared war on a fellow citizen." Jones, Prudence J. (2006), Cleopatra: a sourcebook, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, ISBN978-0-8061-3741-4, archived from the original on 24 December 2019, retrieved 27 March 2018.
For the translated accounts of both Plutarch and Dio, Jones (2006, pp. 194–195) writes that the implement used to puncture Cleopatra's skin was a hairpin. Jones, Prudence J. (2006), Cleopatra: a sourcebook, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, ISBN978-0-8061-3741-4, archived from the original on 24 December 2019, retrieved 27 March 2018.
Jones (2006, p. 187), translating Plutarch, quotes Arius Didymus as saying to Octavian that "it is not good to have too many Caesars", which was apparently enough to convince Octavian to have Caesarion killed. Jones, Prudence J. (2006), Cleopatra: a sourcebook, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, ISBN978-0-8061-3741-4, archived from the original on 24 December 2019, retrieved 27 March 2018.
Jones (2006, p. 60) offers speculation that the author of De Bello Alexandrino, written in Latin prose sometime between 46 and 43 BC, was a certain Aulus Hirtius, a military officer serving under Caesar. Jones, Prudence J. (2006), Cleopatra: a sourcebook, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, ISBN978-0-8061-3741-4, archived from the original on 24 December 2019, retrieved 27 March 2018.
For further information and extracts of Strabo's account of Cleopatra in his Geographica see Jones (2006, pp. 28–30). Jones, Prudence J. (2006), Cleopatra: a sourcebook, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, ISBN978-0-8061-3741-4, archived from the original on 24 December 2019, retrieved 27 March 2018.
As explained by Chauveau (2000, pp. 2–3), this source material from Egypt dated to the reign of Cleopatra includes about 50 papyri documents in Ancient Greek, mostly from the city of Heracleopolis, and only a few papyri from Faiyum, written in the Demotic Egyptian language. Overall this is a much smaller body of surviving native texts than those of any other period of Ptolemaic Egypt. Chauveau, Michel (2000) [1997], Egypt in the Age of Cleopatra: History and Society Under the Ptolemies, translated by David Lorton, Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, ISBN978-0-8014-8576-3, archived from the original on 19 May 2020, retrieved 12 April 2018.
For the description of Cleopatra by Plutarch, who claimed that her beauty was not "completely incomparable" but that she had a "captivating" and "stimulating" personality, see Jones (2006, pp. 32–33). Jones, Prudence J. (2006), Cleopatra: a sourcebook, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, ISBN978-0-8061-3741-4, archived from the original on 24 December 2019, retrieved 27 March 2018.
For further information, see Raia & Sebesta (2017). Raia, Ann R.; Sebesta, Judith Lynn (September 2017), The World of State, College of New Rochelle, archived from the original on 6 March 2018, retrieved 6 March 2018.
There is academic disagreement on whether the following portraits are considered "heads" or "busts". For instance, Raia & Sebesta (2017) exclusively uses the former, while Grout (2017b) prefers the latter. Raia, Ann R.; Sebesta, Judith Lynn (September 2017), The World of State, College of New Rochelle, archived from the original on 6 March 2018, retrieved 6 March 2018. Grout, James (1 April 2017b), "Was Cleopatra Beautiful?", Encyclopaedia Romana, University of Chicago, archived from the original on 30 June 2012, retrieved 6 March 2018.
