Cleopatra of Egypt: From History to Myth. Edited by Susan Walker and Peter Higgs.

Ancient world 743 Cleopatra of Egypt: From History to Myth. Edited by Susan Walker and Peter Higgs.Ewing, NJ: Princeton University, 2001, 364 color plates and 261 black and white figures. Large heavy volume, 9 ½" x 11 ½". Gray cloth with gilt lettering embossed on spine, light blue endpapers, the front cover has a dent about half-way down on the cover edge, else very good in dust jacket. Dust jacket has piece missing, corresponding to the dent. Since further protected by a plastic dust jacket. Fabled for her sexual allure and cunning intelligence, Cleopatra VII of Egypt has fascinated generations of admirers and detractors since her tumultuous life ended in suicide in 30 BC. This lavishly illustrated catalogue, explores how she was depicted during her own era in works ranging from coins to life-size sculpture. Among several new discoveries here are seven Egyptian-style statues believed to represent Cleopatra and two portraits probably commissioned while she was living in Rome with Julius Caesar. The book also examines interpretations of Cleopatra from the Renaissance to modern times in paintings, ceramics, jewelry, plays, operas, and film. "There is enough evidence here of Cleopatra's own image creation to demonstrate that, if we find her hard to know, it is not only because the truth about her has been overlaid by 2,000 years worth of erotic and racist fantasy, but because she herself was such a protean and ingenious self publicist."-Times Literary Supplement (London) $25.00