http://www.imagesjournal.com/issue04/features/blaxploitation.htm
This website has no historically accurate information, but it is an example of Cleopatra pop culture being mushed together with the 1970’s “blacksploitation” movie binge.  This site is about two blacksploitation films called: Cleopatra Jones and Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold.  African American film industry and Cleopatra pop culture collide here, where the protagonist is a self-empowered woman who is ambitious and sexual at the same time.  This perhaps might be one of the closest resemblances that Cleopatra  Jones has with the real Cleopatra, except perhaps when comparing the argument that Cleopatra could have been black.  Also, some of the fashion that Cleopatra Jones adorns in the movies seem perhaps to be an attempt at drawing further parallel between Cleopatra VII and Cleopatra Jones. (Reviewed by Mat Underwood)

Cleopatra http://www.historyinfilm.com/cleo/cleohome.htm  
This site has to do with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton’s movie, Cleopatra.  It gives a brief description of events in the movie, but the critic who wrote it did not know their history very well.  They say that it is pretty much historically accurate, which really isn’t true.  There are some major falsehoods in the movie.  It does, however, have links to other sites, including a timeline, a family tree and historical writings by Suetonius.  (Reviewed by Kat Neilson)

http://www.xsite.net/~videoc/Cleo/Cleopatra1.html
This site deals with the costumes that Queen Cleopatra VII has been depicted in on stage and on screen.  This website is based off of the research of, C. David Claudon, a student who did a project for the University of Illinois in 1976, for a class which focused on the history of theatrical costumes.  One thing that I liked about this site was that the proprietors address is available to anyone with questions.  A few things of note: This website refers to Cleopatra VII as Philopater.  This is a new one to me.  Citing Barton, from 1961, the author describes Cleopatra’s daily clothing as mainly Hellenic with a Roman look.  He states that since Egypt was a Roman client kingdom, they most likely would have dressed as the Roman’s.  And since the Romans mimicked the Greek tunic and over robe, the author estimates that that was what she must have worn on a regular basis.  The site also states that on her feet, she would have worn Roman sandals.  While the information contained within play heavily on a Roman influence on Cleopatra, it has good research into the historical accounts of her clothing, juxtaposed to the theatrical clothing which she has worn. (Reviewed by Clinton Albracht)

General Information about  Egypt

Pictures of Egypt <www.touregypt.net>
This is the official website of the Ministry of Tourism, Egypt, and the Egyptian Tourist Authority. This is primarily a site for trips and sightseeing, but it does include some brief historical pages, as well as current news in Egypt regarding tourism and popular tourist sites. It also annually posts articles that deal with Egyptian culture and history. It has quite a few Internet links, many of which deal with current tours and other popular modern attractions. However, it also has a link to Egyptian museum sites, as well as links to maps and other popular destinations. The site also has some fun links, including puzzles and a nifty Egyptian name translator that writes in hieroglyphs as you type the letters of a word!!!  (Reviewed by John Larson)

Ancient Egypt Magazine <www.ancientegyptmagazine.com>
This is the official site for the magazine Ancient Egypt. It has links to its current issue as well as back issues. The magazines contain a wide variety of articles, pictures, commentaries, and editorials. The articles cover a broad spectrum of topics, such as ancient Egyptian connections to the modern world and ancient Egyptian art and artifacts found at the Louvre in Paris, France.  (Reviewed by John Larson)

Life of Ancient Egyptians: http://www.sis.gov.eg/pharo/html/front.htm.
 This site is probably the most in-depth site on my list.  It has 11 different subjects broken down, and each subject as over 3 pages of information available.  This site was a huge contribution to my findings for my paper.  Some of the subjects include education, everyday life, a chapter on women, and even one on glass blowing.  Every chapter includes usually 4 or 5 pictures or paintings illustrating the point.  I would recommend this site to anyone in need of a research topic about Antiquity. (Reviewed by Reggie Smith)

  Mark Millmore's Ancient Egypt: http://www.eyelid.co.uk/index.htm
This website was pretty skimpy.  I think it has the opportunity to gain good stature though.  Some of its advantages are the list of kings and queens, this was the only website that listed the, and for some papers, those facts are more important.  This website also offered a page on hieroglyphics, which was another first in this project.  I think that would inspire me to remember this site.  Anytime in my teaching career, I can look this site up and do something on hieroglyphics, I think all kids love little side project like this could be.  When this website isn’t under construction, it could be a knock out, so beware. (Reviewed by Reggie Smith)