Blaise Pascal remarked in his Pensées (1670): "Cleopatra's nose: had it been shorter, the whole aspect of the world would have been altered." (Pascal 1910, sec. II, no. 162) According to (Perry & Williams 2019), a less aquiline nose would have diminished her chances of becoming ruler of Egypt and attract men of the First and Second Triumvirate, which would have changed the Battle of Actium, and subsequent European history. Pascal, Blaise (1910). Pensées. Translated by William Finlayson Trotter. New York: P. F. Collier & Son. Perry, David; Williams, Tom (5 December 2019). "Causation and Cleopatra's nose". Lexology. Archived from the original on 21 June 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
The observation that the left cheek of the Vatican Cleopatra once had a cupid's hand that was broken off was first suggested by Ludwig Curtius in 1933. Kleiner concurs with this assessment. See Kleiner (2005, p. 153), as well as Walker (2008, p. 40) and Curtius (1933, pp. 182–192). While Kleiner (2005, p. 153) has suggested the lump on top of this marble head perhaps contained a broken-off uraeus, Curtius (1933, p. 187) offered the explanation that it once held a sculpted representation of a jewel. Kleiner, Diana E. E. (2005), Cleopatra and Rome, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, ISBN978-0-674-01905-8, archived from the original on 11 May 2020, retrieved 6 March 2018. Walker, Susan (2008). "Cleopatra in Pompeii?". Papers of the British School at Rome. 76: 35–46, 345–348. doi:10.1017/S0068246200000404. JSTOR40311128. Curtius, Ludwig (1933). "Ikonographische Beitrage zum Porträt der Römischen Republik und der Julisch-Claudischen Familie: IV Kleopatra VII. Philopator". Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Römische Abteilung (in German). 48. Berlin: 182–243. OCLC633408511. Kleiner, Diana E. E. (2005), Cleopatra and Rome, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, ISBN978-0-674-01905-8, archived from the original on 11 May 2020, retrieved 6 March 2018. Curtius, Ludwig (1933). "Ikonographische Beitrage zum Porträt der Römischen Republik und der Julisch-Claudischen Familie: IV Kleopatra VII. Philopator". Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Römische Abteilung (in German). 48. Berlin: 182–243. OCLC633408511.
For further information about the painting in the House of Giuseppe II (Joseph II) at Pompeii and the possible identification of Cleopatra as one of the figures, see Pucci (2011, pp. 206–207, footnote 27). Pucci, Giuseppe (2011), "Every Man's Cleopatra", in Miles, Margaret M. (ed.), Cleopatra : a sphinx revisited, Berkeley: University of California Press, pp. 195–207, ISBN978-0-520-24367-5, archived from the original on 24 March 2023, retrieved 18 June 2020.
In Pratt & Fizel (1949, pp. 14–15), Frances Pratt and Becca Fizel rejected the idea proposed by some scholars in the 19th and early 20th centuries that the painting was perhaps done by an artist of the Italian Renaissance. Pratt and Fizel highlighted the Classical style of the painting as preserved in textual descriptions and the steel engraving. They argued that it was unlikely for a Renaissance period painter to have created works with encaustic materials, conducted thorough research into Hellenistic period Egyptian clothing and jewelry as depicted in the painting, and then precariously placed it in the ruins of the Egyptian temple at Hadrian's Villa. Pratt, Frances; Fizel, Becca (1949), Encaustic Materials and Methods, New York: Lear Publishers, OCLC560769, archived from the original on 19 May 2020, retrieved 7 March 2018.
Preston (2009, p. 305) comes to a similar conclusion about native Egyptian depictions of Cleopatra: "Apart from certain temple carvings, which are anyway in a highly stylised pharaonic style and give little clue to Cleopatra's real appearance, the only certain representations of Cleopatra are those on coins. The marble head in the Vatican is one of three sculptures generally, though not universally, accepted by scholars to be depictions of Cleopatra." Preston, Diana (2009), Cleopatra and Antony: Power, Love, and Politics in the Ancient World, New York: Walker and Company, ISBN978-0-8027-1738-2, archived from the original on 19 May 2020, retrieved 18 June 2018.
For further information and validation of the foundation of Hellenistic Egypt by Alexander the Great and Cleopatra's ancestry stretching back to Ptolemy I Soter, see Grant (1972, pp. 7–8) and Jones (2006, p. 3). Grant, Michael (1972), Cleopatra, London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson; Richard Clay (the Chaucer Press), ISBN978-0-297-99502-9. Jones, Prudence J. (2006), Cleopatra: a sourcebook, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, ISBN978-0-8061-3741-4, archived from the original on 24 December 2019, retrieved 27 March 2018.
