Cleopatra of Egypt: From History to Myth

Was Egypt's last queen a female Machiavelli, a goddess, femme fatale or worse? Was she beautiful or woefully overrated? Cleopatra, who died in 30 B.C., has long had fantasy and slander directed at her, without anyone from beyond her time and place knowing what she looked like. Timed to coincide with a British Museum exhibit (which then travels to Rome and Chicago) Cleopatra of Egypt: From History to Myth analyzes the ways the queen's image has changed from the Renaissance to the present. Edited by Susan Walker (Roman Art) and Peter Higgs, deputy keeper and curator, respectively, in the department of Greek and Roman antiquities at the British Museum, the book presents 364 color and 261 b&w illustrations of pieces from the exhibit, including jewelry, sculpture, ceramics, painting and mosaic. ( May)