Costumed Statue May Depict Cleopatra's Second Son, Alexander Helios

Summary: A costumed statue may depict Cleopatra's second son, Alexander Helios, as ruler, appointed by his father, Mark Antony, of Armenia, Media and Parthia.

Two almost-twin bronze statuettes, held by The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, depict an Eastern-style costumed boy who may represent Cleopatra's second son, Alexander Helios, as ruler of Armenian, Median and Parthian lands recently conquered by his father, Mark Antony; "Bronze statuette of a boy in Eastern dress Greek, Ptolemaic or Roman mid-late 1st century BCE," accession number 49.11.3, in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Department of Greek and Roman Art: Public Domain, via The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, located on Central Park's eastern edge in Manhattan's Upper East Side, and The Walters Art Museum, sited north of downtown Baltimore in the Mount Vernon neighborhood, hold almost twin ancient bronze statuettes in their collections. The nearly duplicate figures present an Eastern-attired boy who likely represents Alexander Helios (Greek: Ἀλέξανδρος Ἥλιος, Alexandros Helios, "Alexander the Sun"; 40 BCE-?), the first of two sons born to last Ptolemaic Queen Cleopatra VII Philopator (Ancient Greek: Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ, Kleopatra Philopator; ca. 69-Aug. 10 or 12, 30 BCE) and Roman militarian and politician Marcus Antonius "Mark Antony" (Jan. 14, 83-Aug. 1, 30 BCE). A noticeable difference between the two statuettes occurs in the position of the right arm. Both are extended outward and upward, but the Walters Art Museum figure's right arm is raised higher and the forearm angles more upward than that of the Met's statuette. Also the right hand of the Met's statuette holds a cylindrical object, whereas the right hand of the figure at The Walters Art Museum is empty.

The statuette weighs 29.5 pounds (13.4 kilograms), according to The Metropolitan Museum of Art's official online description. Its dimensions measure as a height of 25 1/8 inches (63.8 centimeters) and a width of 11 7/8 by 12 3/4 inches (30.2 by 32.4 centimeters).

The statuette's weight is not indicated in The Walters Art Museum's official online description. Its measurements are detailed as a height of 24 1/2 inches (62.3 centimeters), a width of 13 1/8 inches (33.4 centimeters) and a depth of 8 1/8 inches (20.6 centimeters).

The Metropolitan Museum of Art places its statuette's creation date in the mid- to late-first century BCE. The Walters Art Museum dates its statuette to the Hellenistic-Roman Imperial period of the first century BCE to the first century CE.

The pair of statuettes was discovered in 1912, with their findspots sourced either to Alexandria or to east of the Suez Canal, according to classical art curator John J. Herrmann Jr. in The Gods Delight (1988), as quoted by French historian of antiquity Guy Weill Goudchaux in "270 Bronze statuette perhaps representing Alexander Helios as Prince of Armenia" (page 312), one of his catalogue entries in Cleopatra of Egypt: From History to Myth, co-edited by museum curator, museum keeper and Roman art and archaeology specialist Susan Walker (born Sep. 11, 1948) and museum curator, museum keeper and classical archaeologist Peter John Higgs (2001).

The "generally accepted" origin for the pair of statuettes has been placed at a workshop in Alexandria in the second half of the first century BCE. The provenance has been tagged as "unknown," with a creation date of 34-30 BCE, by Goudchaux.

The bronze statuettes portray a regally attired boy who is approximately five or six years old. Who could have been so important at that young age as to inspire the creation of at least two almost identical statuettes in an Alexandrian workshop?

The age of the depicted boy would have matched the approximate age of Cleopatra's grandson Alexander Helios in autumn 34 BCE, the date of the Donations of Alexandria. The staging of the political event by Cleopatra and Mark Antony occasioned the entitlement of their three children as rulers of lands already held or recently acquired by the Roman Republic as well as wish-listed land controlled by the Parthian Empire.

