Cicero had written letters to a friend, Atticus, about Cleopatra during her stay in Rome. This primary source did not paint a pleasant view of the Egyptian queen. The letters were written in 44 B.C.E. in various locations throughout Italy and Rome. While Cicero mentioned casual topics that would be discussed amongst two acquaintances like what was going on in his life and where he was staying at the time, he made a point to include his opinion of Cleopatra in the letters as well.
One letter mentions that Cleopatra leaving the city doesn't bother Cicero on 16 April. About a month later he wrote of wishing that Cleopatra had a miscarriage like Gaius Cassius' wife. By June, the battered that Cicero felt toward Cleopatra gee to the point that he wrote "I detest the queen." According to him, she was arrogant while she lived on Julius Caesar's estate.
Jones, Prudence J. Cleopatra: A Sourcebook. Norman: University of Oklahoma (2006) 85-87.
Hey Cindy!
ReplyDeleteReally cool topic! Also incredible to have a primary source dating back to 44 BCE! How does this document shape your paper in regards to Cleopatra? Does it coincide with other opinions of the time, or does it stand out?
Wow it sounds like either Cicero or Cleopatra was kind of a jerk. I'd be really interested in knowing why Cicero had such a low opinion of Cleopatra. Did Cleopatra do anything that affected Cicero directly?
ReplyDeleteHi Cindy!
ReplyDeleteI, like Michael, was curious as to why Cicero had such a low opinion of Cleopatra. In my search, I found a book called "The Search for Cleopatra: The True Story of History's Most Intriguing Women" by Michael Foss. Apparently, there are a lot of Michael Fosses in the world, so I'm not entirely sure of his credentials, but I figured it would be worth mentioning in case you were looking for some historical context for the letters. Foss describes how Cicero's misogyny may have been a part of his low opinion, but Cicero wasn't the only one to dissent to the queen's stay in Rome. The poet Lucan wrote that she may have stayed in the city because she was had a miscarriage of "another" one of Caesar's bastards, which may be why Cicero commented on her having a miscarriage.
Like I said, I don't know the credentials of Michael Foss, so if you're interested in what he has to say, you should find out more about him! Here's a link to the excerpt I was looking at (the chapter is called "Breathing Space":
https://books.google.com/books?id=fr8eAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT66&lpg=PT66&dq=why+did+cicero+hate+cleopatra&source=bl&ots=_pmWbaSwrF&sig=qhd4CC7eIZZyJYDZ4RUZ2OhGdDM&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CDcQ6AEwBGoVChMIkqq9rtqnyAIVSF0eCh3phwIL#v=onepage&q=why%20did%20cicero%20hate%20cleopatra&f=false