October 2, 2025 • 50 mins
Physicist Antonio Fischetti, Egyptologist Claudine Le Tournard-Disson, and author Gilles Arpoutian join us as we embark on an exploration of Queen Cleopatra's fascinating story. From her Greek origins to her strategic reign over Egypt, we traverse the landscapes that shaped her life and legacy. Through the insightful eyes of our guests, we navigate the grandeur of Philae and the vibrant streets of Alexandria, examining Cleopatra's adept blending of cultures and her nuanced relationships with Rome's power players.
Our journey takes us to the historic Temple of Hathor in Dendera, where Claudine and Gilles shed light on the intriguing depictions of Cleopatra and Caesarion, showcasing her political prowess and charm. As we unravel her intricate alliances with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, we delve into the mystique surrounding Cleopatra's beauty and influence, pondering the possibilities of modern science uncovering her true appearance. Her legacy, marked by both admiration and disdain from her Roman contemporaries, continues to captivate our imagination.
Finally, we engage in the enduring mystery of Cleopatra's death. Was it the legendary snakebite or a cunning act of poisoning? We delve into the scientific plausibility of each theory, considering ancient Egyptian toxic plants and the strategic implications behind her enigmatic end. The search for Cleopatra's elusive tomb adds another layer to her mystique, inviting archaeologists worldwide to uncover a forgotten chapter of history. Join us as we piece together the enigmatic life and legacy of one of history's most compelling queens.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
This channel is part of the History Hits network.
Stick around to find out more. Ancient Egypt has been a lost
world for around 2000 years. Forgotten by everyone buried in
(00:23):
the sand, released from the civilization on the river Nile
are constantly emerging. Archaeologists are steadily
discovering the truth behind Egypt and the Pharaohs,
uncovering more about this incredible history every day.
Thanks to the most recent scientific technologies,
(00:46):
physics, genetics and even computer generated imaging, some
of the enigmas of the past are finally at our fingertips.
Among the many great mysteries in ancient Egypt, there is a
fascinating mystery involving Queen Cleopatra, who was
described as being powerful, seductive and manipulative.
(01:07):
She also had an influence on Rome by captivating the
dignitaries of that time. Why did she have so much power?
What were her weapons of seduction?
Although Cleopatra's name is synonymous with the fate of
Egypt, the circumstance this is around her death and the
(01:29):
location of her final resting place remain a mystery.
Was she assassinated? Did she commit suicide?
How did her life come to an end?Poisoning was very popular in
antiquity, or maybe it was because of a snake bite.
To find out more, we need to uncover her amaze and analyze
them, I believe. Tabasili's Magna is the final
resting place of Cork departure.Throughout Egypt and Europe,
(01:59):
there are teams of experts on the hunt for traces of
Cleopatra. They're trying to uncover the
mysterious circumstances around her death and the enigma of her
lost tomb. Antonio Fischetti is a doctor of
physics, and he is a scientist who will carry out research in
Europe, including an Egyptologist who is passionate
about Egyptian Queens. Angela Puchon, the author of
(02:21):
various scientific works and it was at New Technologies, will
travel through Egypt in search of any trace of Cleopatra.
If you love history, then you will love History Hit.
(02:42):
We have tons of exclusive documentaries about the most
important people in history thatyou will not find anywhere else.
Our extensive catalog of documentaries covers everything
from the rise of Hannibal Barkerto the illustrious treasures of
King Tut. So Sign up today for broadcast
quality documentaries uncoveringthe mysteries of the ancient
world. Not only that, but we have a
(03:03):
huge podcast network releasing new episodes everyday, so you'll
always have something to listen to.
Sign up now for a free trial andOdyssey fans get 50% off their
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Odyssey. Let's check out.
Cleopatra is undoubtedly the most famous queen in Egyptian
history, but she's also the mostmysterious.
(03:24):
We know very little about her true appearance.
Her remains have not been found,and there are a few clues that
could lead to her tomb being uncovered.
There are some writings which provide details of her life, but
they have been written by Romans, her sworn enemies, so
they're not objective writings. We know that she had Greek
origins, that she lived between 69 and 30 BC, and that she
(03:45):
suffered a violent death. We know that she seduced, among
others, Julius Caesar and then his right hand man, Mark
Anthony, and that it was a thirdRoman man, Octavius, the future
emperor Augustus, who played a part in her death.
Our experts are searching for traces of this mysterious
(04:05):
Cleopatra, scrutinizing details of her life in order to
understand how she exerted her power and to try to shed some
light on her tragic fate. The first step is for Cludin and
Jill to fly to Cairo, the nerve center of Egyptology.
(04:27):
In the Egyptian capital, there are research laboratories and
institutions that are dedicated to archaeology.
Our experts visit the library ofthe French Institute for
Oriental Archaeology in order tofind more information on
Cleopatra. They're hoping to consult
(04:55):
volumes of an extraordinary workentitled The Description of
Egypt, which was published in France in 18 O 9 by French
scholars following the Napoleonic campaign in Egypt.
It contains extensive factual information regarding Greek
reliefs that were present throughout Egypt and Cleopatra's
time. This is considered to be normal,
as Cleopatra was originally fromPtolemy dynasty.
(05:18):
Greek kings had ruled over Egyptfor three centuries.
Although she comes from a pure Greek lineage, Cleopatra would
integrate Egypt, learn its language and embrace its
culture. Since that, she gained power
over the whole country. To retrace Cleopatra's steps by
(05:42):
following the clues found in thelibrary, Cludin and Jill decide
to visit the region of Aswan, around 800 kilometers South of
Cairo. The experts embark at the shores
of Aswan to reach the island of Feli a few minutes by boat.
This is where they will find themajestic temple of Feli and
antiquity. It was an incredible place of
cultural, religious and political intermingling.
(06:06):
The Greeks left their mark on it.
The Ptolemy dynasty, from which Cleopatra originates, reigned
over all parts of the country, and symbolic representations can
be found on many of the temples.The.