  Ancient Egypt: http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/menu.html
This was by far the best looking website.  All of the pictures on this site were real, and in good color.  This site has many different chapters to it, including one on hieroglyphics, and Egyptian life.  This site included a feature that I’d never seen before.  At the end of each chapter, you had the choice to either read a related story, or explore into the topic more (in the Pharaoh chapter, you can see a piece from an old tomb).  This would totally be beneficial to any teacher; he/she could almost assign the web page as homework.  This is a very good website. I think what is making these websites so good is that they’re not about certain people, there about the Egyptian culture, not so much about certain kings, or about Cleopatra and Caesar, or anyone else.  That turns the web sites into more of fact instead of having a bias on history.  (Reviewed by Reggie Smith)

  Welcome to the Sir Robert Hitcham's Ancient Egypt Site: http://www.hitchams.suffolk.sch.uk/egypt/
This website was created by a classroom full of students.  The teacher thought it would make a great class project to have all the students do different parts of Ancient Egypt, then pt them together to form a killer website.  This is informative for teachers in 2 ways.  First, the teacher could use this as a model and do the same thing; it can even be changed to do different civilizations, for instance the Greeks, or the Romans.  This can also be helpful in helping the teacher to know what is interesting to the children, and what they want to learn about different topics.  This web site was created in the United Kingdom, and my guess is that the children probably aren’t any older than 4^th or 5^th grade.  The students, besides all the research, were in charge of all the pictures too.  This livens up the site and totally gives it the elementary grade school comfort.  (Reviewed by Reggie Smith)

  Ancient Egypt:  http://www1.enloe.wake.k12.nc.us/enloe/johnson/Egypt4/homepage2.html
This web site is a collaboration of the works of a 10^th grade class, and I must say that they did a wonderful job with this.  The site has 2 links to Ancient Egypt, and they have a comprehensive article on medicine.  The best part about the work that these students did was telling us where they got their research from, they have links to the sites where they got their information, and so we can get in even in better detail there.  This is put into my list because it was the work of a high school class, and I think this is first class work.  The facts are all correct; they really have done their homework.  This would be a good project for a high school history class.  I think teachers need to start looking for ways to get technology into history.  I think that would spice it up in the high schools a little more.   (Reviewed by Reggie Smith)  

Mr. Dowling's electronic Passport to Ancient Egypt http://www.mrdowling.com/604-cleopatra.html
“Mrs. Dowling’s Electronic Passport to Ancient Egypt” is a website designed for more of an elementary student but still provides to be informative.  It gives a background of how Cleopatra came to be ruler and about the Ptolemies before her. It even includes the story of her romance with Caesar and the rolled up carpet.  There is a link that one can go to that is “Mrs. Dowling’s Electronic Passport to Rome”; there you can learn more about the romances of Cleopatra with Caesar and Antony.  Other things you can check out on the site include things like the Land of the Dead, The Gift of the Nile and the Rosetta Stone.  It also gives great links to try out to further your knowledge of Egypt.  I think that it a great site for one to learn more about Cleopatra and the land that she came from. (reviewed by Erin Brown)

http://showcase.netins.net/web/ankh/
“The Ancient Egyptian Virtual Temple” is a great website for anyone who wants to learn about Egypt.  It gives one, information from mummies to the history of Egypt.  Not only does it have a ton of great information but it also contains some interesting pictures.  It gives different links that allows you to learn more about Egypt.  Unfortunately some of the pages were down so I wasn’t able to explore every part of the site.  This site is definitely worth taking a look at. (Reviewed by Erin Brown)

http://library.thinkquest.org/C003877F/English/
This website seems to be very good for some basic details about Cleopatra, her life, and the life of regular Egyptian citizens.  I like the website because it’s easy to follow along, they made it simple for someone that doesn’t know much about Egyptian history to catch on.  Even though there’s not very much information under each category what they give appears to be accurate.
One section about the Gods lists only Isis and Thoth because those are the only two that have to do with the play they are doing.  It appears as though the whole website is a background for their play and they even include a script with scenes and acts that I found to be rather interesting.  It lists Isis and Thoth as the narrators and touches many aspect of Cleopatra’s life.
Another aspect of this website that I liked was the link to the family tree because it breaks it down so that you get the direct line to Cleopatra.  It’s not as specific as we were in class because it leaves off the marriages, but gives you a good view of each ruler and their children.
 Overall I would say this is a good website for someone who is just starting to learn about Cleopatra because it touches many different parts of her life, but doesn’t go into very deep detail about anything.  If the website was more specific and longer than I would think it would be an exceptional one looking at what they have so far. (Reviewed by Seth McClure)