Schiff (2011, p. 42) further argues that, considering Cleopatra's ancestry, she was not dark-skinned, though notes Cleopatra was likely not among the Ptolemies with fair features, and instead would have been honey-skinned, citing as evidence that her relatives were described as such and it "would have presumably applied to her as well." Goldsworthy (2010, pp. 127, 128) agrees to this, contending that Cleopatra, having Macedonian blood with a little Syrian, was probably not dark-skinned (as Roman propaganda never mentions it), writing "fairer skin is marginally more likely considering her ancestry," though also notes she could have had a "darker more Mediterranean complexion" because of her mixed ancestry. Grant (1972, p. 5) agrees to Goldsworthy's latter speculation of her skin color, that though almost certainly not Egyptian, Cleopatra had a darker complexion due to being Greek mixed with Persian and possible Syrian ancestry. Preston (2009, p. 77) agrees with Grant that, considering this ancestry, Cleopatra was "almost certainly dark-haired and olive-skinned." Bradford (2000, p. 14) contends that it is "reasonable to infer" Cleopatra had dark hair and "pale olive skin." Schiff, Stacy (2011), Cleopatra: A Life, UK: Random House, ISBN978-0-7535-3956-9. Goldsworthy, Adrian Keith (2010), Antony and Cleopatra, New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, ISBN978-0-300-16534-0. Grant, Michael (1972), Cleopatra, London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson; Richard Clay (the Chaucer Press), ISBN978-0-297-99502-9. Preston, Diana (2009), Cleopatra and Antony: Power, Love, and Politics in the Ancient World, New York: Walker and Company, ISBN978-0-8027-1738-2, archived from the original on 19 May 2020, retrieved 18 June 2018. Bradford, Ernle (2000) [1971], Cleopatra, Penguin Group, ISBN978-0-14-139014-7.
For further information on the identity of Cleopatra's mother, see Burstein (2004, p. 11), Fletcher (2008, p. 73), Goldsworthy (2010, pp. 127, 128), Grant (1972, p. 4), Roller (2010, pp. 165–166) and Bennett (1997, pp. 39–66). Joann Fletcher finds this hypothesis to be dubious and lacking evidence. Stanley M. Burstein claims that strong circumstantial evidence suggests Cleopatra's mother could have been a member of the priestly family of Ptah, but that historians generally assume her mother was Cleopatra V Tryphaena, wife of Ptolemy XII. Adrian Goldsworthy dismisses the idea of Cleopatra's mother being a member of an Egyptian priestly family as "pure conjecture," adding that either Cleopatra V or a concubine "probably of Greek origin" would be Cleopatra VII's mother. Michael Grant contends that Cleopatra V was most likely Cleopatra VII's mother. Duane W. Roller notes that while Cleopatra could have been the daughter of the priestly family of Ptah, the other main candidate would be Cleopatra VI, maintaining the uncertainty stems from Cleopatra V/VI's "loss of favor" that "obscured the issue." He also posits that Cleopatra being the only known ruler of the Ptolemaic Dynasty to speak Egyptian, along with her daughter Cleopatra Selene II as Queen of Mauretania publicly honoring the native Egyptian elite, both lend credence to the priestly class mistress hypothesis for maternity. Christopher Bennett points out that with Cleopatra VII having a birthdate of 69 BC, she was "certainly conceived before Cleopatra V disappears from the record" and thus it follows that Cleopatra V had to be the mother of Cleopatra VII. He further argues that this fact alone, among others he discusses, is "sufficient to dispose" of the argument of a hypothetical Egyptian Memphite aristocrat as the mother of Cleopatra VII. Part of Burstein's and Roller's argument rests on a speculated earlier marriage between Psenptais II and a certain "Berenice", once argued to possibly be a daughter of Ptolemy VIII. However, this speculation was refuted by Egyptologist Wendy Cheshire, which was later validated by papyrologist Sandra Lippert. See Cheshire (2011, pp. 20–30) and Lippert (2013, pp. 33–48). Burstein, Stanley M. (2004), The Reign of Cleopatra, Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, ISBN978-0-313-32527-4. Fletcher, Joann (2008), Cleopatra the Great: The Woman Behind the Legend, New York: Harper, ISBN978-0-06-058558-7. Goldsworthy, Adrian Keith (2010), Antony and Cleopatra, New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, ISBN978-0-300-16534-0. Grant, Michael (1972), Cleopatra, London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson; Richard Clay (the Chaucer Press), ISBN978-0-297-99502-9. Roller, Duane W. (2010), Cleopatra: a biography, Oxford: Oxford University Press, ISBN978-0-19-536553-5. Bennett, Christopher J. (1997). "Cleopatra V Tryphæna and the Genealogy of the Later Ptolemies". Ancient Society. 28: 39–66. doi:10.2143/AS.28.0.630068. ISSN0066-1619. JSTOR44079777. (registration required) Cheshire, Wendy (2011), "The Phantom Sister of Ptolemy Alexander", Enchoria, 32: 120–130. Lippert, Sandra (2013), "What's New in Demotic Studies? An Overview of the Publications 2010–2013"(PDF), The Journal of Juristic Papyrology: 33–48, archived(PDF) from the original on 4 June 2023, retrieved 27 April 2023.