(06:59):
Cleopatra is very powerful and strongly rooted by her ancestors
throughout Egypt. It was in the town of Alexandria
that she exercised her power. Our experts decided to go there
to find out more about her reign, hoping to shed light on
the circumstances of her tragic death.
(07:22):
Cleopatra reigned over Egypt from her huge palace in
Alexandria, the country's capital in antiquity, which was
well known for its magnificence and cultural wealth.
She opened the biggest library in the world at that time and
the famous Alexandra Lighthouse.The town was located in the
North Coast of the country by the Mediterranean Sea and took
(07:42):
its name from its founder, the Greek Alexander the Great.
During his conquest, this powerful king of Macedonia
seized ancient Egypt and foundedAlexandria, from which Cleopatra
would reign 300 years later. Today, the magnificence of the
ancient city cannot be seen. There is no trace of the
(08:04):
lighthouse or the library or even Cleopatra's palace, which
isn't much help to our experts for their research.
How was the city, which was a symbol of power, practically
wiped off the map? In the year 365 of our era, a
violent earthquake caused the collapse of part of Alexandria,
(08:27):
flooding the royal palace with water and even flooding the tomb
of Alexander the Great submarine.
Archaeologists have searched theMediterranean Sea around the
city, and a number of architectural reliefs from
antiquity have been found. Claudine wants to know more
(08:49):
about this flooded city. She decides to go out with an
experienced diver and the manager for marine
archaeological excavation in Egypt.
The pretext of citri Bianchi yavi and tsunami que si pasi en
prasan. So something a precious uquist
SU kya fi in a fismo Sudan yapriin a fismo Lunt yavik
(09:12):
lillivacion de denevo de la Mer.Don't see Venton Dutravi on a
marine complete la carte Alexandra's.
(10:09):
I'm belongs to the estoir resoncia estoiro sea patrizoncia
mondiala on Honda le pois de sita view on visit le Pele.
(10:33):
I don't see the. Cleopatra's palace is submerged
underwater beside the remains ofone of the most famous monuments
in antiquity, the Alexandria Lighthouse, one of the Seven
Marvels of the ancient worlds. It dominated the port, shining
(10:54):
light on Egypt's entry port, theperfect symbol for the power of
Ptolemy and Cleopatra. The remains of the lighthouse
are now submerged underwater. A meticulous excavation of these
marine remains has been commissioned by the CLX teams,
the Study Center in Alexandria, and new methods of 3D mapping
will allow them to establish a specific map using the
(11:14):
architectural remains found on the site.
Gil is visiting the Study Centrein Alexandria to meet one of the
specialists in search of valuable clues about the
environment in which Cleopatra lived, and perhaps a clue that
could explain her death. And if you don't live from the
(11:39):
condition meteor, can you pose acampaign?
The problem for. The free director of Surplus,
(12:03):
2001 person. Despite A meticulous search of
the seabed, there are still no clues to fuel an investigation
into the disappearance of Cleopatra.
However, thanks to modern technologies used in
archaeology, our experts are able to better understand
(12:25):
ancient Alexandria and the influence that the city had on
Cleopatra's fate. Cosmopolitan Boiling Hot, a
commercial hub in the Mediterranean Sea and dubbed the
world's trading post, The city of Alexandria was also sensual,
infatuated with art and culture,projecting the image of its
queen Cleopatra. Cludin and Jill continued to
(12:46):
search for details of Cleopatra's life in order to
better gauge her personality. One of the most rich and proud
buildings in the city was undoubtedly the gigantic library
commissioned by Ptolemy, the first successor of Alexander the
Great. His romantic vision was to
(13:06):
create a single place which contained all the books in the
world. As an avid reader who was hungry
for knowledge and able to speak several languages, Cleopatra
spent hours reading works written on rules of papyrus.
She was able to communicate withher own people as well as those
(13:28):
from other countries, which was rare for the time and certainly
one of the reasons behind her power.
Could this superiority and knowledge have generated hate or
jealousy towards her? Was Cleopatra too enlightened to
find out? Krudin and Jira are visiting the
library in Alexandria, the new Egyptian cultural jewel that has
(13:50):
revived the concept of the ancient library.
Alexandra stay in Villa a key accept two more.
They have a decision, they are. They are so important that they
are lupois, entre, laurean and accidones that they anchor for
(14:19):
economic religion. I'm kilopathy I said to you I
love you take a I like is a the only to the certificate demand
the poor is Alexandria is is in tradition the PE this is on set
(14:41):
the PE Ptolemy Philadelph. Alexandre de Ministry, Alleviate
on copy Le Ministry and on over to Le Copi and guard the
(15:05):
original Alleviate. I.
(15:42):
During invasions, falling into disuse due to a lack of money,
or burning down in several fires, there are many different
and controversial versions of how Alexandra's library was
destroyed. What is certain is that a huge
part of Ptolemy's history disappeared with it and most of
the precious clues about Cleopatra's life.
However, there is no doubt that her enlightenment contributed to
(16:05):
her accumulation of power. Experts want to clear up the
mystery of Cleopatra's death. They must turn to those who had
feared her power, the Romans, her political enemies, who
watched her every move. It was the philosopher and
biographer Plutarch who recounted elements of
(16:26):
Cleopatra's life, who ruled 2000years ago.
However, Plutarch was born 76 years after Cleopatra's death,
and he was Roman, so he was a sworn enemy of the famous queen.
To find out more about Cleopatra's personality, to
better understand this woman, Queen Conqueror, Cludin and Jill
call upon a specialist of the Roman period.
(17:10):
For our experts, Cleopatra's profile was coming together.
She was a woman of power. That's how she was perceived in
her time. In 48 BCA, man would overturn
the course of her fates. Julius Cesar came to Egypt from
Rome to take control of the country.
