Cleopatra changed history with her intelligence and storytelling.
Cleopatra, a beautiful woman, was an Egyptian with dark skin.
No. Cleopatra is Greek.
A)
She may seem exotic, but her face is reminiscent of Greek sculpture.
Christ, a film star with a white face, is strange, but Cleopatra is fine.
Why did the Greeks become the pharaohs (kings) of Egypt?
In 332 BC, ancient Egypt was destroyed by the Greek Alexander the Great.
During a banquet, the Great King was stung by a bee and collapsed, leaving behind a will that said, "The strongest shall inherit the kingdom".
The generals fought for supremacy, and General Ptolemy came to rule Egypt, but the last Pharaoh of the Ptolemaic dynasty was Cleopatra (VII).
B)
Cleopatra does not seem to have been a person of great beauty.
Pascal famously said, "If Cleopatra's nose had been a little shorter, her story would have been different".
When Japanese people say, "I wish she were a little shorter," they mean that Cleopatra had a big nose and was beautiful.
In other words, "if Cleopatra had not been beautiful, the story would have been different".
However, the original French word "court", which was translated into Japanese as "low", actually means "short", and French people say that having a high (large) nose is not an attribute of beauty but rather a flaw.
The original French text of the sentence in Pascal's Pensées:
Le nez de Cleopatre : s'il eut ete plus court, toute la face de la terre aurait changee.
Japanese famous novelist Soseki said. Kusaya Teacher literally and accurately quotes it in "I am a Cat".
But before that, he seems to want to show that people are proud of their wealth and power with their big noses, and he dwells on the sizeable hooked nose of Kaneda's sarcastic wife, Hanako (a nickname given to her by a cat).
If you Look at the pictures, the coin on the left has a hooked nose, and the statue on the right has a long nose.
C)
If Cleopatra's nose was too long, which was a problem, then Pascal's words can also be taken to mean that if her nose had been a little shorter, she would have been beautiful, and history would have been different.
This word is spoken in the context of human futility:
If you want to understand human emptiness fully, look at the cause and effect of love. Even though the reason is "something I don't understand", the result is frightening.
This "something I don't understand" shakes the earth, kings, armies, and the world. Cleopatra's nose, if it had been a little smaller, the face of the planet would have been completely changed.
-Pascal's "Pensée" by Tetsuya Shiokawa (translator)
*1: "Something I don't understand" seems to be a line from a famous play of the time.
*2: "Short" is loosely translated as "small". In other words, Pascal was using the small parts of Cleopatra's face to say that "anyone who immediately captures and moves someone's heart will bring about a great change, no matter how small".
Elizabeth Taylor "Cleopatra" 1963:
She captivated people with her beautiful voice. Cleopatra was born in Alexandria, an academic and cultural city known as "the knot of the world". She had a deep education, graceful manners and a charming voice, and she knew how to speak in a way that didn't distract people.
D)
The historian Plutarch wrote in his historical book "Heroes" that Cleopatra was an intelligent woman fluent in several foreign languages (Egyptian, Ethiopian, Median, Parthian, Arabic, Syriac, Hebrew, etc.).
However, regarding her appearance, she wrote: "It was said that her beauty was neither extraordinary nor shocking to those who saw her". Caesar of Rome, fascinated by Cleopatra, praised her voice, saying it was "like her instrument", but did not comment on her appearance.
As for her, it seems she wasn't so beautiful that she fainted.
E)
Cleopatra accepted her strange fate to save her country and lived her life fully, using her ingenuity.
Three years after Cleopatra acceded to the throne at 18, Gaius Julius Caesar of Rome landed in Egypt. Cleopatra wrapped herself in a bedding bag (carpet) to escape the heavy security and meet Caesar.
She wins Caesar's heart by having him deliver it as a gift to the royal palace.
After Caesar is assassinated with the cry "Brutus, you too" and Marc Antony comes to power, Cleopatra dresses up as the Greek goddess Aphrodite and sets the mood by burning incense. Antony was fascinating. He was sure of his charm.
When Antony is defeated by the new ruler of Rome, Octavian (Augustus) commits suicide after hearing a false report of Cleopatra's death. Cleopatra forces him to be bitten by a poisonous snake.
According to Suetonius' biography of the emperor, Augustus was about 170 cm tall, had a well-proportioned physique and was a rare handsome man, but Cleopatra was not attracted to Augustus.
F)
People are born ordinary or extraordinary and live their lives fluctuating between the two.
Small daily choices create a person's path, and these intertwine to make the history of the world.
It can be said that life and history are so uncertain and fluid that even small events can make a big difference; it can also be noted that slight differences in facial parts cause beauty, so we shouldn't worry about it. It's challenging to change one's body, so I hope they do their best with make-up and fashion.
Cleopatra changed history with her intelligence and storytelling.
https://ameblo.jp/reem2/entry-12249392198.html
Caesar and Cleopatra 1945
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesar_and_Cleopatra_(film)
Caesar and Cleopatra is a 1945 British Technicolor film directed by Gabriel Pascal and starring Vivien Leigh and Claude Rains.
Cleopatra (1963 film)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleopatra_(1963_film)
Cleopatra is a 1963 American epic historical drama film directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, with a screenplay adapted by Mankiewicz, Ranald MacDougall and Sidney Buchman from the 1957 book The Life and Times of Cleopatra by Carlo Maria Franzero, and from histories by Plutarch, Suetonius, and Appian. The film stars Elizabeth Taylor in the eponymous role.
