Whew here we go. Lots of folks are upset about this choice. A thread about Cleopatra, and her ethnicity/ “look”, and why this is considered controversial 1/?

(FWIW: I’m an Egyptologist and I have looooong been obsessed w Cleopatra)

Also: Classicists and Egyptologists fight over where Cleo (as I call her affectionately) belongs. She’s ours. Will not argue about this. 2/?

Seriously though: Cleopatra was Cleopatra VII (yes there were many others!). She was of Macedonian Greek descent (father= Ptolemy XII Auletes) but... was was her mother’s ethnicity? Egyptian? Greek? Other? Many possibilities. We don’t know for sure 3/?

Her mom was *probably* Cleopatra V, the only attested wife of Ptolemy XII. We know of one child she had, it’s not 100% certain she is the mother of Cleopatra. Cleo V’s ethnicity is unknown, very little known about her generally, hence Cleopatra’s ethnicity= 50% Greek, 50% ? 4/?

Do we know what Cleopatra looked like? YES! (as much as any ancient ruler). We have coins and sculptures/busts of her, and... Elizabeth Taylor/ Gal Gadot she was not, with a hooked nose and sharp chin. However, she was a GENIUS 5:?