31. Study Questions Copy

1. What do the sources say about the paternity of Caesarion?

Suetonius suggests that his paternity was uncertain. Some supported the assertion that Caesar was his fathers, others say not. It would have made little difference: he could not inherit anything from Caesar (being a non-Roman). Caesar himself seemed to take an equivocal view, neither particularly acknowledging nor rejecting the boy.

2. How may his existence have helped Cleopatra? How may it have benefited Caesar?

It strengthened her relationship with Caesar and Rome. For Caesar, with Cleopatra on this throne with Caesarion, the security of Egypt was assured.

3. What image of Caesarion is promoted by the reliefs at the Temple of Hathor at Dendera and the coin minted in Cyprus?

The reliefs show Cleopatra and her son as divine rulers. Cleopatra holds a sistrum, linking her to the goddess Isis, whilst Caesarion is accompanied by the god Horus. The coin shows Cleopatra as the goddess Isis (traditional for the Mother of the Pharaoh) , thus linking mother and son together as a single entity.

4. When Cleopatra visited Rome in 46 BC, who accompanied her? What was Caesar celebrating at that time?

She was accompanied by her husband/brother, Ptolemy XIV, and her son Caesarion. Caesar was celebrating a quadruple triumph: Gaul, Egypt, Pontus and Africa.

5. How did Cicero take to the Egyptian queen?

Not well: it appears that she had snubbed him, and he did not like this at all. But we should not extrapolate from this that all Romans felt the same way.

6. Why should we be wary of Cassius Dio’s verdict that Cleopatra’s presence in Rome damaged Caesar’s reputation?

He was writing two centuries later and would not have had an accurate idea about public opinion at that time. Perhaps Dio was drawing on Cicero as evidence?

31. Study Questions Copy

31. Study Questions Copy

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