Not long ago, I traveled to Egypt in search of the last queen. I floated down the same Nile that Cleopatra traveled with Julius Caesar, and I visited some of the same sites—the Great Pyramids, the temples of Thebes—that were ancient even in her day, more than two thousand years ago. And I explored the modern city of Alexandria. There is not much to see of the ancient one. In 2002 the new Bibliotheca Alexandrina replaced the original great Library of Alexandria that was partially destroyed by fire in Cleopatra’s time. In the centuries following Cleopatra’s death, the Library was attacked and finally destroyed. The dramatic new one was built near the site of the original.
The Pharos lighthouse that guided ships into the Great Harbor is long gone, badly damaged and eventually obliterated by earthquakes. But four centuries after Cleopatra’s death it was the undersea earthquake and the tsunami, as we now call it, which followed that submerged most of ancient Alexandria. The royal quarter, the palaces, and all the artifacts that could be associated with the last queen’s life now lie many feet below the surface in the murky waters of the Great Harbor.
Underwater archaeologists have explored these waters, bringing up more than six thousand items—granite heads, silver coins, pottery, and other artifacts—and these scientists believe that many thousands more are scattered over the harbor floor. At the end of 2009, divers hauled to the surface a pylon more than seven feet tall and weighing nine tons. They believe it is part of the temple of Isis, the goddess with whom Cleopatra identified so strongly.
The Egyptian government now plans to build an underwater museum with tunnels that will allow visitors to view these sunken treasures of history. Even more recently, archaeologists believe they have found the long-lost tomb where Antony and Cleopatra lie buried, some thirty miles west of Alexandria.
I hope to return to Egypt someday to get a closer look at Cleopatra’s world. But my guess is that even after the archaeologists have finished their digging, the historians have completed their studies, and the anthropologists have run their computer analyses, Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt will remain as much a mystery as ever.
Carolyn Meyer
ABOUT THE RESEARCH FOR THIS BOOK:
Researching is always much easier than writing—and that’s a fact! Until the day the final draft is finished, there is always the temptation to search for one more source, one more book to read, another detail to track down on the Internet, or another fact to check, and to delay the challenging task of structuring the story, developing the characters, imagining the scenes, and finding the voice, all the while maintaining historical accuracy.
My methods are highly personal. I start by searching the online catalogs of the university and public libraries in my city. I check out the books that seem most useful, take quick notes, and decide if I want to own them. Then I order the ones I want and make a mess of them with underlining, highlighting, and sticky notes. The books listed in the bibliography have been subjected to this treatment, and they stayed on my desk as I wrote. Stacy Schiff’s masterful Cleopatra: A Life had not yet been published, or it would certainly have been among my first purchases. But I find that historians and biographers often disagree on even the most basic facts (the identity of Cleopatra’s mother is one example), and I must pick and choose how best to tell the story without rewriting history.
Many questions come up in the process, and so at every step I begin an Internet search: names for minor (invented) characters, an explanation of the Egyptian calendar, a description of the Nilometer, for instance. Not all sites seem well documented or reliable. Most I click, take what I need, delete, and move on. Those that proved useful I bookmarked for future reference and are listed here.
All of this is happening during the months that I am thinking, visualizing, imagining, writing, checking the facts, rewriting, tossing out, starting over, and refining—until it’s finished.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Chauveau, Michel. Egypt in the Age of Cleopatra. Translated by David Lorton. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 2000.
Foreman, Laura. Cleopatra’s Palace: In Search of a Legend. New York: Discovery Books, 1999.
Mertz, Barbara. Red Land, Black Land: Daily Life in Ancient Egypt. New York: William Morris, 2008.
Nelles Map of Egypt. Munich: Nelles Verlag GmbH, 2007.
Roller, Duane W. Cleopatra: A Biography. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.
Tyldesley, Joyce. Cleopatra: Last Queen of Egypt. London: Profile Books, 2008.
INTERNET RESOURCES
Ashmawy, Alaa K. “Alexandria.” Authentic Wonders. Last modified May 23, 2006. http://www.authenticwonders.com/Alexandria/.
Dollinger, André. “Ancient Egypt: Music and Dance.” Last modified October 2009. http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt /timelines/topics/music.htm.
El-Aref, Nevine. “How Pharaoh Sailed to Karnak.” The Corner Report. Last modified January 12, 2008. http://www.thecornerreport.com/index.php?title=how_pharaoh _sailed_to_karnak&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1.
Grieshaber, Frank. “The Calendar of Ancient Egypt.” Egyptology Online Resources. Accessed July 2008. http://aegyptologie.online-resourcen.de/Calendar_of_Ancient_Egypt.