Cleopatra by Laura S. http://www.islavista.goleta.k12.ca.us/9697/write_lauras01.html
This site was clearly not written by someone who really knew what they were talking about.  Some of the facts are accurate.  But many of them are messed up and events are put into the wrong order.  For example, the author says that Cleopatra had a love affair with Antony, but he left her to go back to Octavia, this is true.  However, it goes onto say that Cleopatra wants to go back to Caesar but he won’t take her back.  This is false because Caesar is dead by this time.  The writing is very vague and clearly is not a reliable source.  (Reviewed by Kat Neilson)

Cleopatra VII: The End of Laxism.  http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Shores/7037/cleo.htm
This Cleopatra website was strictly a site for the life and times of the legendary Queen.  It is fairly plain however; there are a few pictures of Cleopatra from the movie with Elizabeth Taylor on the site.  The site is set up to follow the Queen through her life.  There is a good amount of information on her role with Caesar and Antony.  If a person were looking to quickly learn about Cleopatra and her life this site would most certainly be recommended.  At the end of the site there is a question posed that asks what would it be like if Egypt ruled instead of Rome.  The answer is pretty interesting.  Also, the site mentioned Cleopatra in pop culture, for the most part the Elizabeth Taylor movie. 
   If a navigator clicks on the link at the bottom of the page it takes the person to an excellent link site for Egyptian history and culture.  There is a link that discusses Cleopatra but also has some links that teach about other aspects of Egyptian history.  For example, Cleopatra’s Mausoleum is a link and there are links about Roman Egypt and the time period around Ptolemy the first.  Of course, when a person thinks of Egypt they think of the pyramids and they too have their own links on this page as well. (Reviewed by Ryan Evans)

Women of Power: Cleopatra  http://womenshistory.about.com/library/weekly/aa052499.htm
This is an excellent site about Cleopatra.  It begins by telling of the Cleopatra mini-series that had recently aired at the time.  My group had to watch this movie and thought it was comical but awful in almost every sense.  Also on this site are links from Plutarch, Chaucer, and Shakespeare, which show and explain what was said about Cleopatra in their writings.  The website then goes on to speak about the fascination with Cleopatra people have.  This is interesting and looks at many different ideas and theories about that topic.  The link on what women were really like in Egypt is also quite interesting.  One of the links “resources on the web” has a link, which gives lesson plans for teachers.  The plans seemed pretty solid and would be very helpful to new teachers or teachers looking for new ideas.  Also found on this site is an accurate genealogy of the Ptolemy family which could be helpful in researching the dynasty.  The site allows you to look at what you want to by clicking on the hyper links, which highlight what the new site will be about.  I found this website very helpful in understanding Cleopatra when I first began the class and still think it has many uses, especially the lesson plans (Reviewed by Ryan Evans)

http://www.nbufront.org/html/MastersMuseums/JHClarke/HistoricalPersonalities/hp11.html  
This website was obviously written by someone who believes that Cleopatra was black.  This is an ongoing debate even now, because there is not much known about the Queen of the Nile.  There are some people who believe that Cleopatra was black because in some books it is noted that she was dark in appearance which can only mean, unless she had a great tan, that she was black.  Plus, it is my understanding that Egyptian people were black and some people believe that she was Egyptian, not Macedonian, which would also support the theory that she was black.  This is a very brief history of Cleopatra’s life, but there is also a link on it that will take the reader to a page about the Black Cleopatra. (Reviewed by Michelle Kallas)

<http://www.distinguishedwomen.com/biographies/cleopatr.html>
This website is a very good history of Cleopatra.  It is not too long, but it does tell what she went through in her life.  It tells everything that happened to her all the way to her death.  It includes her affairs with Caesar and Marc Antony, and the children that she had.  It also includes her family and what happened to them.  It is a fairly brief, but thorough history of Cleopatra  (Reviewed by Michelle Kallas).  

