CLAS103 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Rosetta Stone, Genesco, Numismatics
22 Sep 2016
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Document Summary
We know a lot less about cleopatra than alexander. Most film productions: and especially the hbo series rome distort her history far more than oliver stone did alexander"s. 2 main sources: - written texts (ancient authors, inscriptions) Material remains (inscriptions, art and coin) lots of coinage during her rein. The challenges: dates of our written sources are contemporary similar to alexander"s sources. Cleopatra 69- 30 bce; plutarch ce 46-120. N. b the underwater excavations in the harbour at alexandria which became the capital of the royal family that cleopatra was part of. Ancient portraits of cleopatra eg) the vatican cleopatra,the berlin cleopatra epigraphy: most famous inscription of 3 different scripts, harmonic, greek and hieroglyphic of cleopatra (rosetta stone) Less biased than literary sources - but often formulaic or lacking in context. Part of the inscription in greek described a dedication to isis on behalf of cleopatra. Papyri- peculiar to egypt, papyrus plants grow on egypt(paper)
