Cleopatra: A Woman of Power is an important new biography of one of history's most misunderstood figures. Far from the common stereotype of her as a seductive and treacherous woman, Cleopatra emerges as a brilliant strategist and visionary leader, determined to reshape the balance of power between Rome and the Hellenistic East.In an interesting historical narrative, Aldo Schiavone revives the character of Cleopatra as a woman and a queen, a complex character who was not only mesmerizing by her beauty, but also by the strength of her exceptional personality. Schiavone reconstructs her story through seven pivotal moments in her life:The night before the Battle of Actium, which prepared the way; Her meeting with Julius Caesar in Alexandria; The day of Caesar's assassination; Her first meeting with Antony on the banks of the Cydnus River; Her fateful alliance with him in Antioch; actium day; and her meeting with Octavian the Victor and her subsequent suicide in 30 BC.Schiavone reveals a woman willing to risk everything to achieve her goals. Had it succeeded, it would have shifted Rome's political and cultural axis permanently eastward, placing it at the heart of a new center of power, and perhaps changing the course of history.
A book huge in scope, Cleopatra: A Woman of Power paints a captivating portrait of a bold ruler who deftly navigated the shifting alliances between Rome and the ancient Mediterranean, and whose devastating downfall stemmed from her ambition to remake the world.
