What was Cleopatra's ethnicity?

1. 86

   I am DB Cooperposted 14 years ago

   What was Cleopatra's ethnicity?
   
   She was the last pharaoh, but her ancestors were not Egyptian. Would it be appropriate to say she was Greek? What about Macedonian?

   replyreport
2. 0

   ankigarg87posted 14 years ago

   Cleopatrawas part greek, part Egyptian. People stop reading after they get to the greek part but she was just as Egyptian as she was reek regardless of European stylistic representations.

   replyreport
3. 61

   MickSposted 14 years ago

   Human being.

   replyreport
4. 0

   Old Empresarioposted 14 years ago

   Cleopatra's pedigree was so full of inbreeding that she was essentially descended from only a handful of Macedonian and Greek nobles. Although she had some very distant Persian ancestors as well, she was almost exclusively Greek and Macedonian. The only questionable variable here is that Cleopatra's mother may have been the illegitimate daughter of Ptolemy IX and an unknown mistress. If Cleopatra's biological grandmother was an Egyptian mistress, then Cleopatra would have been one-quarter Egyptian. However, I believe it is unlikely that Ptolemy IX's mistress was anything other than Greek. The ruling Macedonian society of Egypt was so stratified that such a relationship would have been difficult to publicly acknowledge.

   replyreport
5. 60

   Krissi87posted 14 years ago

   She was Macedonian not Greek. The Ptolemys were a line from the General who was Alexander the Greats top person. When Alexander died his Empire was divided. The Ptolemy's gained control of Egypt. She was however the first of her family, this is over 300 years, to actually consider herself as an Egyptian. She practiced the religion of the people, spoke the language (she actually spoke like 5 languages), wore the traditional pharoh attire. So ethnically she was Macedonian. Mentally she was Egyptian.

   replyreport