<http://i-cias.com/e.o/cleopatr.htm>
This is the best website that I found about Cleopatra.  In a very short paragraph, it explains in great detail who Cleopatra was.  Then it goes into a very detailed timeline about her life.  It explains all the way from her birth to her death.  There are also links that you can click on that take you to other important websites about the people in Cleopatra’s life.  This is a very good website, especially if you are looking for specific times in her life.  Almost every year that she was alive is noted for something that she did or that happened to her.  It is a very good website.  (Reviewed by Michelle Kallas)

http://www.norfacad.pvt.k12.va.us/project/cleopat/cleopat.htm
This website is a very brief history of Cleopatra.  It does not go into any detail at all when describing her life, although there are some links on the page to other Cleopatra sites that are useful.  This website simply states what most people know about Cleopatra already. This website is a very brief history of Cleopatra.  It does not go into any detail at all when describing her life, although there are some links on the page to other Cleopatra sites that are useful.  This website simply states what most people know about Cleopatra already.  (Reviewed by Michelle Kallas)

Cleopatra VII: The end of laxism <http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Shores/7037/cleo.htm>
This website has a cool background but is set up like a long page of lecture notes.  The page basically tells the life of Cleopatra in short summarized paragraphs with appropriate sub headings.  There is a large amount of information on the page; however, the validity of it all is very weak.  The information at the beginning of the page seems to be correct, however the page becomes more and more inaccurate as it goes on.  The first question of validity is early on in the page when her “great beauty” is mentioned; truly thanks to this class it is well known to me that Cleopatra was not beautiful.  The next problem is the inaccuracy of Antony’s death.  The page says that Antony was told Cleopatra was dead, he decided to kill himself because of it and as he was dying her “secretary” informs him that she is not dead.  Later he goes to her as he is still dying and she holds him as he dies.  This is completely wrong from what we have learned in class.  I was also confused about Cleopatra’s death.  The page says that Cleopatra was captured in her mausoleum and held captive there until she was to leave for Rome in A number of days.  Then she came up with a plan to kill her self.  I do not recall her being captured although I may be wrong about this, I do not think I am. (Reviewed by Carmen Alvarado)

Ancient Alexandria

Brahm Rosenweig. "Raising the Lost City of Cleopatra." 10/28/98
http://www.exn.ca/templates/story.cfm?ID=1998102854
This article by Brahm Rosenweig is posted on the Discovery Channel website.  It describes the long six-year underwater search for Cleopatra’s palace that finally came to an end in 1998.  Not only was the palace found, the whole city of the Ptolomies was found underwater after it had been buried in 335 B.C. from earthquakes and tidal waves.  Goddio, the main discoverer, claims that the ancient time of Cleopatra VII can be better understood now that these remains have been found.  Modern scientists and archaeologists now have the chance to prove or disprove some of what Plutarch, as well as other historians, wrote about.  This was obviously an amazing find.  For three months, Goddio and his team tried to map the area they believed the remains would be, and then there were divers sent into the water to try to find the actual pieces.  There were even new techniques devised for this expedition to take molds of hieroglyphics underwater that could not have been read otherwise.  Goddio can even tell what kind of person Cleopatra was just from the layout of the palace.  He knows that she was not an extravagant person.  She was worried about the people of Egypt instead.  This find was an important advancement for archaeology. (Reviewed by Carolyn Boona)

Cleopatra's Palace Found. http://www.archaeology.org/9703/newsbriefs/alexandria.html (Found by Jason Johnson)

"Sphinx of Cleopatra’s Father Emerges from Waves" http://www.cnn.com/TECH/science/9810/29/cleopatra.sphinx/
This article can be found on CNN.com.  The article was posted on October 29, 1998.  Although it was written a long time ago it still holds relevance to Cleopatra.  This article discusses the raising of Egyptian artifacts from the Alexandrian bay.  The most important find was that of Ptolemy XII sphinx.  This sphinx was constructed on the island of Antirhodos, which is where Cleopatra’s royal palace was.  This perhaps shows the relationship that Cleopatra and her father had since this was constructed where the Queen lived.  However, time took its toll on the island and eventually after earthquakes and flood waves the island was buried in a water grave.  Yet, the sphinx remained and was wonderfully preserved.  Also found was a statue of Isis which weighed in at 550 lbs.  The statue is holding an unknown urn and dates back to the first century AD.  Also found was a ship wreak full of artifacts yet to be sorted through. (Reviewed by Ryan Evans)

