Though loathed by the Greeks, this practice was introduced to the Ptolemaic dynasty by Ptolemy II and his sister Arsinoe II, a couple of centuries before Cleopatra VII. It was perhaps an emulation of Gods like Osiris and Isis and the way of the Pharaohs (who were considered embodiments of Gods themselves) to emulate the gods and goddesses and to set themselves apart from the rest of the population.
Marriage between brother sister and father daughter was a long held practice in Egyptian Royal family. #3 She presumably married both her brothers She dressed up as the depictions of Isis, behaved like a goddess, pointed at the sacred ancient prophecies foretelling of a new age that would dawn under the rule of Cleopatra-Isis and, in this process, she mesmerized the Hellenistic world.
Perhaps out of belief or fascination or just for political reasons, Cleopatra VII styled herself as the new Isis. Isis by this time had absorbed traits from many other goddesses. In 1st century BC, the times of Cleopatra, Osiris and Isis were very popular and widely worshiped among Egyptian deities. Isis was married to Osiris, her sibling and the god of afterlife. Isis was one of the major goddesses of Ancient Egypt and was seen both as a Divine Mother and the Protector of the Dead, a guide and protector from womb to tomb. #2 Cleopatra styled herself as the new Isis Depiction of Ancient Egyptian goddess Isis It was a pleasure to hear the sound of her voice, and she tuned her tongue like a many-stringed instrument expertly to whatever language she chose….” An ancient Roman bust of Cleopatra Plutarch, in his work Life of Mark Antony, wrote of her: “It was not because her beauty in itself was so striking that it stunned the onlooker, but the inescapable impression produced by daily contact with her: the attractiveness in the persuasiveness of her talk, and the character that surrounded her conversation was stimulating. Coins with her portrait show her with manly features and a large, hooked nose. Cleopatra was perhaps not what most would call beautiful. Though the Romans painted her as a seducing temptress excessively indulging in alcohol, drugs and other carnal pleasures, while using her sex appeal as a political weapon, there is evidence that they were possibly exaggerating. Fire is a big hazard in Pharaoh.#1 Contrary to the popular view she may not have been physically striking
The Nile is actually a remarkably efficient way to remove player hubris.īe careful, though, that you're not so busy watching the Nile that vast areas of your city burn down. Plus, fields can get lower fertility from the flood than you were expecting, leading to a leaner harvest next time. It also cares not for the general day-to-day of your city building, so you end up having to structure plans for municipal change around the harvest. I mean, you can get on with building pyramids and lighthouses if you want, but that won't change the rise and fall of the waters. Watching that cycle every year is very meditative. But you also have to get the harvest finished before the flood, or your food will be washed away. The agriculture is Nile based, so you have to build all your farms on the banks and your fields in the flood plain, and wait for the waters to dump a load of life-giving silt. My absolute favourite thing about Pharaoh (sold from both GOG and Steam with the Cleopatra: Queen Of The Nile expansion as Pharaoh + Cleopatra) is the farming. Or, if you prefer, Caesar III but Ancient Egypt. Well, Pharaoh is basically that, but Ancient Egypt. One of the first games I picked for a Have You Played? was Zeus: Master Of Olympus. One a day, every day, perhaps for all time.
Have You Played? is an endless stream of game retrospectives.