Incest to honor tradition or keep their royal blood “pure”? Cleopatra was an ambitious ruler,
and even her marriage to her brothers was done out of a belief of divine entitlement to the throne.
To call Cleopatra impressive would be a serious understatement. Per the Smithsonian Magazine,
she is remembered for her influence and power as a female pharaoh and seductress.
But Cleopatra was more than just a pretty face. Live Science explains that her empire encompassed
Egypt, Cyprus, a portion of present-day Libya, and various other segments of the Middle East.
A multilingual and intellectual ruler, Cleopatra was a famously
persuasive communicator and shrewd pharoah. Ironically, the iconic Egyptian leader wasn’t
actually Egyptian at all. Her family, the Ptolemies, had Macedonian Greek origins.
As a result, a different article from Smithsonian Magazine notes that the
Ptolemies primarily spoke Greek and practiced Greek customs. Cleopatra believed herself to
be the incarnate of the goddess Isis and used this notion to her advantage.
The Egyptian people adored her for learning their language and came to see Cleopatra as
one of their own. Likewise, ThoughtCo notes that Cleopatra's relationships with Julius
Caesar and Mark Antony are legendary for their romantic and political implications. However,
it might be a surprise to learn that Cleopatra married not one but two of
her brothers in her lifetime, Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV according to Britannica.
According to Britannica, Cleopatra likely married
Ptolemy XIII soon after the death of her father, Ptolemy XII in 51 BCE.
Live Science reports that Ptolemy XII’s will stipulated that the two should marry and
rule together. Cleopatra and Ptolemy XIII did so, but the arrangement did not last.
Cleopatra married Ptolemy XIII when he was 10,
and she was 18 according to History. Their marriage devolved into the worst kind of
sibling rivalry. Ptolemy's advisers conspired against Cleopatra, forcing her to leave Egypt
according to Live Science. Cleopatra, however, did not give up so easily.
Smithsonian Magazine explains how these events unfolded. Cleopatra fled to Syria but knew that
Julius Caesar, who happened to be visiting her former palace, could help her win back the throne.
Although her brother had barred her from entering Alexandria, legend has it that a
servant rolled her up in a carpet and smuggled her back into the palace. According to Live Science,
the then 13-year-old Ptolemy XIII thought he had defeated his sister once and for all.
He was shocked to learn Cleopatra had returned home and convinced Caesar to support her claim
to the throne. Caesar enforced Ptolemy XII’s will, which clearly stated that brother and sister would
rule together. Ptolemy XIII later attempted but failed to overthrow his sister a second time.
Britannica reports that Ptolemy XIII decided to leave Alexandria but drowned in the Nile.
With his death, History Hit notes that Cleopatra
subsequently married her 12-year-old brother Ptolemy XIV when she was 22.
By this point, Cleopatra and Caesar had become lovers and had a son named
Caesarion as reported by HistoryExtra. Their marriage was short-lived,
as Cleopatra likely had him murdered. She then ruled Egypt with her son Caesarion by her side.
History writes that there was nothing taboo about Cleopatra
marrying her brothers. The publication notes that it was common for the royals
of antiquity to marry relatives to ensure their bloodline remained pure.
According to Live Science, Cleopatra's family, the Ptolemies,
ruled Egypt for three centuries. Tragically, Cleopatra would be the last of the Ptolemaic
rulers but was definitely not the first to marry a family member.
Several of her ancestors kept it in the royal family. In fact,
ThoughtCo reports that Cleopatra's parents, Ptolemy XII’s and Cleopatra V,
might have had the same father and, thus, were half-siblings.
But why was incest so rampant among the Ptolemies? Sheila Ager,
a professor at the University of Waterloo and a Ptolemaic expert, wrote in "All in the Family:
Incest and the Ptolemaic Dynasty" that there are various reasons behind this decision.
As aforementioned, the Ptolemies were ethnically Greek. Ager argues that
perhaps the Ptolemies practiced incest to honor Egyptian royal
traditions. Egyptologist Zahi Hawass explained to Reuters:
"A king could marry his sister and his daughter because he is a god,
like Iris and Osiris, and this was a habit only among kings and queens."
“The Ptolomies were saying, they too, were gods. And as gods, they had the right to rule.”
As stated in Ager’s "All in the Family: Incest and the Ptolemaic Dynasty," this proved the point
that the Ptolemies ruled by divine right and were anything but average. Moreover,
they likely practiced incest to avoid marrying into families they had political conflicts
with. Interestingly enough, it's unknown if the Ptolemies' inbreeding led to any genetic issues.