Although Egypt was in the hands of young Pharaoh Ptolemy, 13,
(17:31):
Cleopatra's brother, he was removed from
the throne. These two lovers embarked on a
(18:15):
voyage on the Nile. As Cleopatra wanted the couple
to be cheered by the Egyptian people.
Her desire to be admired by her subjects was obvious.
However, how were the Ferios perceived by the Egyptian
people? Were they appreciated?
Love This popular imagery would lead you to believe.
(18:52):
Like their predecessors, the Pharaohs, Cleopatra was at the
(19:13):
mercy of the people's criticism.She knew it.
She had to find a way to seduce her subjects.
Cludin and Jill traveled down the Nile to the north of Luxor
to Dendra. Following the journey that
Cleopatra and Caesar took on their great voyage.
(19:37):
They've come here to find clues about the couple's triumphant
visit from the relics at the temple of Nader, the goddess of
love and beauty. Cleopatra made a difficult vow
to her in order to bless their union.
Soon the hopes of Cleopatra would be fulfilled.
(20:00):
She gave Caesar a son Caesarian,and they thought that this would
secure her dynasty under Roman protection this time.
(20:25):
I. The.
(21:53):
This a typical couple and their children seem to be basking in
happiness and power. However, Cleopatra would soon
thrust herself into the harsh reality of politics when she
arrived in Rome on Caesar's arm.I have a cleopat.
(22:33):
Yes, it's a In March of year 44 BC, Caesar was assassinated in
Rome by conspiring senators. His death was blamed on
Cleopatra, who had to flee Rome,returning to Egypt, leaving Rome
on the verge of a civil war. A share of the territories under
(22:55):
Roman rule were ruled by Caesar's 2 successors, his
adoptive son Octavius, the future Emperor Augustus, who
took the West, and Mark Anthony,Caesar's former advisor who took
the East, including Egypt. Deciding to make him an ally,
Cleopatra did everything she could to seduce him, even
(23:16):
accompanying him on his voyage on the Mediterranean.
She left on their voyage on a beautiful boat with a golden bow
and silver oars, and she was draped in a delicate fabric.
Merrick Anthony immediately fellin love with the charm of Queen
Cleopatra, who had once again succeeded in marrying through
her expert seduction and political charms.
Our experts now have a clear vision of the woman that she
(23:37):
was. A seductress, a woman in power,
a conqueror. Cleopatra was a powerful force.
But what did she look like? Was she as beautiful as she's
presented in the movies? Or is all of that simply a myth?
Aside from the descriptions of Cleopatra that the Roman writers
(24:11):
have left us, is it now possibleto reconstruct her face using
her remains and advances in genetics?
Now we're off to Paris to place your toquetejo.
Antonio is visiting the Museum of Men to get an opinion from a
Paleo geneticist on the possibility of facial
(24:33):
reconstruction. Could science put a face to this
famous name and antiquity? The only protest who don't prove
in Mummy Keep the clear part exist the scientific, the
constituent. The part effective.
(25:57):
As her remains have not been discovered, we have to rely on
Roman writings which present heras rather ordinary.
However, if she didn't have an alluring physical appearance,
how was she able to seduce the most powerful men in Rome?
(26:38):
The alliance between Mark Anthony and Cleopatra in rage
Rome, Octavius was threatened byMark Anthony's rising power.
With the Queen of Egypt by his side, he decided to distribute
the message that Mark Anthony had become more Egyptian than
Roman. The battle between Caesar's 2
successors took place mostly in Actium in the West of Greece.
(26:58):
Despite a significant inferiority and resources and
men, Octavius won one of the biggest naval battles in
history. After a furious struggle.
This was a defeat for Mark Anthony and Cleopatra.
The lovers were humiliated. It was the beginning of the end.
Mark Anthony retreated to Alexandria, to Cleopatra and
ended his life, as was traditionfor defeated leaders.
(27:19):
Defeated and worried about the future of her dynasty, Cleopatra
had to choose between a humiliating submission to
Octavius or death in Alexandria.In Cleopatra's land, Cludin and
Jude have now gathered enough information to get a clearer
picture of her personality at the time when her fate shifted.
They need to refine their searchin order to explore the specific
(27:42):
circumstances of Cleopatra's death, which will close the
chapter on the tragedy of these Roman lovers.
Could this powerful queen who threatened Rome have been
assassinated after the defeat ofher lover, Marc Anthony?
Or was the thought of submittingto Octavia so painful for her
that she chose to take her own life?
Murder or suicide? She lives off to explore the
(28:10):
tombs hidden underneath the city.
Could these graves help them better understand the ancient
burial rituals and aid their research?
The city has a number of underground arcades that date
back to antiquity. These tombs sport designs which
(28:30):
alternate between Greek and Egyptian styles.
A recurring motive is associatedwith death, the snake which is
present in representations of the dead and which is present on
their tombs. Could there finally be a clue to
help them clarify the circumstances surrounding
Cleopatra's death? I.
(29:35):
Our experts want to know more about this potential suicide by
snake bite, which was recounted by Plutarch and which has
inspired a number of paintings. However, from a scientific point
of view, is this realistic? To find out, Cludin and Jill
call Antonio, who is in your He is going to meet with a
(30:02):
herpetologist who specializes inreptiles at the CNRS laboratory.
If Cleopatra chose to commit suicide by snake bite, what
snake would she have chosen? How would she provoke it to bite
her? An.
(30:42):
Example. It's.
(31:19):
Not a.
Nice way to die, but it's very efficient.
Cleopatra could have chosen thismethod in order to commit
(31:41):
suicide. However, would snake venom be
enough to kill Cleopatra and hertwo servants, as Plutarch tells
us? S.
(33:10):
The theory that Cleopatra died by snake bites could be
plausible, but it seems quite complicated in practice.
Our three experts want to examine another theory that has
been developed by historians, poisoning, which was very trendy
in antiquity. Cleopatra could have dipped a
hairpin in poison before pricking herself with it.
(33:32):
So what poison would she have chosen for her death?
What were the herbs and concoctions used at that time?
