If you’re a fan of history—especially that of women, ancient Egypt, and/or the Roman Empire—I highly recommend Cleopatra’s Daughter: From Roman Prisoner to African Queen by Jane Draycott. Draycott, a Roman historian, archaeologist, and lecturer in ancient history, gives us the first full-length biography of Cleopatra Selene, the only daughter of the famous Egyptian queen Cleopatra.
Cleopatra Selene was one of four children born to Cleopatra and the only one known to have survived to adulthood. Her siblings included Caesarion, the purported son of the Roman dictator Julius Caesar. Cleopatra Selene was the daughter of Mark Antony, who also fathered her twin, Alexander Helios, and her younger brother, Ptolemy Philadelphus.
Draycott’s book is divided into twelve chapters with a forward, introduction, and afterward. The first couple of chapters focus on background information. Chapter 1 introduces the ancient city of Alexandria, Cleopatra Selene’s likely birthplace and where she would have spent her formative years. The second chapter focuses on her parents and the historical events that brought them together.
The next chapter examines Cleopatra Selene’s birth. It includes both information specifically known about her and details of what giving birth was like for a noblewoman in Alexandria during that time period.
In chapters 4 and 5, Draycott discusses the events leading to the downfalls of Antony and Cleopatra, including their defeat at the hands of Julius Caesar’s heir, Octavian, and their eventual suicides. Over the following three chapters, the setting shifts to Rome, where Cleopatra Selene is taken along with her twin and their younger brother to march in Octavian’s triumph. Here, Draycott invites readers to imagine what this move must have been like for the young princess and how she adjusted to Roman ways. The text also examines the influence Egyptian culture had upon Roman society and what Cleopatra Selene might have thought of this. This exploration of Cleopatra Selene’s life in Rome ends with a discussion of the various female role models who influenced her. These include her mother, the queens of Kush (Egypt’s southern neighbor), and influential Roman women such as Octavian’s sister, Octavia, and his wife, Livia Drusilla.
Chapters 9 and 10 explore Cleopatra Selene’s adulthood—her marriage to a Numidian prince and the couple’s appointment as rulers of the newly formed client kingdom of Mauretania in North Africa. Draycott invites readers to imagine how Cleopatra Selene and her husband managed to honor her Egyptian ancestry while remaining loyal to Octavian, who by now had taken on the title of Augustus.
The last two chapters delve into the aftermath of Cleopatra Selene’s life. Chapter 11 looks at her known and possible descendants, while chapter 12 examines how we should consider her today. This final chapter addresses questions of race and identity—a timely discussion in the wake of the controversy surrounding the casting in Netflix’s recent Cleopatra documentary.
While I found Cleopatra’s Daughter an enjoyable and informative read, I do have a few quibbles. The chapters dealing with her mother rely heavily on Roman sources, which are today acknowledged to be biased toward Octavian/Augustus. There are moments when the stereotype of Cleopatra as the manipulative seductress feels alive and well on these pages. For a more rounded view of Queen Cleopatra, I recommend the biographies by Michael Grant and Duane Roller as well as Barry Strauss’s recent The War that Made the Roman Empire: Antony, Cleopatra, and Octavian at Actium.
The book would have also benefited from some color illustrations. All the artifacts presented are in grayscale. This is fine for reliefs and statuary, which have been stripped of their color over time, but jewelry, paintings, and coins lose some of their detail when presented in black and white. In addition to illustrations, this volume features maps, family trees, lists of ancient source material, a bibliography, a list of abbreviations, endnotes, image credits, and an index.
Despite any shortcomings, Cleopatra’s Daughter fleshes out the life of this little-known yet very successful Roman client queen. While some of the information about Cleopatra Selene is inferred, Draycott clearly denotes the difference between speculation and fact. All speculative details are supported by archaeological evidence. Hopefully, this work will encourage further study into the lives of other descendants of Cleopatra and Antony and additional lesser-known figures from the ancient world.
Karen L. Kobylarz 