Pucci (2011), p. 201. Pucci, Giuseppe (2011), "Every Man's Cleopatra", in Miles, Margaret M. (ed.), Cleopatra : a sphinx revisited, Berkeley: University of California Press, pp. 195–207, ISBN978-0-520-24367-5, archived from the original on 24 March 2023, retrieved 18 June 2020.
Pucci (2011), pp. 198, 201. Pucci, Giuseppe (2011), "Every Man's Cleopatra", in Miles, Margaret M. (ed.), Cleopatra : a sphinx revisited, Berkeley: University of California Press, pp. 195–207, ISBN978-0-520-24367-5, archived from the original on 24 March 2023, retrieved 18 June 2020.
Pucci (2011), p. 195. Pucci, Giuseppe (2011), "Every Man's Cleopatra", in Miles, Margaret M. (ed.), Cleopatra : a sphinx revisited, Berkeley: University of California Press, pp. 195–207, ISBN978-0-520-24367-5, archived from the original on 24 March 2023, retrieved 18 June 2020.
The observation that the left cheek of the Vatican Cleopatra once had a cupid's hand that was broken off was first suggested by Ludwig Curtius in 1933. Kleiner concurs with this assessment. See Kleiner (2005, p. 153), as well as Walker (2008, p. 40) and Curtius (1933, pp. 182–192). While Kleiner (2005, p. 153) has suggested the lump on top of this marble head perhaps contained a broken-off uraeus, Curtius (1933, p. 187) offered the explanation that it once held a sculpted representation of a jewel. Kleiner, Diana E. E. (2005), Cleopatra and Rome, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, ISBN978-0-674-01905-8, archived from the original on 11 May 2020, retrieved 6 March 2018. Walker, Susan (2008). "Cleopatra in Pompeii?". Papers of the British School at Rome. 76: 35–46, 345–348. doi:10.1017/S0068246200000404. JSTOR40311128. Curtius, Ludwig (1933). "Ikonographische Beitrage zum Porträt der Römischen Republik und der Julisch-Claudischen Familie: IV Kleopatra VII. Philopator". Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Römische Abteilung (in German). 48. Berlin: 182–243. OCLC633408511. Kleiner, Diana E. E. (2005), Cleopatra and Rome, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, ISBN978-0-674-01905-8, archived from the original on 11 May 2020, retrieved 6 March 2018. Curtius, Ludwig (1933). "Ikonographische Beitrage zum Porträt der Römischen Republik und der Julisch-Claudischen Familie: IV Kleopatra VII. Philopator". Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Römische Abteilung (in German). 48. Berlin: 182–243. OCLC633408511.
Curtius (1933, p. 187) wrote that the damaged lump along the hairline and diadem of the Vatican Cleopatra likely contained a sculpted representation of a jewel, which Walker (2008, p. 40) directly compares to the painted red jewel in the diadem worn by Venus, most likely Cleopatra, in the fresco from Pompeii. Curtius, Ludwig (1933). "Ikonographische Beitrage zum Porträt der Römischen Republik und der Julisch-Claudischen Familie: IV Kleopatra VII. Philopator". Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Römische Abteilung (in German). 48. Berlin: 182–243. OCLC633408511. Walker, Susan (2008). "Cleopatra in Pompeii?". Papers of the British School at Rome. 76: 35–46, 345–348. doi:10.1017/S0068246200000404. JSTOR40311128.