Antonio heads to Chetnamerabri, near Paris, to explore this new
suicide by poisoning hypothesis.He's visiting the pharmacy
department to meet with an expert in pharmacology and the
(33:54):
chemistry of natural substances.Is it?
(35:08):
Administrator, The Sushi. Pharmacology.
(35:30):
I. And the phenomenon natural,
(35:53):
immediate, small, toxic. But we technique modern the
(36:16):
corona. You have possibility that the
the the Cleopatra could have committed suicide by
(36:45):
using poison from a scientific and historical point of view.
But there's one detail that concerns experts.
There are significant wounds which result from poisoning.
(37:06):
I. The investigation has found two
(37:29):
plausible theories, suicide by snake bites or by poisoning.
At this stage, only analysis of Cleopatra's remains would reveal
the truth. If archaeologists finally found
her mummy, Egypt would certainlycall upon a paleo genetic
specialist to discover the causeof her death.
(37:52):
Antonio wants to get an opinion from an expert.
To do this, he heads to Bolzano in Italy to meet with geneticist
Albert Zinc. As an experts in Egyptian mummy
analysis, he has already carriedout research on mummies that
date back several 1000 years. Here at the Institute for Mummy
(38:16):
Studies we are investigating human mummified remains from
different parts of the world andwe try to figure out about the
age, the sex of the mummies and in particular how were the
living conditions and what disease and health problems they
had. In order to obtain DNA from a
mummy, we need to have a bone sample if possible and in
(38:40):
particular from inside of the bone sample to avoid any surface
contamination because mummies were often in contact with
different people that touched the mummy.
Therefore, we have to go inside sample tape from inside of the
bone sample. If we could find the mummy, it
would be possible to determine Cleopatra's cause of death.
(39:06):
The mummy of Cleopatra is very well preserved and especially
when you have still the skin preserved on the out face.
We could also maybe find evidence for a snake bite
because usually leaf is a clear traces on the skin of a person.
And moreover we could also then try to analyze if we still find
remnants of the poison that in the end killed her.
(39:28):
It would depend on the kind of snake and kind of poison that
was applied to her, because it could then faster or slower
degrade over time, but it could at least try to find the
remnants of poison in the mummy.Current technologies would be
able to shed light on one of thegreatest mysteries in history by
analyzing fragments of the 2000 year old mummy.
(39:51):
However, for now we have no tomband no mummy.
Our experts and know that they can't settle on the method that
Cleopatra used to commit suicideas they haven't found her body
on her tomb. In roaming the underground
(40:18):
orchids of Alexandria in search of Mortuary symbols, Kridin and
Jill noticed that there were many tombs adorned with Greek
inspired Decker. Could Cleopatra have been buried
in one of these burial grounds? The Decker confirms that these
(41:23):
tombs were reserved for the sarcophagi of Greek descendants.
Could Cleopatra be buried here? Hello.
(42:00):
And this is a plausible hypothesis.
However, even today, archaeologists haven't found
enough evidence to confirm this.After all, why would they limit
their search for Cleopatra's tomb to the underground archids
of Alexandria for 10 years? An archaeologist from the
Dominican Republic has been convinced of another theory.
(42:21):
In her opinion, Cleopatra's bodyhad been moved outside of the
city. Our research focuses on the
Taposaris magma site, around 45 kilometers West of Alexandria.
(42:42):
I believe Taposaris Magma is thefinal resting place of Queen
Cleopatra because this temple was the most sacred temple
during the time of the Ptolemiesand it was dedicated to worship
Isis. And as you know, Cleopatra was
the human representation of Goddess Isis.
Also, it was the end of of Egyptas an empire, so Cleopatra could
(43:06):
not rely on anybody to be buriedin the royal quarters.
He was seeking for a peaceful afterlife together with Marc
Anthony. And there's no other place,
monument, temple, palace that could reunite so many conditions
(43:30):
as Tapos Eris Magna. Since the beginning of our
search until now, we have on earth more than 700 objects.
(43:51):
Those objects are statues. Basalt statues of Pharaohs.
Headless. We have uncovered 2 statues of
Isis, also headless. We had human size.
We have uncovered a bust in white marble.
Could be Queen Cleopatra. We have uncovered a bust of
(44:12):
Alexander the Great. Cleopatra had chosen to find
peace with her last great love, Marc Anthony.
It's both very romantic and credible.
However, after more than 10 years of searching, Catherine
Martinez still hasn't come face to face with Cleopatra.
(44:37):
So there is another hypothesis. Could her tomb have been
engulfed in the Bay of Alexandria when the earthquake
hit in the year 365? To follow that line of inquiry,
Antonio is heading to Zurich, Switzerland.
He's meeting with a specialist in marine archaeology, Frank
(44:59):
Gaudio, who has been diving in Egypt for a long time.
In the year 2000, he discovered the city of Tani Seraclion,
engulfed in the Bay of Alexandria, which revealed many
archaeological treasures. At an exhibition displaying some
of the reliefs found at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea,
he reveals to us the last tracesof Cleopatra mourning her
(45:21):
beloved Mark Anthony and at the mercy of her enemy Octavius, who
became Emperor Augustus. Your part.
(46:28):
The. Avanche loosely he
(47:07):
had the cell. On affair in the prospects on
geophysic disaster. Sophisticated panda de MO a
(47:37):
systematic. I.
(48:28):
I'm sorry, the, the the the. Despite the numerous major
(48:52):
archaeological discoveries, no trace has been found of
Cleopatra's tomb in her sunken palace.
How do we know what type of tombto look for?
What does it look like? Between Cleopatra's Greek
origins and her Egyptian culture, it's difficult to know
what kind of tomb she was laid to rest in.
Having found a lot of information, we can now, thanks
(49:14):
to 3D mapping, imagine what Cleopatra's ideal tomb would
look like. A raised monument made-up of
Greek columns topped off with a pyramid, a royal burial ground,
then a subterranean corridor to a vast tomb to hold the Queen's
sarcophagus. But for now, Cleopatra rests
(49:38):
peacefully on all of her secrets.
