Cleopatra III

Cleopatra III was the great-grandmother of the more famous Cleopatra VII. Unlike her descendant, she lived in an era when Rome had not quite conquered the whole world, though it was clearly working toward that end. Historians usually portray her as having been seduced by her uncle, Ptolemy VIII Euergetes ("benefactor") II, known Physkon, which means "potbelly" or "sausage" for his immense girth. Ptolemies were formally known by their dynastic name, not by their number, but are more often famous under the nicknames bestowed on them by their subjects. Given that most Ptolemaic queens were not at all averse to a little dynastic intrigue, to put it mildly, I believe it is entirely possible that it was she who did the seducing, rather than the other way around. By tradition, the women could not ascend the throne in their own right but needed a brother or a son to associate with them. Cleopatra III describes Cleopatra's journey along the road to the throne. I have tried to be faithful to the historical record, but I have taken some liberties for the sake of art. The story takes you from Cleopatra III shunting aside her mother to being forced into exile by her and then returning to the capital, Alexandria, only to continue scheming and conspiring on behalf of her younger son to get her hands on the greatest prize of all: the Ptolemaic throne.