Reddit Reddit reviews Cleopatra: A Life

We found 3 Reddit comments about Cleopatra: A Life. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.

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Cleopatra: A Life
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3 Reddit comments about Cleopatra: A Life:

u/Borne2Run · 3 pointsr/Imperator

Here is a good fictional account in autobiographical format https://www.amazon.com/Cleopatra-Life-Stacy-Schiff/dp/0316001945

u/pittsnoggle · 1 pointr/HistoryMemes

I actually don't know. It was in a book about Cleopatra, actually.

https://www.amazon.com/Cleopatra-Life-Stacy-Schiff/dp/0316001945

I also could be mis-remembering the exact details, but the general plot was the triumvirate had a bit of a swap meet, and decided who would live and who would die.

u/cleopatra_philopater · 1 pointr/AskHistorians

I do not know of any reliable accounts (or any contemporary accounts at all) that mention any drug habits, and HBO's depiction of her as a drug addict is one of many embellishments of the series.

As a person, she is usually described as being particularly clever, and is credited with authoring several essays on topics like medicine, cosmetics, and law, as well as being quite charismatic and sharp which seems to point away from her being a drug addict. Additionally, long-term opium use over at least the 17 year period the show would cover would likely have had some ill effects on her health. She is always described as being quite decadent but many historians believe that this was more a tactic aimed at displaying wealth and power, but that does not preclude her personality being that way as well, it was in all likelihood a combination of the two. Plutarch's description of her in his Life of Mark Antony goes into some detail on her, although his writings are not known for accuracy but for painting broadstrokes about the character of the individual in question.

Bear in mind, that HBO's Rome depicts many of its characters in a sensationalist light, and the portrayal of Cleopatra in particular irks me because it takes several common myths and brings them further into the realm of inaccuracy and many people simply assume it to be an accurate and reliable source of information. Many things are a matter of interpretation however, and the writers chose to go with the most tittilating (if unbelievable stories) but whole segments of Cleopatra's life are altered, left out or reorganized into a different sequence of events, or even adding new chapters written for the show. While none of the changed elements are a crime in themselves, they create a misleading picture and I happen to be one of those joyless types who feels the film\TV industry has a responsibility to create historical fiction with integrity, if not accuracy (I am looking directly at Spartacus: Gods of the Arena).

And the inaccuracy does not stop with her, for instance Octavia in the show is so highly fictionalized I want to take up a gladius and leap to the defense of her honor, or Julius Caesar who, while still awesome in the show, bears little resemblance to the real-life tactician.

I would also like to mention that it is opium not Heroin being depicted given the time period Herion was not around and both opium and cannabis were known back then for their recreational uses but were still known to have adverse effects however the Roman Emperor and philosopher Marcus Aurelius used opium extensively.

If you are interested in knowing more I would recommend Stacy Schiff's Cleopatra: A Life although Stacy Schiff I think has a bit of a bias in Cleo's favor it is still one of the best bio's on the market, but stay away from anything Jacob Abbott, lol, but really the man is a menace to the ancient world.

Cleopatra Wikipedia page for some quick reading.

Sources:

Life of Marcus Antonius and Life of Julius Caesar by Plutarch

Life of Julius Caesar by Suetonius

Lucan's Pharsalia

Horace

Stacy Schiff's Cleopatra: A Life