Archaeologists from around the world continue to search, never
giving up hope of finding the answers to one of the biggest
unsolved mysteries in history. We know that Cleopatra played on
her power of seduction to assumeher power that she committed
(50:00):
suicide either by snake bite or poisoning.
These clues indicate that her tomb can be found in or around
Alexandria, in her palace, underwater, in the city's
underground orchids, or in a nearby temple.
Mysteries surrounding Cleopatra's death and the
location of her body remains a puzzle, and the last
(50:22):
representative of the Pharaohs will continue to fascinate the
world.
This channel is part of the History Hits network.
Stick around to find out more. Ancient Egypt has been a lost
world for around 2000 years. Forgotten by everyone buried in
(00:23):
the sand, released from the civilization on the river Nile
are constantly emerging. Archaeologists are steadily
discovering the truth behind Egypt and the Pharaohs,
uncovering more about this incredible history every day.
Thanks to the most recent scientific technologies,
(00:46):
physics, genetics and even computer generated imaging, some
of the enigmas of the past are finally at our fingertips.
Among the many great mysteries in ancient Egypt, there is a
fascinating mystery involving Queen Cleopatra, who was
described as being powerful, seductive and manipulative.
(01:07):
She also had an influence on Rome by captivating the
dignitaries of that time. Why did she have so much power?
What were her weapons of seduction?
Although Cleopatra's name is synonymous with the fate of
Egypt, the circumstance this is around her death and the
(01:29):
location of her final resting place remain a mystery.
Was she assassinated? Did she commit suicide?
How did her life come to an end?Poisoning was very popular in
antiquity, or maybe it was because of a snake bite.
To find out more, we need to uncover her amaze and analyze
them, I believe. Tabasili's Magna is the final
resting place of Cork departure.Throughout Egypt and Europe,
(01:59):
there are teams of experts on the hunt for traces of
Cleopatra. They're trying to uncover the
mysterious circumstances around her death and the enigma of her
lost tomb. Antonio Fischetti is a doctor of
physics, and he is a scientist who will carry out research in
Europe, including an Egyptologist who is passionate
about Egyptian Queens. Angela Puchon, the author of
(02:21):
various scientific works and it was at New Technologies, will
travel through Egypt in search of any trace of Cleopatra.
If you love history, then you will love History Hit.
(02:42):
We have tons of exclusive documentaries about the most
important people in history thatyou will not find anywhere else.
Our extensive catalog of documentaries covers everything
from the rise of Hannibal Barkerto the illustrious treasures of
King Tut. So Sign up today for broadcast
quality documentaries uncoveringthe mysteries of the ancient
world. Not only that, but we have a
(03:03):
huge podcast network releasing new episodes everyday, so you'll
always have something to listen to.
Sign up now for a free trial andOdyssey fans get 50% off their
first three months. Just be sure to use the code
Odyssey. Let's check out.
Cleopatra is undoubtedly the most famous queen in Egyptian
history, but she's also the mostmysterious.
(03:24):
We know very little about her true appearance.
Her remains have not been found,and there are a few clues that
could lead to her tomb being uncovered.
There are some writings which provide details of her life, but
they have been written by Romans, her sworn enemies, so
they're not objective writings. We know that she had Greek
origins, that she lived between 69 and 30 BC, and that she
(03:45):
suffered a violent death. We know that she seduced, among
others, Julius Caesar and then his right hand man, Mark
Anthony, and that it was a thirdRoman man, Octavius, the future
emperor Augustus, who played a part in her death.
Our experts are searching for traces of this mysterious
(04:05):
Cleopatra, scrutinizing details of her life in order to
understand how she exerted her power and to try to shed some
light on her tragic fate. The first step is for Cludin and
Jill to fly to Cairo, the nerve center of Egyptology.
(04:27):
In the Egyptian capital, there are research laboratories and
institutions that are dedicated to archaeology.
Our experts visit the library ofthe French Institute for
Oriental Archaeology in order tofind more information on
Cleopatra. They're hoping to consult
(04:55):
volumes of an extraordinary workentitled The Description of
Egypt, which was published in France in 18 O 9 by French
scholars following the Napoleonic campaign in Egypt.
It contains extensive factual information regarding Greek
reliefs that were present throughout Egypt and Cleopatra's
time. This is considered to be normal,
as Cleopatra was originally fromPtolemy dynasty.
(05:18):
Greek kings had ruled over Egyptfor three centuries.
Although she comes from a pure Greek lineage, Cleopatra would
integrate Egypt, learn its language and embrace its
culture. Since that, she gained power
over the whole country. To retrace Cleopatra's steps by
(05:42):
following the clues found in thelibrary, Cludin and Jill decide
to visit the region of Aswan, around 800 kilometers South of
Cairo. The experts embark at the shores
of Aswan to reach the island of Feli a few minutes by boat.
This is where they will find themajestic temple of Feli and
antiquity. It was an incredible place of
cultural, religious and political intermingling.
(06:06):
The Greeks left their mark on it.
The Ptolemy dynasty, from which Cleopatra originates, reigned
over all parts of the country, and symbolic representations can
be found on many of the temples.The.
(06:59):
Cleopatra is very powerful and strongly rooted by her ancestors
throughout Egypt. It was in the town of Alexandria
that she exercised her power. Our experts decided to go there
to find out more about her reign, hoping to shed light on
the circumstances of her tragic death.
(07:22):
Cleopatra reigned over Egypt from her huge palace in
Alexandria, the country's capital in antiquity, which was
well known for its magnificence and cultural wealth.
She opened the biggest library in the world at that time and
the famous Alexandra Lighthouse.The town was located in the
North Coast of the country by the Mediterranean Sea and took
(07:42):
its name from its founder, the Greek Alexander the Great.
