Ten fun facts about Cleopatra

Fact 1
She was a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, a family of Greek origin that ruled Ptolemaic Egypt after Alexander the Great’s death during the Hellenistic period.

Fact 2
Cleopatra represented herself as the reincarnation of an Egyptian goddess, Isis.

Fact 3
Even up to this day, Cleopatra remains a popular figure in Western culture.

Fact 4
After Caesar's assassination in 44 BC, she aligned with Mark Antony in opposition to Caesar's legal heir, Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (later known as Augustus).

Fact 5
As pharaoh, she consummated a liaison with Julius Caesar that solidified her grip on the throne. She later elevated her son with Caesar, Caesarion, to co-ruler in name.

Fact 6
Cleopatra originally ruled jointly with her father, Ptolemy XII Auletes, and later with her brothers, Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV, whom she wed according to Egyptian custom, but later she became sole ruler.

Fact 7
After losing the Battle of Actium to Octavian's forces, Antony committed suicide. Cleopatra followed suit, and killed herself by means of an asp bite on Aug. 12, 30 BC.

Fact 8
Her legacy survives in various works of art and the many dramatizations of her story in literature and other media.

Fact 9
With Antony, she bore the twins Cleopatra Selene II and Alexander Helios, and another son, Ptolemy Philadelphus (her unions with her brothers had produced no children).

Fact 10
Cleopatra is portrayed as a great beauty, and her successive conquests of the world's most powerful men are taken as proof of her aesthetic and sexual appeal.