2004
Volume 58, Issue 2
  • ISSN: 0165-8204
  • E-ISSN: 2667-1573

Abstract

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 alternately superficial and sometimes comic, or serious and explicitly political. Certain aspects of the Egyptian portrayal of Cleopatra are strongly influenced by Western images, and in some Egyptian cultural productions Cleopatra is a vehicle for associating Egypt with the Hellenistic and European worlds. In addition, some Egyptian representations of Cleopatra and her court express a sense of Egyptian superiority over other African groups. The image of Cleopatra was also used in the Egyptian nationalism that opposed Ottoman and British imperialism. In this sense, the Egyptian portrayal of Cleopatra is simultaneously Western and typically Egyptian.

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