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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
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 OPINION 
2

Opening Her Tomb Won't Tell Us Who Cleopatra Was

Even Shakespeare had a hard time improving on her true story

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(Newser) – If the tomb that archaeologists are about to start excavating in Egypt really is Cleopatra’s, what will that really tell us about the legendary queen? Aside from possibly clearing up questions about her heritage and cause of death, probably not much, writes Cleopatra expert Stacy Schiff in the New York Times.

Schiff believes that Cleopatra got her bad-girl reputation mostly by turning “up at one of the most dangerous intersections in history, that of women and power.” And the whole suicide-by-asp story seems likely tacked-on: “It’s not difficult to figure out what someone is trying to say when he pairs a lady with a snake.”

A convoy leaves the temple of Taposiris Magna, which was built during the reign of King Ptolemy II (282-246 BC), in Burg Al Arab, west of Alexandria, Egypt, April 19, 2009.
A convoy leaves the temple of Taposiris Magna, which was built during the reign of King Ptolemy II (282-246 BC), in Burg Al Arab, west of Alexandria, Egypt, April 19, 2009.   (AP Photo)
Zahi Hawass displays the alabaster head of a Queen Cleopatra statue and a part of a mask believed to belong to Mark Antony, left, at the temple of Taposiris Magna.
Zahi Hawass displays the alabaster head of a Queen Cleopatra statue and a part of a mask believed to belong to Mark Antony, left, at the temple of Taposiris Magna.   (AP Photo)
If archaeologists find Cleopatra's tomb, we might be able to answer whether she actually did look like Eliabeth Taylor. But that doesn't really tell us who she was.
If archaeologists find Cleopatra's tomb, we might be able to answer whether she actually did look like Eliabeth Taylor. But that doesn't really tell us who she was.   (Getty Images)
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