The online journal, Ancient Near East Today, has a thought-provoking article on Cleopatra’s languages. Ancient sources attributed to her the ability to converse in an astonishing number of languages. On the surface, that sounds like an indication of great intelligence and linguistic skill. However, historians have often discounted this aspect of her character.
A New View of Cleopatra’s Languages
Now a Dutch historian has a fascinating take on this topic. Without giving away his nuanced and intriguing argument, I’ll say only that, while he leans away from the view of Cleopatra the genius linguist, he offers support for a reassessment of her as a smart, ambitious queen with a striking imperial vision and respect as ruler for a variety of African peoples. If this scholar’s “read” of the evidence regarding Cleopatra is correct, then she and the African continent both gain importance in the place western historians have traditionally given them.
Further Reading
For the full argument, read the article in Ancient Near East Today, “Cleopatra’s Languages.”
You might also enjoy my post about the mystery surrounding the location of Cleopatra’s tomb.
The public domain photo at the top of this post is a painting by French artist Jean-Léon Gérôme, 1866, depicting Cleopatra being unrolled from the rug she hid inside to sneak back into the palace to meet Julius Caesar.
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It’s definitely good that the archaeologist is not damaging the site or ignoring important information (we hope). Also awesome, however, that there’s an archaeologist out there who’s a wild, impractical dreamer. I wonder how many important tombs or other sites have yet to be discovered or made the focus of a twenty-year quest. Genghis Khan, for one.
I also like wild dreamers, but I share the hope that the rigor of her work is as professional as she indicates–once a dig is messed with there’s no going back. I really liked the argument about the context of Cleopatra’s language use in this article. It’s very clever and thoughtful.
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