Cleopatra's Palace found http://www.discovery.com/news/features/cleopatra/cleopatra.html
“The Search for Cleopatra’s Palace”, describes the finding of a dive into the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea.  The list is rather impressive including a statue of a Great Priest of Isis holding a Canopic jar, Two sphinxes, which one may be of Ptolemy XII, Cleopatra's father, A large black granite head which possibly represents the Roman emperor Augustus, A larger-than-life, white marble statue depicting a Ptolemy king in the form of the god Hermes and a shipwreck found in the private harbor of Antirhodos.  All of these things adding to our knowledge of ancient Egypt, the site also gives a background to the life of Cleopatra. (reviewed by Erin Brown)

Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra

U., Ruth. "The Story of Antony and Cleopatra." 4/23/96.
http://www.engl.uvic.ca/faculty/mbhomepage/Isshakespeare/resources/plutarch/cleopatra.html
This website compares Shakespeare’s play Antony and Cleopatra with Plutarch’s The Life of Marcus Antonius.  Plutarch’s book was the primary source of Shakespeare’s play, according to the article.  This website is laid out well.  There is the actual text from Plutarch compared to Shakespeare’s dialogues.  There is also commentary to help the reader know what is going on and what exactly the writers meant.  I find the commentaries to be very helpful since I do not know everything that surrounded the history of this time.  There are also maps to guide the reader along through the story.  For example, the writers were discussing Fulvia, Marc Antony’s wife, and her death on the island of Sicyon.  Most readers probably have no idea where this island is, but the map helps to give a mental image and a comparison of where different places are located that the reader may have knowledge of.  There are also pictures of statues or coins of the people that are being discussed.  This can also give a visual image to the reader and possibly give him or her a better understanding of the text.  (Reviewed by Carolyn Boona)

Cleopatra Coins and Papyri

MAKE IT SO SAYETH CLEOPATRA  http://www.archaeology.org/0101/newsbriefs/cleopatra.html
This particular web site tells of discovering a single Greek word, ginesthoi, at the bottom of a papyrus believed to be the words of Cleopatra VII. Interesting, that the article talks of the cartonnage wrappings of papyrus. I learned of this word through my research on mummification. The royal ordinance is granting tax exemption of a friend of Mark Antony. It orders that Publius Canidius tax free duty on wine and wheat. It also grants tax exemptions on all the land including animals too. Therefore, the text dates itself by reference. Even though the declaration most likely was not written in her hand, the assumption is that the order is most likely her own words and command. Interesting too is that the researchers had to have had the handwriting analyzed because they talk about an upright hand. They also compare other documents of a similar time that end with official final commands. Unfortunately, the article is too short for it was only two pages long. Since it takes an abundance of linen and papyrus to make a mummy, curious if there were other documentations found. I will definitely be watching for a follow up report. (Reviewed by Barb Foster)

THE EGYPTIAN SUPREME COUNCIL OF ANTIQUTIES  NEWS BULLETIN   2000                       
 This web site consists of several points of interest. First, it brings attention to the discovery of the papyrus of Cleopatra. It talks about the writings on the papyrus found and corresponds them to her reign. However, they theorize that the writings are in Cleopatra’s own hand writing, not some scribe. It talks about the exhibition of Cleopatra and itinerary around the world. Mentioned also was the symposium held and their debates about recent findings.                                     
One interesting item in this web site is the discussion of papyri discovered that contain recipes for transferring metals into gold. Scholars and researchers also discussed preservation of sites. This would be a good site to bookmark for those interested in keeping up on current events and the involvement of professors.   (Reviewed by Barb Foster)                  http://www.guardians.net/sca/bulletin1-1-00.htm

http://ancient-coin-forum.com/Greek/Ptolemaic_Kingdom_of_Egypt.html
The website "Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt" has many pictures of ancient coins. There are interesting pictures of coins of Cleopatra VII, and Ptolemy VI Philometor. There is a picture of one coin that is an extremely rare issue known only form a few specimens.  There is a description of the coins that includes where the coin was from, and what it was made of.  This website is useful if you want to look at Ptolemaic coins from Egypt. (Reviewed by Kassia Phillips)