Blaise Pascal remarked in his Pensées (1670): "Cleopatra's nose: had it been shorter, the whole aspect of the world would have been altered." (Pascal 1910, sec. II, no. 162) According to (Perry & Williams 2019), a less aquiline nose would have diminished her chances of becoming ruler of Egypt and attract men of the First and Second Triumvirate, which would have changed the Battle of Actium, and subsequent European history. Pascal, Blaise (1910). Pensées. Translated by William Finlayson Trotter. New York: P. F. Collier & Son. Perry, David; Williams, Tom (5 December 2019). "Causation and Cleopatra's nose". Lexology. Archived from the original on 21 June 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
Reece (2017, p. 203) notes that "[t]he fragmentary texts of ancient Greek papyri do not often make their way into the modern public arena, but this one has, and with fascinating results, while remaining almost entirely unacknowledged is the remarkable fact that Cleopatra's one-word subscription contains a blatant spelling error: γινέσθωι, with a superfluous iotaadscript." This spelling error "has not been noted by the popular media", however, being "simply transliterated [...] including, without comment, the superfluous iota adscript" (p. 208). Even in academic sources, the misspelling was largely unacknowledged or quietly corrected (pp. 206–208, 210).Although described as "'normal' orthography" (in contrast with "'correct' orthography") by Peter van Minnen (p. 208), the spelling error is "much rarer and more puzzling" than the sort one would expect from the Greek papyri from Egypt (p. 210)—so rare, in fact, that it occurs only twice in the 70,000 Greek papyri between the 3rd century BC and 8th century AD in the Papyrological Navigator's database. This is especially so when considering it was added to a word "with no etymological or morphological reason for having an iota adscript" (p. 210) and was written by "the well-educated, native Greek-speaking, queen of Egypt" Cleopatra VII (p. 208). Reece, Steve (2017), "Cleopatra Couldn't Spell (And Neither Can We!)", in Groton, Anne Harmar (ed.), Ab Omni Parte Beatus: Classical Essays in Honor of James M. May, Mundelein, Illinois: Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, pp. 201–220, ISBN978-0-86516-843-5, LCCN2017002236, OCLC969973660, archived from the original on 9 July 2021, retrieved 2 September 2018.
The observation that the left cheek of the Vatican Cleopatra once had a cupid's hand that was broken off was first suggested by Ludwig Curtius in 1933. Kleiner concurs with this assessment. See Kleiner (2005, p. 153), as well as Walker (2008, p. 40) and Curtius (1933, pp. 182–192). While Kleiner (2005, p. 153) has suggested the lump on top of this marble head perhaps contained a broken-off uraeus, Curtius (1933, p. 187) offered the explanation that it once held a sculpted representation of a jewel. Kleiner, Diana E. E. (2005), Cleopatra and Rome, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, ISBN978-0-674-01905-8, archived from the original on 11 May 2020, retrieved 6 March 2018. Walker, Susan (2008). "Cleopatra in Pompeii?". Papers of the British School at Rome. 76: 35–46, 345–348. doi:10.1017/S0068246200000404. JSTOR40311128. Curtius, Ludwig (1933). "Ikonographische Beitrage zum Porträt der Römischen Republik und der Julisch-Claudischen Familie: IV Kleopatra VII. Philopator". Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Römische Abteilung (in German). 48. Berlin: 182–243. OCLC633408511. Kleiner, Diana E. E. (2005), Cleopatra and Rome, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, ISBN978-0-674-01905-8, archived from the original on 11 May 2020, retrieved 6 March 2018. Curtius, Ludwig (1933). "Ikonographische Beitrage zum Porträt der Römischen Republik und der Julisch-Claudischen Familie: IV Kleopatra VII. Philopator". Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Römische Abteilung (in German). 48. Berlin: 182–243. OCLC633408511.
Curtius (1933, p. 187) wrote that the damaged lump along the hairline and diadem of the Vatican Cleopatra likely contained a sculpted representation of a jewel, which Walker (2008, p. 40) directly compares to the painted red jewel in the diadem worn by Venus, most likely Cleopatra, in the fresco from Pompeii. Curtius, Ludwig (1933). "Ikonographische Beitrage zum Porträt der Römischen Republik und der Julisch-Claudischen Familie: IV Kleopatra VII. Philopator". Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Römische Abteilung (in German). 48. Berlin: 182–243. OCLC633408511. Walker, Susan (2008). "Cleopatra in Pompeii?". Papers of the British School at Rome. 76: 35–46, 345–348. doi:10.1017/S0068246200000404. JSTOR40311128.
In Pratt & Fizel (1949, pp. 14–15), Frances Pratt and Becca Fizel rejected the idea proposed by some scholars in the 19th and early 20th centuries that the painting was perhaps done by an artist of the Italian Renaissance. Pratt and Fizel highlighted the Classical style of the painting as preserved in textual descriptions and the steel engraving. They argued that it was unlikely for a Renaissance period painter to have created works with encaustic materials, conducted thorough research into Hellenistic period Egyptian clothing and jewelry as depicted in the painting, and then precariously placed it in the ruins of the Egyptian temple at Hadrian's Villa. Pratt, Frances; Fizel, Becca (1949), Encaustic Materials and Methods, New York: Lear Publishers, OCLC560769, archived from the original on 19 May 2020, retrieved 7 March 2018.
