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submitted 1 day ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[-] [email protected] 64 points 1 day ago

Nah, it is the other way around. Historians would say those facts, and Hollywood and possibly general media would be the ones saying "sexy".

[-] [email protected] 23 points 1 day ago

Can you give a single example of an ancient historian describing her as sexy? All the sources I've seen focus on her skills and realpolitik rather than her beauty.

[-] [email protected] 12 points 1 day ago

The average person thinks Hollywood producers = historians.

[-] [email protected] 34 points 1 day ago

It's because of historians you those things about Cleopatra

[-] [email protected] 14 points 1 day ago

But she really, really wasn't. And she wasn't even Egyptian, she was Macedonia Greek (and it shows).

[-] [email protected] 187 points 1 day ago

Why did they use a pipe instead of the letter I?

| Don't like it.

[-] [email protected] 76 points 1 day ago

|’m glad |’m not the only one annoyed by that.

[-] [email protected] 41 points 1 day ago

Because you would start talking about it

[-] [email protected] 26 points 1 day ago

Yeah one of the fist ways I learned to create engagement was to fake typos / make simple grammer mistakes.

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[-] [email protected] 12 points 1 day ago

I didn't realize that was supposed to be an I, | thought it was being used like asterisks to indicate action.

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[-] [email protected] 111 points 1 day ago

Stable and prosperous? She started with a civil war and ended by being conquered by Rome. The bit in the middle wasn't stable either.

[-] [email protected] 60 points 1 day ago

Getting conquered by Rome is just what you do when you live by their sea.

But yes, it was, all things are relative, and one can't blame the beach for the tsunami.

[-] [email protected] 15 points 1 day ago

Getting conquered by Rome was all the rage back then

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[-] [email protected] 71 points 1 day ago

Nothing to me says 'sexy' quite like your grandad and your great-grandad being the same guy, or your (great * 5)-grandmother / grandfather being one man and woman, when most people have that responsibility spread between 64 people.

Close family. Must have made Christmas easy - having the in-laws round isn't so bad when they're your own blood relatives too.

[-] [email protected] 37 points 1 day ago

Ah yes the “family wreath”

[-] [email protected] 28 points 1 day ago

Must have made Christmas easy

Quite difficult at the time, actually.

[-] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago

Small domino: Greek bloodline fuckery.

Middle Domino: Hollywood.

Big domino: Incest porn.

[-] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Yeah I can't remember the reasoning / evidence but I do remember reading that Cleopatra was unlikely to have been beautiful or "sexy". IIRC it's indeed because she was likely to have congenital deformities due to inbreeding - much like those of Tutankhamen.

She was extraordinary powerful, well educated, and had a terrifying intellect. Additionally she would have bathed daily which would have been alluring in that era.

That said, there's no shortage of other powerful Egyptian babes, Nefertiti and Hatshepsut come to mind.

Edit: Plutarch the Roman historian said something diplomatic like physical beauty is not her most striking feature. Which, when talking about a ruler, is saying she's ugly.

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[-] [email protected] 24 points 1 day ago

I agree all those things are hot as f.

Talk to me more stabilization of the region baby in any of those 9 languages.

[-] [email protected] 41 points 1 day ago

Why are there pipes ("|") in the text? It's throwing me

[-] [email protected] 15 points 1 day ago

my take is that they're trying to do the ">text" to indicate that is an action rather than words, but it formatted to a quote box

>this is what was meant

this is what happened

that's my guess tho idk

[-] [email protected] 5 points 1 day ago

But why is it "my brother" then? It should be "her brother". I think they are truly fucked up I characters

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[-] [email protected] 8 points 1 day ago

so SPOKE command gets the output from CLEOPATRA:

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[-] [email protected] 94 points 1 day ago

Was it historians who were saying Cleopatra was sexy or filmmakers?

[-] [email protected] 17 points 1 day ago

History was invented by Universal and MGM. According to Universal. Others (Paramount) claim it was invented by Paramount.

[-] [email protected] 9 points 1 day ago

3 Antony, on the contrary, like Heracles in paintings where Omphalé is seen taking away his club and stripping off his lion's skin, was often disarmed by Cleopatra, subdued by her spells, 957and persuaded to  p339 drop from his hands great undertakings and necessary campaigns, only to roam about and play with her on the sea-shores by Canopus and Taphosiris. 4 And at last, like Paris, he ran away from the battle and sank upon her bosom; although, more truly stated, Paris ran away to Helen's chamber after he had been defeated; but Antony ran away in chase of Cleopatra, and thereby threw away the victory.

Plutarch was a bit of both, but that tendency has definitely existed longer than movies.

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[-] [email protected] 23 points 1 day ago

I do find it hilarious that we associate sexiness with Cleopatra because of an intensive smear campaign.

[-] [email protected] 11 points 1 day ago

we will ruin your reputation by making you the greatest slay queen in human history...

[-] [email protected] 5 points 1 day ago

Fr lol she's like a step down from the Greek and Roman goddesses in her reputation, if anything their attempt to smear her put her on a pedestal.

[-] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago

it's funny when one culture misogyny makes their insults fail.

[-] [email protected] 13 points 1 day ago

I would like to know more please.

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[-] [email protected] 15 points 1 day ago

'Cos the romans were so fucked up they literally could not handle being out maneuvered, outsmarted, outstrategised by a woman. So they framed it as "pussy pass"

[-] [email protected] 7 points 1 day ago

Wasn’t she actually considered not super attractive at the time? Like not necessarily ugly, but she wasn’t being mistaken for Venus incarnate. It was only later on that the idea of her being super hot because popular right?

[-] [email protected] 7 points 1 day ago

There was significant amounts of incest within her family tree, so it's likely that she wasn't that good looking

[-] [email protected] 5 points 1 day ago

Powerful women are sexy! Dont need to be crazy hot when you can whisper in my ear, the language of a people you just steam rolled.

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[-] [email protected] 13 points 1 day ago

What can I say, competence is sexy, excellence even moreso

[-] [email protected] 43 points 1 day ago

Don't historians say she probably wasn't sexy? Just super bold which attracted powerful men, who hasn't seen much of that back then.

[-] [email protected] 32 points 1 day ago

She was a powerful personality. All the records indicate that she was of seemingly above average beauty standards, but nothing earth shattering.

Instead, it is claimed that her strength of personality is what attracted the powerful men in her life to her.

[-] [email protected] 12 points 1 day ago

She had access to creams, ointments and fragrances and good sleep. She also kept ugly ass lady servants to keep the contrast in her favor.

[-] [email protected] 6 points 1 day ago

She probably like a lot of celebrities who are average looking but over produce to look way hotter.

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[-] [email protected] 6 points 1 day ago

"Catherine the Great was great because she fucked a horse."

[-] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

I mean, how many other women can say they've done the same?

[-] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago

Nono you don't get it, she wanted to be the horse.

[-] [email protected] 23 points 1 day ago

OP, you might want to read an actual history book or three.

[-] [email protected] 16 points 1 day ago

Have they made any of them into movies?

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[-] [email protected] 11 points 1 day ago

I heard she was even her own mom

[-] [email protected] 13 points 1 day ago

And her nose…

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this post was submitted on 13 Jun 2025
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