Review of “An Excessively Rare Silver Tetradrachm of Marc Antony and Cleopatra, Circa 36-34 BC” This website is a short description of an extremely rare coin, which contains the busts of Cleopatra and Marc Antony.  It talks initially about the tragic love story between the two.  The physical features of Marc Antony and Cleopatra led to the discussion of this rare coin.  The large images of the coinage appear on the site.  The features are present on the piece of currency.  This coin is described to one of the finest of its kind based on its portrayal of these two powerful people.  The site believes to coin to have been created between 36 and 34 BC.  A Greek title, which encircles the head of each individual, is translated.  The passage around the bust of Cleopatra states, BACILICCA KLEOPATRA THEA NEOTERA = 'The Younger Queen Goddess Cleopatra'.  Antony is entitled as ANTWNIOC AYTOKPATWP TPITON TPIWN ANDPWN = 'Antony Imperator Third Proclamation'.   The dimensions of the coinage are also given.  From the end of the site, it seems that this coin may have been for sale because it states that the status of the item as sold, and also gives an order number.  However, there is not a price give for the rare article. (Reviewed by Seth McClure)

Roman History

CLEOPATRA RUINS CAESAR    http://www.richeast.org/htwm/Greeks/Romans/Caesar?Caesar.html                     This web site consisted of four pages. It was fast reading and somewhat on the level of high school writings.  The text consisted of just a summation of the Roman Civil War and the basic events leading up to Caesar’s murder. It has a plain map on the front showing the Rubicon and Tiber River. The second page consisted mainly of an outline of the events; nothing too spectacular in their findings. The article was simple and basic in their presentation of Cleopatra and Caesar.  I would consider this web site an excellent source for kids in school but nothing more.                                                                                        
The last page has a drawing showing the assassination of Caesar in simple stick like animation. I would not recommend anyone in college to read this for any scholarly reference. (Reviewed by Barb Foster)                                                                                                                                             

ANTONY, OCTAVIAN CLEOPATRA      http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/antony.htm 
This web site starts the scene with Caesar’s assassination in 44BCE. In the four pages that follow, it gives a chronological story of the sessions of battles and personal tragedies between Octavian, Antony, and Cleopatra. It tells of important events in each year up to the final act in 27BCE when Octavian is declared Augustus (the revered one).  It has pictures of coins throughout the site commemorating the main players of the day.      It also tells of the basic facts of the battles and the victors. Not a lot of detail of events is given with each year. 
I feel that the site could have captured the reader better if a bit more detail in citing main events for each year was noted. It gave only a paragraph for each year listing the main occurrences and main players. Even though, the reader was informed of the significance of current events for each year, I feel that there was not enough. For a reader that wanted only a quick reference of that time in history, it gave a quick dissertation.   (Reviewed by Barb Foster)                                   

Women in the Roman World:  Cleopatra http://myron.sjsu.edu/romeweb/ladycont/art2.htm

Cleopatra in Art

Art Magick: Cleopatra http://www.artmagick.com/themes/t65.asp
This site consists of 19^th century paintings of Cleopatra.  It has a large collection of paintings by well-known 19^th century painters.  The paintings are Antony and Cleopatra (1883) Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Cleopatra (?) Gustave Moreau, Cleopatra (1876) Thomas Francis Dicksee, Cleopatra (1888) John William Waterhouse, Cleopatra trying out poisons on her lovers (1887) Alexandre Cabanel, Fantaisie Egyptienne (1898) Charles Allen Winter, and The Death of Cleopatra (1874) Jean Andre Rixens.  These pictures are good representations of Cleopatra and how she was portrayed during this time period.  (Reviewed by Kat Neilson)

Entertaining Cleopatra Websites

Discovery Communications Inc. "As the Nile Turns." 1999.
http://www.discovery.com/stories/history/cleopatra/act7main.html
This website shows the story of Cleopatra as a soap opera – literally.  The transcript  in the final act, act seven ironically, begins with the news that Cleopatra has committed suicide.  Some people felt it was a trick so Antony would also kill himself, thus allowing Cleopatra sole power.  This is a very good summary of the events surrounding the Cleopatra scandal with Antony.  The script brings the reader into the story so that it seems he or she is there with Cleopatra, feeling the pain of Antony’s suicide or being held captive by Octavian after he tricks her.  Plutarch is also included in the story; he is narrating the story of the double suicides of Cleopatra VII and Marc Antony.  The previous acts portray the Cleopatra that is not commonly known: the ugly one.  The myth of Cleopatra’s beauty is so widespread that hardly anyone knows this myth is completely false.  But she did manage to seduce Marc Antony and Caesar, so this is probably why the beauty myth surrounds her.  There is also a brief history of the time before Cleopatra VII, so it is easier for the reader to understand the historical context. (Reviewed by Cary Boona)