For further information on the identity of Cleopatra's mother, see Burstein (2004, p. 11), Fletcher (2008, p. 73), Goldsworthy (2010, pp. 127, 128), Grant (1972, p. 4), Roller (2010, pp. 165–166) and Bennett (1997, pp. 39–66). Joann Fletcher finds this hypothesis to be dubious and lacking evidence. Stanley M. Burstein claims that strong circumstantial evidence suggests Cleopatra's mother could have been a member of the priestly family of Ptah, but that historians generally assume her mother was Cleopatra V Tryphaena, wife of Ptolemy XII. Adrian Goldsworthy dismisses the idea of Cleopatra's mother being a member of an Egyptian priestly family as "pure conjecture," adding that either Cleopatra V or a concubine "probably of Greek origin" would be Cleopatra VII's mother. Michael Grant contends that Cleopatra V was most likely Cleopatra VII's mother. Duane W. Roller notes that while Cleopatra could have been the daughter of the priestly family of Ptah, the other main candidate would be Cleopatra VI, maintaining the uncertainty stems from Cleopatra V/VI's "loss of favor" that "obscured the issue." He also posits that Cleopatra being the only known ruler of the Ptolemaic Dynasty to speak Egyptian, along with her daughter Cleopatra Selene II as Queen of Mauretania publicly honoring the native Egyptian elite, both lend credence to the priestly class mistress hypothesis for maternity. Christopher Bennett points out that with Cleopatra VII having a birthdate of 69 BC, she was "certainly conceived before Cleopatra V disappears from the record" and thus it follows that Cleopatra V had to be the mother of Cleopatra VII. He further argues that this fact alone, among others he discusses, is "sufficient to dispose" of the argument of a hypothetical Egyptian Memphite aristocrat as the mother of Cleopatra VII. Part of Burstein's and Roller's argument rests on a speculated earlier marriage between Psenptais II and a certain "Berenice", once argued to possibly be a daughter of Ptolemy VIII. However, this speculation was refuted by Egyptologist Wendy Cheshire, which was later validated by papyrologist Sandra Lippert. See Cheshire (2011, pp. 20–30) and Lippert (2013, pp. 33–48). Burstein, Stanley M. (2004), The Reign of Cleopatra, Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, ISBN978-0-313-32527-4. Fletcher, Joann (2008), Cleopatra the Great: The Woman Behind the Legend, New York: Harper, ISBN978-0-06-058558-7. Goldsworthy, Adrian Keith (2010), Antony and Cleopatra, New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, ISBN978-0-300-16534-0. Grant, Michael (1972), Cleopatra, London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson; Richard Clay (the Chaucer Press), ISBN978-0-297-99502-9. Roller, Duane W. (2010), Cleopatra: a biography, Oxford: Oxford University Press, ISBN978-0-19-536553-5. Bennett, Christopher J. (1997). "Cleopatra V Tryphæna and the Genealogy of the Later Ptolemies". Ancient Society. 28: 39–66. doi:10.2143/AS.28.0.630068. ISSN0066-1619. JSTOR44079777. (registration required) Cheshire, Wendy (2011), "The Phantom Sister of Ptolemy Alexander", Enchoria, 32: 120–130. Lippert, Sandra (2013), "What's New in Demotic Studies? An Overview of the Publications 2010–2013"(PDF), The Journal of Juristic Papyrology: 33–48, archived(PDF) from the original on 4 June 2023, retrieved 27 April 2023.
Elia (1956), pp. 3–7. Elia, Olga (1956) [1955], "La tradizione della morte di Cleopatra nella pittura pompeiana", Rendiconti dell'Accademia di Archeologia, Lettere e Belle Arti (in Italian), 30: 3–7, OCLC848857115.
Curtius (1933), pp. 184 ff. Abb. 3 Taf. 25–27.. Curtius, Ludwig (1933). "Ikonographische Beitrage zum Porträt der Römischen Republik und der Julisch-Claudischen Familie: IV Kleopatra VII. Philopator". Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Römische Abteilung (in German). 48. Berlin: 182–243. OCLC633408511.
