Cleopatra Philopator
CLEOPATRA VII PHILOPATOR
by Federico Wardal
CLEOPATRA VII PHILOPATOR is the story of the Egyptian queen who become the queen of the world when she married Julius Caesar.
This 12 episode story shows Cleopatra VII not only as a political strategist, but as a cultural and cosmopolitan strategist, through the legendary library of her ancestors: the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, world center of philosophy, science and every aspect of human knowledge. Cleopatra VII, is also shown, for the first time in history, in the human role of mother of Caesarion, her son by Caesar and Cleopatra Selene, Alexander Helios and Ptolemy Philadelphus, with Marco Antonio. The queen is shown in the role of a woman at that time too.
The sources of this literary work are: Ptolemy XIII Philopator (62-47 BC), elder brother of Cleopatra VII, Horace (65-27 BC) historical officer and poet of the Roman Empire, Cleopatra VII's contemporary . Who relives and tells this story is Ptolemy XIII who appears after death, as in the play by Horace, where Cleopatra VII returns to being what she was after death.
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The place of the action is golden and mysterious, from where the protagonist Ptolemy XIII, the elder brother of Cleopatra VII, talk to us, in real time, after his death.
The prologue.
Ptolemy XIII :
I am Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator brother of Cleopatra VII Philopator.
My name means "God who loves his father" and that of my sister Cleopatra VII means "Goddess who loves her father."
No, none of us in the family has ever abandoned the pharaonic style, although we were born in an Egypt that was post pharaonic, Egypt is and will always remain Egypt. .
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I talk to you now, in your present time, and I assure you I will certainly tell you about my sister Cleopatra VII, knowing perfectly that you are most interested in her. Good for your sakes that I have a clear memory, since each action of Cleopatra VII's always has been as unexpected as a sudden explosion. And I ? I had to die to start again and here we are.
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Through the knowledge of ancient Egypt, I know that you can live beyond death only to a certain point. Unless you have contact with the otherworldly shadows. Otherwise you will live, but in the darkness, lost …which can also be a choice ...
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I, barely born, was my mother, Cleopatra V's pupil, and always admired my sister Cleopatra VII, who knew well that I would be her most consenting pawn.
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My mother's ideas were constantly in opposition to my father's. And I considered my sister Cleopatra VII, eight years older than me, more my mother than my mother. But I was able to hide my feelings around my mother and also my stepsister Arsinoe, daughter of another woman. And I hid my own feelings around my father too, the king, to avoid adding to the many conflicts that totally dominated my family. It is easy to imagine how unhappy my childhood was in a family situation where love never existed.
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"Dangerous Family Carousel" Scene 1, Part 1
I know, you are impatient to know about the times of Caesar and my sister Cleopatra VII, but necessarily, I have to tell you what happened immediately before, so that, you finally understand aspects that maybe the story has never clarified for you. I will be concise since my earthly life was short, very short.
"Dangerous Family Carousel" Scene 1, Part 2
CLEOPATRA V, my mother, decided on my life and early death.
When I was born, my mother automatically thought of me as the successor to the throne of Egypt, and this was the cause of her misfortune.
You didn't understand why?
Oh, but do you think my father could tolerate that his wife would decide the successor to the throne of Egypt? And especially that my mother would have made me her instrument against my father, conditioning me with her maternal love! Love? No, there was never love in my family!
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“My country Egypt is unconquerable" Scene 2
Now you know my father. And what about my sister Cleopatra VII ? And Arsinoe, my stepsister? My father was the weakest of the family and for this reason the most dangerous. The three women, my mother, my sister Cleopatra VII, and my stepsister Arsinoe were all strategic, in a cold war among them.
Alliances and sudden and frequent separations were as common as explosions of hatred among the members of my family, while Rome ...Rome was always lurking, ready to profit from continuous discord in my family, to conquer my country, Egypt, although considered unconquerable according to the gods and the Romans themselves, since my country is the father of history, civilization, religion and grandeur in splendor beyond human understanding.
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“ CLEOPATRA V, my mother, decided on my life and early death" Scene 3
I knew since I was a child, that I wouldn't live long. I lived in the midst of bloody situations that were quickly changeable. Even if I vowed to be strong, I knew my will to be strong was just an illusion, based on a totally unstable situation, ungovernable, floating and much larger than myself.
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“I am beyond life, but still in Egypt", Scene 4
I was devoted to the oracles to get peace, at least in my afterlife.
And I manifest myself to you, in your time, which penetrates any secret, to reveal the story of my sister Cleopatra VII, whose legacy reaches you and will continue beyond your life. I'm sure what I tell you will make you think, resolve to prepare yourself for the future. It will seem strange to you as I will be more polished in telling you what happened after my death than during my short life since I was constantly absorbed with surfing through furious storms and then I was killed at 15.
Who killed me does not matter, since the circumstances at that time were such that everyone killed everyone. It is perhaps the same in your time ?
But, here is the time of Julius Caesar. At that time I began to live, being dead. Yes, to live while dead, as the oracles had always announced for me. That's why I can talk to you.
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“The Power of Conquest," Scene 5, Part 1
When Caesar arrived in Alexandria, my sister Cleopatra VII, despite being strongly hampered by Arsinoe, was already the queen of the world. She then prepared her son Cesarione, which she had with Caesar, to be the absolute emperor of the largest empire of the earth.
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“The Power of Conquest," Scene 5, Part 2
Cleopatra, after dramatic battles, triumphed in Rome in a grandeur and splendor that no pharaoh, no king or queen, had ever reached.
With an impressive fleet of ships, she reached Ostia, the port of Rome, and proceeded firmly towards the capital of the world, preceded by an endless procession of thousands of people, a faithful human carpet for her entrance.
Waiting for her was Giulius Caesar representing the whole of Rome and a large statue of massive gold depicting Venus.
Then, as soon as she descended from her huge sedan chair and her feet touched the Roman soil, an endless ovation exploded. Caesar, bowing his head, greeted Cleopatra, who, dignified, received the greeting, remaining immobile. An absolute silence suddenly descended. Then, after a long look towards Caesar, from a considerable distance, at the peak of tension that dominated the immense crowd, she bent her head gradually to greet Caesar and Rome.
The enthusiasm conquered each person and grew like a wave that joined and climbed the sky.
THE END