During his conquest, this powerful king of Macedonia
seized ancient Egypt and foundedAlexandria, from which Cleopatra
would reign 300 years later. Today, the magnificence of the
ancient city cannot be seen. There is no trace of the
(08:04):
lighthouse or the library or even Cleopatra's palace, which
isn't much help to our experts for their research.
How was the city, which was a symbol of power, practically
wiped off the map? In the year 365 of our era, a
violent earthquake caused the collapse of part of Alexandria,
(08:27):
flooding the royal palace with water and even flooding the tomb
of Alexander the Great submarine.
Archaeologists have searched theMediterranean Sea around the
city, and a number of architectural reliefs from
antiquity have been found. Claudine wants to know more
(08:49):
about this flooded city. She decides to go out with an
experienced diver and the manager for marine
archaeological excavation in Egypt.
The pretext of citri Bianchi yavi and tsunami que si pasi en
prasan. So something a precious uquist
SU kya fi in a fismo Sudan yapriin a fismo Lunt yavik
(09:12):
lillivacion de denevo de la Mer.Don't see Venton Dutravi on a
marine complete la carte Alexandra's.
(10:09):
I'm belongs to the estoir resoncia estoiro sea patrizoncia
mondiala on Honda le pois de sita view on visit le Pele.
(10:33):
I don't see the. Cleopatra's palace is submerged
underwater beside the remains ofone of the most famous monuments
in antiquity, the Alexandria Lighthouse, one of the Seven
Marvels of the ancient worlds. It dominated the port, shining
(10:54):
light on Egypt's entry port, theperfect symbol for the power of
Ptolemy and Cleopatra. The remains of the lighthouse
are now submerged underwater. A meticulous excavation of these
marine remains has been commissioned by the CLX teams,
the Study Center in Alexandria, and new methods of 3D mapping
will allow them to establish a specific map using the
(11:14):
architectural remains found on the site.
Gil is visiting the Study Centrein Alexandria to meet one of the
specialists in search of valuable clues about the
environment in which Cleopatra lived, and perhaps a clue that
could explain her death. And if you don't live from the
(11:39):
condition meteor, can you pose acampaign?
The problem for. The free director of Surplus,
(12:03):
2001 person. Despite A meticulous search of
the seabed, there are still no clues to fuel an investigation
into the disappearance of Cleopatra.
However, thanks to modern technologies used in
archaeology, our experts are able to better understand
(12:25):
ancient Alexandria and the influence that the city had on
Cleopatra's fate. Cosmopolitan Boiling Hot, a
commercial hub in the Mediterranean Sea and dubbed the
world's trading post, The city of Alexandria was also sensual,
infatuated with art and culture,projecting the image of its
queen Cleopatra. Cludin and Jill continued to
(12:46):
search for details of Cleopatra's life in order to
better gauge her personality. One of the most rich and proud
buildings in the city was undoubtedly the gigantic library
commissioned by Ptolemy, the first successor of Alexander the
Great. His romantic vision was to
(13:06):
create a single place which contained all the books in the
world. As an avid reader who was hungry
for knowledge and able to speak several languages, Cleopatra
spent hours reading works written on rules of papyrus.
She was able to communicate withher own people as well as those
(13:28):
from other countries, which was rare for the time and certainly
one of the reasons behind her power.
Could this superiority and knowledge have generated hate or
jealousy towards her? Was Cleopatra too enlightened to
find out? Krudin and Jira are visiting the
library in Alexandria, the new Egyptian cultural jewel that has
(13:50):
revived the concept of the ancient library.
Alexandra stay in Villa a key accept two more.
They have a decision, they are. They are so important that they
are lupois, entre, laurean and accidones that they anchor for
(14:19):
economic religion. I'm kilopathy I said to you I
love you take a I like is a the only to the certificate demand
the poor is Alexandria is is in tradition the PE this is on set
(14:41):
the PE Ptolemy Philadelph. Alexandre de Ministry, Alleviate
on copy Le Ministry and on over to Le Copi and guard the
(15:05):
original Alleviate. I.
(15:42):
During invasions, falling into disuse due to a lack of money,
or burning down in several fires, there are many different
and controversial versions of how Alexandra's library was
destroyed. What is certain is that a huge
part of Ptolemy's history disappeared with it and most of
the precious clues about Cleopatra's life.
However, there is no doubt that her enlightenment contributed to
(16:05):
her accumulation of power. Experts want to clear up the
mystery of Cleopatra's death. They must turn to those who had
feared her power, the Romans, her political enemies, who
watched her every move. It was the philosopher and
biographer Plutarch who recounted elements of
(16:26):
Cleopatra's life, who ruled 2000years ago.
However, Plutarch was born 76 years after Cleopatra's death,
and he was Roman, so he was a sworn enemy of the famous queen.
To find out more about Cleopatra's personality, to
better understand this woman, Queen Conqueror, Cludin and Jill
call upon a specialist of the Roman period.
(17:10):
For our experts, Cleopatra's profile was coming together.
She was a woman of power. That's how she was perceived in
her time. In 48 BCA, man would overturn
the course of her fates. Julius Cesar came to Egypt from
Rome to take control of the country.
Although Egypt was in the hands of young Pharaoh Ptolemy, 13,
(17:31):
Cleopatra's brother, he was removed from
the throne. These two lovers embarked on a
(18:15):
voyage on the Nile. As Cleopatra wanted the couple
to be cheered by the Egyptian people.
Her desire to be admired by her subjects was obvious.
However, how were the Ferios perceived by the Egyptian
people? Were they appreciated?
Love This popular imagery would lead you to believe.
(18:52):
Like their predecessors, the Pharaohs, Cleopatra was at the
(19:13):
mercy of the people's criticism.She knew it.
She had to find a way to seduce her subjects.
Cludin and Jill traveled down the Nile to the north of Luxor
to Dendra. Following the journey that
Cleopatra and Caesar took on their great voyage.
