AE Dichalkon

Struck: 51 – 30 B.C.
Mint: Paphos
Size: 11.4mm
Weight: 1.48g
Die Axis: 0°
Grade: F
Ref: Svornos 1160; SNG COP 649

Obv: Diademed bust of Cleopatra VII as Isis right, hair in melon-coiffure.
Rev: ΠTOΛEMAIOY − BAΣIΛEΩΣ, double cornucopia flanked by ribbons.
--------------------------------------------------
Cleopatra VII Philopator was the last pharaoh and Ptolemaic ruler of Ancient Egypt. Cleopatra originally ruled jointly with her father, Ptolemy XII Auletes, and later with her brothers, Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV, whom she married as per Egyptian custom, but eventually she became sole ruler. As pharaoh, she consummated a liaison with Julius Caesar that solidified her grip on the throne. She later elevated her son with Caesar, Caesarion, to co-ruler in name.

After Caesar's assassination in 44 BC, she aligned with Mark Antony in opposition to Caesar's legal heir, Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (later known as Augustus). With Antony, she bore the twins Cleopatra Selene II and Alexander Helios, and another son, Ptolemy Philadelphus. After losing the Battle of Actium to Octavian's forces, Antony committed suicide. Cleopatra followed suit on August 12, 30 BC, according to several sources killing herself by means of an asp bite. She was briefly outlived by Caesarion, who was declared pharaoh by his supporters but soon killed on Octavian's orders. Egypt became the Roman province of Aegyptus.

To this day, Cleopatra remains a popular figure in Western culture. Her legacy survives in numerous works of art and the many dramatizations of her story in literature and other media, including William Shakespeare's tragedy Antony and Cleopatra, Jules Massenet's opera Cléopâtre and the 1963 film Cleopatra. In most depictions, Cleopatra is portrayed as a great beauty, and her successive conquests of the world's most powerful men are taken as proof of her aesthetic and sexual appeal. While Cleopatra was considered by many contemporary sources as great beauty, Plutarch wrote that "what ultimately made Cleopatra attractive were her wit, charm and sweetness in the tones of her voice." Cleopatra spoke several languages and was the only Ptolemy to learn Egyptian. She represented herself as the reincarnation of an Egyptian goddess Isis.