Now at the Franklin Institute: Cleopatra
Cleopatra is one of the most famous women in history and one of only a handful of powerful female leaders who truly dominated their countries and their ages. Her reign and influence in ancient Egypt could be compared to those of Elizabeth I or Victoria of England, Catherine the Great of Russia, or in more modern times, Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi of India or Golda Meir of Israel.
A tantalizing view into the reign and life of Cleopatra recently opened at the Franklin Institute in Center City, Philadelphia. The exhibit, formally titled Cleopatra, The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt, was developed by National Geographic and focuses on new underwater archeological finds.
Most of us are familiar with Cleopatra through film, books and plays. Her associations with Julius Caesar and Marc Anthony are widely known. She is regarded as a legendary beauty. We have probably all heard of her suicide by poisonous snakebite. Despite all that, she is surrounded by a great sense of mystery. Her tomb has never been found and there are very few representations of what she may really have looked like. This exhibit provides us with a historical, political and geographical context for her life.
The exhibit explores the ancient cities of Egypt, including Alexandria, Cleopatra’s capital, which in her time was the most advanced city in the Mediterranean, along with other sites associated with the political and religious hierarchy of the day. There are fascinating artifacts and information about new finds made by advanced underwater archeological techniques and digs that are underway in the Alexandria vicinity.
If your memories or knowledge of ancient history are a bit sketchy, the exhibit also goes a long way to explain the relationships between the Greeks, Egyptians and Romans. Egypt is the oldest of the three cultures. Cleopatra was the last ruler of the Ptolemaic line, the Greek conquerors of Egypt, who blended the two cultures together in government, art and religion over several centuries. When the Romans came to power and began to spread their influence throughout the Mediterranean, Cleopatra’s Egypt was a strategic trading partner because it supplied the Roman army with the grain needed for food. Cleopatra entered into political and romantic alliances with both Julius Caesar and Marc Anthony. To learn more about the details of these relationships and the tragic results, you will have to explore this fascinating exhibition on your own. Visit http://www.fi.edu/cleopatra/for complete information on dates, tickets and more.
In the fall, Camden County College will offer a free lecture series that will offer further insight into the world of Cleopatra. See http://www.fi.edu/cleopatra/CCC.htmlfor more information.
If all of this whets a further interest in Egyptology and the ancient world, a number of museums in the northeastern United States have excellent collections of ancient Egyptian mummies, artifacts and jewelry. The University of Pennsylvania’s Archeological Museum is an outstanding source in Philadelphia. Go to http://penn.museum/. In New York, the Brooklyn Museum’s collection is known for its Egyptian Galleries, http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/mummy_chamber/and the Metropolitan Museum offers the amazing Temple of Dendur: http://www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/collection_database/egyptian_art/the_temple_of_dendur/objectview.aspx?OID=100004628&collID=10&dd1=10and an in-depth collection of Greek and Roman antiquities.
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