(19:37):
They've come here to find clues about the couple's triumphant
visit from the relics at the temple of Nader, the goddess of
love and beauty. Cleopatra made a difficult vow
to her in order to bless their union.
Soon the hopes of Cleopatra would be fulfilled.
(20:00):
She gave Caesar a son Caesarian,and they thought that this would
secure her dynasty under Roman protection this time.
(20:25):
I. The.
(21:53):
This a typical couple and their children seem to be basking in
happiness and power. However, Cleopatra would soon
thrust herself into the harsh reality of politics when she
arrived in Rome on Caesar's arm.I have a cleopat.
(22:33):
Yes, it's a In March of year 44 BC, Caesar was assassinated in
Rome by conspiring senators. His death was blamed on
Cleopatra, who had to flee Rome,returning to Egypt, leaving Rome
on the verge of a civil war. A share of the territories under
(22:55):
Roman rule were ruled by Caesar's 2 successors, his
adoptive son Octavius, the future Emperor Augustus, who
took the West, and Mark Anthony,Caesar's former advisor who took
the East, including Egypt. Deciding to make him an ally,
Cleopatra did everything she could to seduce him, even
(23:16):
accompanying him on his voyage on the Mediterranean.
She left on their voyage on a beautiful boat with a golden bow
and silver oars, and she was draped in a delicate fabric.
Merrick Anthony immediately fellin love with the charm of Queen
Cleopatra, who had once again succeeded in marrying through
her expert seduction and political charms.
Our experts now have a clear vision of the woman that she
(23:37):
was. A seductress, a woman in power,
a conqueror. Cleopatra was a powerful force.
But what did she look like? Was she as beautiful as she's
presented in the movies? Or is all of that simply a myth?
Aside from the descriptions of Cleopatra that the Roman writers
(24:11):
have left us, is it now possibleto reconstruct her face using
her remains and advances in genetics?
Now we're off to Paris to place your toquetejo.
Antonio is visiting the Museum of Men to get an opinion from a
Paleo geneticist on the possibility of facial
(24:33):
reconstruction. Could science put a face to this
famous name and antiquity? The only protest who don't prove
in Mummy Keep the clear part exist the scientific, the
constituent. The part effective.
(25:57):
As her remains have not been discovered, we have to rely on
Roman writings which present heras rather ordinary.
However, if she didn't have an alluring physical appearance,
how was she able to seduce the most powerful men in Rome?
(26:38):
The alliance between Mark Anthony and Cleopatra in rage
Rome, Octavius was threatened byMark Anthony's rising power.
With the Queen of Egypt by his side, he decided to distribute
the message that Mark Anthony had become more Egyptian than
Roman. The battle between Caesar's 2
successors took place mostly in Actium in the West of Greece.
(26:58):
Despite a significant inferiority and resources and
men, Octavius won one of the biggest naval battles in
history. After a furious struggle.
This was a defeat for Mark Anthony and Cleopatra.
The lovers were humiliated. It was the beginning of the end.
Mark Anthony retreated to Alexandria, to Cleopatra and
ended his life, as was traditionfor defeated leaders.
(27:19):
Defeated and worried about the future of her dynasty, Cleopatra
had to choose between a humiliating submission to
Octavius or death in Alexandria.In Cleopatra's land, Cludin and
Jude have now gathered enough information to get a clearer
picture of her personality at the time when her fate shifted.
They need to refine their searchin order to explore the specific
(27:42):
circumstances of Cleopatra's death, which will close the
chapter on the tragedy of these Roman lovers.
Could this powerful queen who threatened Rome have been
assassinated after the defeat ofher lover, Marc Anthony?
Or was the thought of submittingto Octavia so painful for her
that she chose to take her own life?
Murder or suicide? She lives off to explore the
(28:10):
tombs hidden underneath the city.
Could these graves help them better understand the ancient
burial rituals and aid their research?
The city has a number of underground arcades that date
back to antiquity. These tombs sport designs which
(28:30):
alternate between Greek and Egyptian styles.
A recurring motive is associatedwith death, the snake which is
present in representations of the dead and which is present on
their tombs. Could there finally be a clue to
help them clarify the circumstances surrounding
Cleopatra's death? I.
(29:35):
Our experts want to know more about this potential suicide by
snake bite, which was recounted by Plutarch and which has
inspired a number of paintings. However, from a scientific point
of view, is this realistic? To find out, Cludin and Jill
call Antonio, who is in your He is going to meet with a
(30:02):
herpetologist who specializes inreptiles at the CNRS laboratory.
If Cleopatra chose to commit suicide by snake bite, what
snake would she have chosen? How would she provoke it to bite
her? An.
(30:42):
Example. It's.
(31:19):
Not a.
Nice way to die, but it's very efficient.
Cleopatra could have chosen thismethod in order to commit
(31:41):
suicide. However, would snake venom be
enough to kill Cleopatra and hertwo servants, as Plutarch tells
us? S.
(33:10):
The theory that Cleopatra died by snake bites could be
plausible, but it seems quite complicated in practice.
Our three experts want to examine another theory that has
been developed by historians, poisoning, which was very trendy
in antiquity. Cleopatra could have dipped a
hairpin in poison before pricking herself with it.
(33:32):
So what poison would she have chosen for her death?
What were the herbs and concoctions used at that time?
Antonio heads to Chetnamerabri, near Paris, to explore this new
suicide by poisoning hypothesis.He's visiting the pharmacy
department to meet with an expert in pharmacology and the
(33:54):
chemistry of natural substances.Is it?
(35:08):
Administrator, The Sushi. Pharmacology.
(35:30):
I. And the phenomenon natural,
(35:53):
immediate, small, toxic. But we technique modern the
(36:16):
corona. You have possibility that the
the the Cleopatra could have committed suicide by
(36:45):
using poison from a scientific and historical point of view.
But there's one detail that concerns experts.
There are significant wounds which result from poisoning.
(37:06):
I. The investigation has found two
(37:29):
plausible theories, suicide by snake bites or by poisoning.
