Georg Ebers’s Cleopatra, published in 1894, is a meticulously researched historical novel that portrays the final years of the Ptolemaic Dynasty in Egypt. Unlike more romanticized versions, Ebers’s narrative is deeply grounded in the historical record, presenting a complex and politically astute Cleopatra VII. The novel begins in 44 BC, following the assassination of Julius Caesar, and follows Cleopatra’s struggle to maintain her throne and Egypt’s independence against the rising power of Rome. The central relationship is her legendary alliance with the Roman triumvir Mark Antony. Ebers depicts their relationship not merely as a passionate affair but as a strategic political partnership. The novel vividly recreates the opulence of the Alexandrian court, the political machinations of Cleopatra’s siblings, and the grand military campaigns against Rome, culminating in the decisive Battle of Actium. Ebers populates his story with a rich cast of characters, both historical and fictional, including Cleopatra’s loyal handmaid, Iras, and the shrewd courtier, Archibius. The narrative delves into the internal conflicts within Antony’s camp, particularly the rivalry between him and the coldly calculating Octavian (the future Emperor Augustus). Ebers portrays Cleopatra as a highly intelligent, multilingual, and formidable ruler—a queen, mother, and diplomat fighting to preserve her kingdom. The novel builds inevitably toward the tragic conclusion after their defeat: Antony’s suicide and Cleopatra’s own famous death by asp, choosing to die rather than be paraded in Octavian’s triumph. It is a grand and tragic epic of a world in transition, from the end of the Hellenistic age to the undisputed rise of the Roman Empire.

Table of Contents:

• Cleopatra. Part 1

• Cleopatra. Part 2

• Cleopatra. Part 3

• Cleopatra. Part 4

• Cleopatra. Part 5

• Cleopatra. Part 6

• Cleopatra. Part 7