Cleopatra: The Life of Cleopatra VII: The Life of Cleopatra VII

Author: Emil Ludwig
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-03-01
Features: On the Nile River, which is hailed as the "mother of Egypt," I saw her for the last time. She still longed for the distant north. In her heart, Egypt was almost a foreign land. The Mediterranean was her true home. With every story of hers, the sea breeze would sigh softly. To portray the protagonist's personality, when writing other biographies, I tried my best to gather materials such as personal letters, speeches, or memoirs of the protagonist himself, his friends, or his enemies. However, in this biography of Cleopatra, none of these things existed. She was an "unparalleled woman"; she possessed more feminine charm than most women and greater strength and determination than most men. She was called the "Queen of Egypt," yet she had no Egyptian bloodline; she was a descendant of Macedonians. She was a lover, a mother, a warrior, and a queen—all indispensable to her. She was a mortal on earth, yet she seemed to move among the world in accordance with the rhythm of the heavens. She was the most intelligent and capable ruler of the ancient Egyptian kingdom. She had clear and firm goals: she was the successor of Alexander and sought to rebuild the Egyptian kingdom with the power of Rome. But she was not limited to the ambition of restoring the dynasty; she also carried an "immortal demand." That was her belief that she was a guardian of an ancient culture, and without her, this culture was destined to perish.
The author of this book, Emil Ludwig, is a renowned biographer—a writer regarded as having achieved the level of a "man of letters." He had spent decades nurturing the subject he discussed. With his lifelong experiences, he crafted this work into one that is both accessible and profound, effortlessly conveying deep insights. It dispels the misinterpretations of this "Queen of Egypt" that have persisted for two thousand years.