Netflix’s Queen Cleopatra ‘completely rewrites history’
Acclaimed Egyptologist explains to Kathimerini why the streaming platform’s new documentary series distorts reality
The recent screen adaptation of the life of Queen Cleopatra by Netflix provoked intense discontent among the Egyptian public and the government in Cairo. The last straw was the presence of a black actress in the role of the historical queen descended from the Macedonian Ptolemaic dynasty.
The main argument of the Egyptians is reflected in the Greek origin of Cleopatra with distinctly Greek characteristics, as they are reflected in inscriptions, statues, or grave markings found in local excavations. Also, the objections of the Egyptian side lie in the increasingly regular depiction of its historical figures as black.
The Netflix production also comes at another sensitive time for Egypt, where new reports of the upcoming excavation of the site suspected to be the burial site of the ancient queen are seeing the light of day.
Against the backdrop of these reactions and focusing on the extended negative reception to the production of the documentary “Queen Cleopatra,” Kathimerini spoke with acclaimed Egyptologist Zahi Hawass, Egypt’s former minister of antiquities, the man whose name is associated with many well-known excavations, as well as well-known documentaries about ancient Egypt. Dr Hawass, a strong critic of the Netflix production, retraces the historical path that Cleopatra followed to become queen of Egypt, delves into her Greek ancestry and makes reference to the cultural connection between Egypt and Greece throughout the centuries, and finally points out the necessity of a joint Greek-Egyptian struggle for the return of the stolen antiquities.
What is the origin story of Queen Cleopatra and how she ended up in Egypt?
Cleopatra is the last queen of the Ptolemaic dynasty. In 332 BC Alexander the Great came to conquer Egypt and, after he left, one of his generals, Ptolemy, became the ruler of Egypt. Ptolemy’s dynasty continued until Ptolemy XII Auletes, father of Cleopatra. At that time, the rules in ancient Egypt proclaimed that you could not have a woman as queen, and therefore, Ptolemy appointed Cleopatra’s brother, Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator, to rule the country with her. But her brother was causing problems and began to conflict with Cleopatra. Then Cleopatra escaped. When Julius Caesar came to Egypt, Cleopatra found that this was a good opportunity for her to have Caesar help her against her brother. And we have the incredible fact that one of her servants covered her with a carpet and carried her in it in front of Caesar. From that moment she won his heart and Caesar appointed her queen of Egypt. He helped her because he fell in love with her, married her, and in the end, they had a child whom he named Caesarion.
Later, he took her with him to Rome. In Rome, Cleopatra lived for a year, until Caesar’s assassination. Then the kingdom was divided between Marcus Antonius and Octavian. Marcus Antonius included Egypt as part of his kingdom. Subsequently, he came to take revenge on Cleopatra (she had allied with Brutus against Julius Caesar), but when he met her, he fell in love with her, married her, and stayed with her in Egypt. After this, Octavian had to come to get his revenge and the famous Battle of Actium ensued, in which Octavian defeated the navy of Marcus Antonius and Cleopatra’s navy. And that is the short story long. The drama says that Cleopatra used a cobra to commit suicide. And we do not really know where she is buried.
For the last 12 years, I have been searching with Kathleen Martinez for Cleopatra’s grave in an area called Taposiris Magna, which is 35 kilometers west of Alexandria. We found the statue of Cleopatra, Cleopatra’s statue, and Cleopatra’s coins, but her tomb has not yet been found. I started thinking that Cleopatra could be buried in a tomb she built near her palace, which is underwater now.
Regarding the recent Netflix production on Cleopatra, the documentary that caused reactions, why do you think they chose Cleopatra to be portrayed by an actress with black African heritage?
There is a movement among blacks in America. They want to prove the black origins of Egyptian culture and that is not true at all. The Black Kingdom of Kush ruled Egypt at the end of Egyptian history, in the so-called 25th Dynasty. At that time Egypt had already achieved the glory of the kingdom, so they have absolutely nothing to do with ancient Egyptian civilization. Also, if you look at the ancient Egyptian reliefs, which depict the king of Egypt fighting one enemy in front of another enemy, you have the Nubians, the Africans, the Libyans, and the Asiatics. The Egyptian king is different from them. I mean, the ancient Egyptians were not black at all. As for Cleopatra, she cannot be black for the historical reasons I mentioned, but the most important one is that she was the queen of the Macedonians.
‘Cleopatra cannot be black for the historical reasons I mentioned, but the most important one is that she was the queen of the Macedonians’
In the ancient artifacts and the historical texts, is Cleopatra depicted with white skin and Greek characteristics?
Did the producer of this film create a documentary? Because when you make a documentary, you have to tell the truth. If you are making a drama, you can do whatever you want, but this is a documentary. You have to portray the truth because if you look at Cleopatra’s coins or Cleopatra’s statues, she is not portrayed as black anywhere. That means this Netflix movie completely rewrites history.
How does this production insult the history of Egypt?
You know, it does not insult Egypt’s history because Egypt’s history is solid. In fact, these people are making a bad film that no one will respect. We will make a new film to show that Cleopatra was not black, but this whole movement among black people to prove that Egypt comes from a black culture is completely wrong and will never prevail because ancient Egypt is the forest and it is a solid culture. Nothing can affect that civilization and that is why I say this little film will go down in the garbage of history.
What is the historical and cultural connection between Egypt and Greece?
Since the time of the New Kingdom, we had relations with Crete and we had people coming to offer gifts to the king. Also, when Alexander the Great came to conquer Egypt and Egypt came under Greek rule for about 300 years, then the cultural connection became very clear. After the death of Alexander the Great many soldiers came to live in Egypt and that is how our common history developed.
Greece has intensified efforts to repatriate stolen archaeological artifacts. Do you think Egypt should ally with Greece to consolidate efforts to repatriate antiquities?
I doubt that Egypt could do so. I tried many times and succeeded in returning 6000 objects back, and now I am really fighting against the British Museum. I hope I can join forces with the Greeks at the Ministry of Culture because I want to bring back the Rosetta Stone. And I know the Greeks are fighting for the repatriation of the artifacts. We really have to be united and try to call on the people at the museums in Europe to stop the imperialist policy because they stole our culture and our civilization. They destroyed our monuments by taking great objects and stealing them to put them in their museums.
Dr Hawass, what is the most important excavation you have been involved in?
I am currently working on the most important discovery I have ever made, in the city of the Gold Coast, dating back to the reign of Amenhotep III. It is the most important global discovery for the year 2021. It is a very important discovery, as I found the entire city.
