This Day in History August 30, 30 B.C.

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Beautiful, isn't she?  Well, it's kind of hard to tell.  But history says she was.  And at least Julius Caesar thought so.  As did Mark Antony.  On this day in history back in 30 B.C., Cleopatra VII, Queen of Egypt, committed suicide.

The name Cleopatra was a common name in the Ptolemaic family, and at the age of 17, she married her younger brother (eww!!) Ptolemy XII.  Julius Caesar helped her lead a revolt against her brother, and Caesar helped her regain the Egyptian throne.  Her "husband" accidentally drowned in the Nile, and she married her still younger brother Ptolemy XIII (this is really a messed up family!).  She became Caesar's mistress, followed him to Rome, bore him a son (which he did not formally claim).

Following Caesar's murder, Marc Antony fell in love with her.  They married in 36 B.C. (are you following this?) , and she was seen as a threat to Rome.  Octavian and Augustus tried to destroy them.  They were defeated in 31 B.C., and Marc Antony fell on his own sword.  Then she killed herself as well--via a poisonous snake according to legend.

There is so much legend about her, and much of what we know about her was written after her death.  So all we do know is that this was the date of her death, and it would seem appropriate (in light of the craziness of the family, Rome, and Egypt) that she did in fact kill herself.

If you would like more information, check out these sites:
http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0812535.html
http://womenshistory.about.com/od/cleopatra/a/cleopatra.htm
http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/people/p/Cleopatra.htm

My favorite Cleopatra--Elizabeth Taylor