Hayes, Holly. “Serapeum, Alexandria.” Sacred Destinations. Last modified July 8, 2009. http://www.sacred-destinations.com/egypt/alexandria-serapeum.
Moore, Walter. “Authentic Ancient Egyptian Names.” Accessed March 2009. http://kememou.com/names.html.
Postel, Sandra. Pillar of Sand: Can the Irrigation Miracle Last? W.W. New York: Norton Company, 1999. Excerpted online at http://www.waterhistory.org/histories/nile/.
Thompson, James C. “Women in the Ancient World.” Last modified July 2010. http://www.womenintheancientworld.com.
Tour Egypt. “Tour Egypt.” Accessed June 2009. http://www.touregypt.net.
TIME LINE
117 B.C. Birth of Ptolemy XII
80 B.C. Ptolemy XII becomes king of Egypt
75 B.C. Birth of Tryphaena
73 B.C. Birth of Berenike
69 B.C. Birth of Cleopatra VII
67 B.C. Birth of Arsinoë
61 B.C. Birth of Ptolemy XIII
60 B.C. Birth of Ptolemy XIV; King Ptolemy XII goes to Rome
59 B.C. King returns to Alexandria
58 B.C. Royal family on Nile; King forced into exile; Tryphaena, Berenike usurp throne
57 B.C. Tryphaena disappears; Berenike rules
55 B.C. King returns from exile, orders Berenike’s death; Cleopatra becomes queen consort
51 B.C. King Ptolemy XII dies; Cleopatra VII and Ptolemy XIII crowned
48 B.C. Cleopatra flees unrest to Ashkelon; returns to Alexandria
48 B.C. Cleopatra meets Caesar; marries brother Ptolemy XIII; brother dies; marries XIV
47 B.C. Cleopatra, Caesar on Nile journey; Caesar leaves Alexandria; Caesarion born
44 B.C. Cleopatra, Caesarion visit Rome; Caesar assassinated; Octavian named heir
41 B.C. Cleopatra, Marcus Antonius become lovers
40–30 B.C. Cleopatra rules Egypt, prosperity increases; bears Antonius three children 32 B.C. Cleopatra, Antonius assemble fleet; Octavian declares war on Cleopatra
31 B.C. Octavian defeats fleet at battle of Actium
30 B.C. Cleopatra, Antonius die
EGYPTIAN GODS AND GODDESSES
The ancient Egyptians believed in many gods. Their names changed through time; they often appeared in various forms; they performed various functions. Here are a few of the important ones mentioned in this book, but keep in mind that there were dozens more.
Ra—sometimes spelled Re; also called Amun or Amon; sun god; creator god; greatest of the gods
Dionysus—Greek god of wine; inspirer of ecstasy; favorite of King Ptolemy XII
Serapis—protector of the city of Alexandria; originally Greek; known for healing powers
Osiris—god of the dead; judge of spirits; brother-husband of the goddess Isis
Isis—symbol of devoted wife and mother; goddess of fertility; wife of
Osiris; mother of Horus and Hathor
Horus—son of Isis and Osiris; falcon-headed; patron of Egypt
Hathor—daughter of Isis and Osiris; goddess of love and pleasure
Seth—brother of Isis and Osiris; murderer of Osiris
Maat—daughter of Ra; goddess of truth
Neith—goddess of hunting and war; mother of crocodile god, Sobek
Anubis—jackal-headed god; accompanied dead on their journey to the afterlife
Mut—wife of Amun; mother-god
Thoth—god of writing and wisdom; inventor of numbers; often took form of a baboon
EGYPTIAN CALENDAR
The Egyptian calendar in Ptolemaic times was divided into three seasons of four 30-day months each, with five extra days designated as the Opening of the Year, coinciding with the rising of Sirius, the Dog-Star, around June 21. The seasons had Egyptian names, but I have used the English names, which are easier to follow. The year looked something like this:
SEASON OF INUNDATION/FLOODING
First month: June 15–July 15
Second month: July 15–August 15
Third month: August 15–September 15
Fourth month: September 15–October 15
SEASON OF EMERGENCE/PLANTING (WINTER)
First month: October 15–November 15
Second month: November 15–December 15
Third month: December 15–January 15
Fourth month: January 15–February 15
SEASON OF HARVEST (SUMMER)
First month: February 15–March 15
Second month: March 15–April 15
Third month: April 15–May 15
Fourth month: May 15–June 15
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
CAROLYN MEYER is the acclaimed author of more than fifty books for young people. Her many award-winning novels include Mary, Bloody Mary, an ABA Pick of the Lists, an NCSSCBC Notable Children’s Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies, and an ALA Best Book for Young Adults; and Marie, Dancing, a Book Sense Pick. She lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
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