At this stage, only analysis of Cleopatra's remains would reveal
the truth. If archaeologists finally found
her mummy, Egypt would certainlycall upon a paleo genetic
specialist to discover the causeof her death.
(37:52):
Antonio wants to get an opinion from an expert.
To do this, he heads to Bolzano in Italy to meet with geneticist
Albert Zinc. As an experts in Egyptian mummy
analysis, he has already carriedout research on mummies that
date back several 1000 years. Here at the Institute for Mummy
(38:16):
Studies we are investigating human mummified remains from
different parts of the world andwe try to figure out about the
age, the sex of the mummies and in particular how were the
living conditions and what disease and health problems they
had. In order to obtain DNA from a
mummy, we need to have a bone sample if possible and in
(38:40):
particular from inside of the bone sample to avoid any surface
contamination because mummies were often in contact with
different people that touched the mummy.
Therefore, we have to go inside sample tape from inside of the
bone sample. If we could find the mummy, it
would be possible to determine Cleopatra's cause of death.
(39:06):
The mummy of Cleopatra is very well preserved and especially
when you have still the skin preserved on the out face.
We could also maybe find evidence for a snake bite
because usually leaf is a clear traces on the skin of a person.
And moreover we could also then try to analyze if we still find
remnants of the poison that in the end killed her.
(39:28):
It would depend on the kind of snake and kind of poison that
was applied to her, because it could then faster or slower
degrade over time, but it could at least try to find the
remnants of poison in the mummy.Current technologies would be
able to shed light on one of thegreatest mysteries in history by
analyzing fragments of the 2000 year old mummy.
(39:51):
However, for now we have no tomband no mummy.
Our experts and know that they can't settle on the method that
Cleopatra used to commit suicideas they haven't found her body
on her tomb. In roaming the underground
(40:18):
orchids of Alexandria in search of Mortuary symbols, Kridin and
Jill noticed that there were many tombs adorned with Greek
inspired Decker. Could Cleopatra have been buried
in one of these burial grounds? The Decker confirms that these
(41:23):
tombs were reserved for the sarcophagi of Greek descendants.
Could Cleopatra be buried here? Hello.
(42:00):
And this is a plausible hypothesis.
However, even today, archaeologists haven't found
enough evidence to confirm this.After all, why would they limit
their search for Cleopatra's tomb to the underground archids
of Alexandria for 10 years? An archaeologist from the
Dominican Republic has been convinced of another theory.
(42:21):
In her opinion, Cleopatra's bodyhad been moved outside of the
city. Our research focuses on the
Taposaris magma site, around 45 kilometers West of Alexandria.
(42:42):
I believe Taposaris Magma is thefinal resting place of Queen
Cleopatra because this temple was the most sacred temple
during the time of the Ptolemiesand it was dedicated to worship
Isis. And as you know, Cleopatra was
the human representation of Goddess Isis.
Also, it was the end of of Egyptas an empire, so Cleopatra could
(43:06):
not rely on anybody to be buriedin the royal quarters.
He was seeking for a peaceful afterlife together with Marc
Anthony. And there's no other place,
monument, temple, palace that could reunite so many conditions
(43:30):
as Tapos Eris Magna. Since the beginning of our
search until now, we have on earth more than 700 objects.
(43:51):
Those objects are statues. Basalt statues of Pharaohs.
Headless. We have uncovered 2 statues of
Isis, also headless. We had human size.
We have uncovered a bust in white marble.
Could be Queen Cleopatra. We have uncovered a bust of
(44:12):
Alexander the Great. Cleopatra had chosen to find
peace with her last great love, Marc Anthony.
It's both very romantic and credible.
However, after more than 10 years of searching, Catherine
Martinez still hasn't come face to face with Cleopatra.
(44:37):
So there is another hypothesis. Could her tomb have been
engulfed in the Bay of Alexandria when the earthquake
hit in the year 365? To follow that line of inquiry,
Antonio is heading to Zurich, Switzerland.
He's meeting with a specialist in marine archaeology, Frank
(44:59):
Gaudio, who has been diving in Egypt for a long time.
In the year 2000, he discovered the city of Tani Seraclion,
engulfed in the Bay of Alexandria, which revealed many
archaeological treasures. At an exhibition displaying some
of the reliefs found at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea,
he reveals to us the last tracesof Cleopatra mourning her
(45:21):
beloved Mark Anthony and at the mercy of her enemy Octavius, who
became Emperor Augustus. Your part.
(46:28):
The. Avanche loosely he
(47:07):
had the cell. On affair in the prospects on
geophysic disaster. Sophisticated panda de MO a
(47:37):
systematic. I.
(48:28):
I'm sorry, the, the the the. Despite the numerous major
(48:52):
archaeological discoveries, no trace has been found of
Cleopatra's tomb in her sunken palace.
How do we know what type of tombto look for?
What does it look like? Between Cleopatra's Greek
origins and her Egyptian culture, it's difficult to know
what kind of tomb she was laid to rest in.
Having found a lot of information, we can now, thanks
(49:14):
to 3D mapping, imagine what Cleopatra's ideal tomb would
look like. A raised monument made-up of
Greek columns topped off with a pyramid, a royal burial ground,
then a subterranean corridor to a vast tomb to hold the Queen's
sarcophagus. But for now, Cleopatra rests
(49:38):
peacefully on all of her secrets.
Archaeologists from around the world continue to search, never
giving up hope of finding the answers to one of the biggest
unsolved mysteries in history. We know that Cleopatra played on
her power of seduction to assumeher power that she committed
(50:00):
suicide either by snake bite or poisoning.
These clues indicate that her tomb can be found in or around
Alexandria, in her palace, underwater, in the city's
underground orchids, or in a nearby temple.
Mysteries surrounding Cleopatra's death and the
location of her body remains a puzzle, and the last
(50:22):
representative of the Pharaohs will continue to fascinate the
world.
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