Cleopatra Selene, Serene Queen of Mauritania

The only child of Cleopatra and Marc Antony’s to reach adulthood, Queen Cleopatra Selene (40 BC- 5 BC) of Mauretania was one of the most important women of the Augustan age— exceptional in and of itself considering the animosity in Rome against her parents.  According to archaeological and literary evidence, Cleopatra Selene had a reputation for being a powerful and formidable monarch—her mother’s daughter through and through. At a mere 15 years of age, she married King Juba II of Mauretania and they successfully ruled together for 20 years.  The royal couple put the once-impoverished province on the map by turning Mauretania into a destination point throughout the Roman Empire. On account of their resourcefulness Mauretania became a major exporter and home to one of the largest urban capitals (Caesarea) in the western part of the Roman Empire.

Cleopatra Selene’s early life, however, was not always promising. After her vilified parents were caught in the crosshairs of the Roman fleet, she and her two brothers—her twin, Alexander Helios and younger brother Ptolemy Philadelphus—were unceremoniously dispatched to Rome so that they could play the starring role in Octavian’s three-day-long triumph (29 BC) celebrating his victory over their mother.

On the final day of festivities, as the glittering procession parading Egypt’s opulent spoils wound its way through Rome’s rough and tumble streets, the Romans—always up for a party— were lined up in threes and fours to catch a glimpse of the swaggering splendor. Coming up at the rear was the main exhibit that the crowds were craning their necks to see. Since Cleopatra’s suicide denied Rome the satisfaction of seeing her in shackles, the Romans had to settle for her likeness instead. Crudely outfitted with her signature asp in tow, the Queen the Romans loved to hate was decked out in full effigy with her ten-year old twins tethered in chains of gold and flanked on either side of her. So that there was no question of whose children they were, the twins were dressed as the sun, Alexander (Helios) and the moon, Cleopatra (Selene).

Cleopatra VII of Ptolemaic Egypt, wearing her royal diadem, consuming poison in an act of suicide, while her son Caesarion, also wearing a royal diadem, stands behind her (first century AD)  House of Giuseppe II, Pompeii (Public Domain)

Upon sight of the two innocents, a hush fell upon the jeering crowd. Even in their festive state, Romans were not without a heart.

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Mary Naples’ master’s thesis: “Demeter’s Daughter’s: How the Myth of the Captured Bride Helped Spur Feminine Consciousness in Ancient Greece,” examines how female participants found empowerment in a feminine fertility festival . She is the author of The Cult of the Captured Bride, Visit her site at www.femminaclassica.com

Top Image: The Meeting of Antony and Cleopatra by Sir Lawrence Alma Tadema (1885) (Public Domain)

By: Mary Naples