ABSTRACT
To the Romans, Cleopatra may have been the terrifying 'other,' a foreign, sexually transgressive, ruling woman with political ambitions , but in the medieval period representations o f her changed slightly. Sh e was stil l considered the woman who caused Antony's downfall, bu t her threat to imperial dominion was diminished. Her desire for Antony was no longer seen a s due to a lust for power but to he r
love fo r him. Th e pair became a n exemplum of the danger s o f succumbing to passion.2 Chauce r eve n present s he r a s th e epitom e o f faithfu l love. 3 Th e sixteenth century inherited these widely differing representations o f Cleopatra, and the translation of Plutarch's Parallel Lives of the Greeks and Romans into French and English continue d the fascinatio n with th e Quee n of Egypt and spawned a large number of works devoted to her.4 Work s of this period are generally much more sympathetic to Cleopatra, and a number of factors may account for this. Th e excavation in 1512 of a statue believed to represent Cleopatr a in death wit h th e asps entwine d aroun d he r ar m appear s t o hav e elicite d severa l sympatheti c paintings of the queen. 5 Finally , the parallels , both in physical appearance an d
personality, between the Queen of Egypt and Elizabeth I were difficult t o ignore.6
