Lampas - Volume 58, Issue 2, 2025

Abstract This article analyses the uproar that followed the release of the Netflix series Queen Cleopatra (2023). The fact that the Egyptian queen is played by a black actress caused a lot of controversy, especially in Egypt. My aim in this article is not so much to establish the colour of Cleopatra’s skin, but to analyse for whom and why this is so important. After all, the debate is bigger than Cleopatra alone and touches on the role t Read More

Abstract The Jewish historian Flavius Josephus (37-95 CE or slightly later) is one of the most negative ancient sources about Cleopatra, which made one of her biographers, Grant (2001: 240), state that he is ‘savagely biased against the queen’. Josephus’s reports in his later works go beyond the usual Roman contempt for Cleopatra’s bad influence on Mark Antony, her sexual immorality, her greed and her perverted hunger for po Read More

Abstract In the reception of Cleopatra, there are very few images of her between Antiquity and the Late Middle Ages. This article focuses on some of those earliest images, found in manuscripts from the 14th century. It argues that while it is likely that Cleopatra was generally imagined as a white woman, the absence of a strong visual tradition meant that she could be imagined as a racialized ‘Other’. This is evidenced by a d Read More

Abstract The reception of Cleopatra VII is closely linked to the reception of Alexandria, her residence. Because 19th- and 20th-century European artists imagined Alexandria as an Oriental city, Cleopatra was styled as a royal woman who fits into this Oriental context. While 19th- and 20th-century European intellectuals and artists occasionally showed some awareness that Cleopatra was a representative of a Hellenistic mo Read More

Abstract Cleopatra is part of the Egyptian collective memory, as is reflected in the streetscape of contemporary Egypt. Cleopatra is also part of the Alexandrian identity specifically, and her name is used to advertise particular products. Moreover, Cleopatra has been reenvisioned in Egyptian theatre, literature, dance, television and, to a lesser extent, film and music. In these media, the Egyptian reception of Cleopatra is altern Read More

Abstract Tattoos are a powerful and popular form of personal expression embraced by all segments of the population. The Egyptian queen Cleopatra VII (69-30 BC) is frequently seen in modern tattoos. This article explores how Cleopatra is represented in tattoos and what these representations reveal about contemporary notions of gender and identity. The portrayals of Cleopatra can be categorized into four typ Read More