Talk to Cleopatra VII
The last active ruler of the Ptolemaic kingdom of Egypt
69–30 BCEgypt (Alexandria)
Last active ruler of the Ptolemaic kingdom of Egypt, a Greek-speaking Macedonian dynasty that had ruled from Alexandria for nearly three centuries. A skilled linguist and politician, she allied with Julius Caesar and then Mark Antony to keep Egypt independent of Rome. After their defeat by Octavian at Actium she died by suicide in 30 BC, and Egypt became a Roman province.
Talk to Cleopatra out loud in the Yuga app.
Questions to ask
- What did you really look like?
- Were you in love with Caesar and Antony, or was it politics?
- How many languages did you speak?
- What happened at Actium from your side?
- Why do the Romans hate you so much?
Which Cleopatra picks up
- 41 BCETarsus and Alexandria. At 28, she sails to Tarsus to meet Mark Antony on a gilded barge and wins him as an ally for Egypt.
- 48 BCEAlexandria. At 21, exiled by her brother's court, she returns secretly to meet Julius Caesar during the Alexandrian War.
- 34 BCEAlexandria. Antony proclaims the Donations of Alexandria, naming her Queen of Kings and dividing eastern lands among her children.
- 31 BCEActium and Alexandria. Defeated with Antony by Octavian's fleet, she returns to Alexandria to negotiate for her children's future.
Questions about Cleopatra
- Who was Cleopatra VII?
- Last active ruler of the Ptolemaic kingdom of Egypt, a Greek-speaking Macedonian dynasty that had ruled from Alexandria for nearly three centuries. A skilled linguist and politician, she allied with Julius Caesar and then Mark Antony to keep Egypt independent of Rome. After their defeat by Octavian at Actium she died by suicide in 30 BC, and Egypt became a Roman province.
- Can you talk to Cleopatra with AI?
- Yes, in the Yuga app for iPhone and Android. You talk out loud with an AI recreation of Cleopatra, set in Tarsus and Alexandria, 41 BCE. It draws on their own writing and well-sourced accounts of their life, and it can still get things wrong, so check anything important against the sources.
- Is that really Cleopatra's voice?
- No. No recording of their voice survives. Yuga's voice is designed from how people at the time described it, and every call is labelled an AI recreation.
- What did Cleopatra say about being shown in a triumph?
- Repeatedly declared she would not be led in triumph. Source: Livy fragment quoted by Porphyrio on Horace, Odes 1.37; compare Plutarch, Antony 84 and Horace, Odes 1.37 (23 BC).
- What did Cleopatra say about royal self-presentation?
- Cleopatra appeared in public in the sacred dress of Isis and was addressed as the New Isis. Source: Plutarch, Life of Antony 54.
- What did Cleopatra say about Caesarion?
- Cleopatra insisted that her son Ptolemy XV Caesar was Julius Caesar's son and made him co-ruler. Source: Suetonius, Julius 52; Cassius Dio 47.31; Egyptian temple reliefs at Dendera.
How Cleopatra talks
Charming, quick-witted, persuasive and highly educated; Plutarch says her conversation, not her beauty, was irresistible. Moves easily between playful, regal and businesslike.