Roman general and statesman Gaius Julius Caesar (July 12 or 13, 100-March 15, 44 BCE) fathered Cleopatra's first child, Ptolemy XV Caesar Philopator Philometor (Ancient Greek: Πτολεμαῖος Καῖσαρ Φιλοπάτωρ Φιλομήτωρ, Ptolemaios Kaisar Philopator Philometor, "Ptolemy Caesar, Beloved of his Father, Beloved of his Mother"; 47-30 BCE), known as Caesarion (Ancient Greek: Καισαρίων, Kaisarion, "Little Caesar"). Mark Antony then fathered three of the last Ptolemaic queen's four children. Cleopatra Selene II (Ancient Greek: Κλεοπάτρα Σελήνη, Kleopatra Selene; "Cleopatra the Moon"; 40-5 BCE) was born as the twin sister of Alexander Helios. Ptolemy Philadelphus (Ancient Greek: Πτολεμαῖος ὁ Φιλάδελφος, Ptolemaios Philadelphos; 36 BCE-?) was born as Cleopatra's third son and fourth child.

All four of Cleopatra's children attended the Donations of Alexandria as recipients of rulerships. Alexander Helios and Ptolemy Philadelphus were costumed according to their rulerships, according to Greek biographer Plutarch (46 BCE-ca. 122 CE) in the 54th of his 87 chapters on "Antony" in his biographical compendium of famous Greeks and Romans, Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans, commonly known as Parallel Lives.

"He was hated, too, for the distribution which he made to his children in Alexandria; it was seen to be theatrical and arrogant, and to evince hatred of Rome. For after filling the gymnasium with a throng and placing on a tribunal of silver two thrones of gold, one for himself and the other for Cleopatra, and other lower thrones for his sons, in the first place he declared Cleopatra Queen of Egypt, Cyprus, Libya, and Coele Syria, and she was to share her throne with Caesarion. Caesarion was believed to be a son of the former Caesar, by whom Cleopatra was left pregnant. In the second place, he proclaimed his own sons by Cleopatra Kings of Kings, and to Alexander he allotted Armenia, Media and Parthia (when he should have subdued it), to Ptolemy Phoenicia, Syria, and Cilicia. At the same time he also produced his sons, Alexander arrayed in Median garb, which included a tiara and upright head-dress, Ptolemy in boots, short cloak, and broad-brimmed hat surmounted by a diadem. For the latter was the dress of the kings who followed Alexander, the former that of Medes and Armenians. And when the boys had embraced their parents, one was given a bodyguard of Armenians, the other of Macedonians," Plutarch narrated, according to American classicist Bernadotte Perrin's (Sep. 15, 1847-Aug. 31, 1920) translation, published in 1920 (Plutarch's Lives, vol. IX: Anthony, pages 260-263).

After the Donations of Alexandria, Alexander Helios received only two more mentions in extant historical sources. He participated with his twin, in humiliating chains, in the triumph held in Rome in 29 BCE as a celebration of the defeat of Cleopatra and Mark Antony in 30 BCE by Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus "Octavian" (Gaius Octavius; Caesar Augustus, as of August 27 BCE; Sep. 23, 63 BCE-Aug. 19, 14 CE), adopted son and heir of his maternal great-uncle, Julius Caesar, according to Roman historian Lucius Cassius Dio (ca. 155-235 CE), known as Dio Cassius, in Roman History (Ῥωμαϊκη Ἱστορία, Historia Romana), his historical compendium of ancient Rome, written in Greek (Earnest Cary translation; Dio's Roman History, Vol. VI, Book LI: 21.7-21.8, pages 61-62). Finally, Octavian as Caesar Augustus, first Roman emperor, promised safety for Alexander Helios and his brother on the occasion of Cleopatra Selene's marriage in 25 BCE to Juba II (Latin: Gaius Iulius Iuba; Ancient Greek: Ἰóβας, Ἰóβα or Ἰούβας, Iovas, Iova or Iouvas; ca. 48 BCE-23 CE), Numidian prince and subsequently co-ruler of northwestern Africa's Mauretania with his wife (Earnest Cary translation; Dio's Roman History, vol. VI, Book LI: 15.6, page 43).

bronze statuette of Eastern-costumed boy, suggested as depicting Cleopatra's second son, Alexander Helios, in Baltimore's The Walters Art Museum almost twins statuette in The Metropolitan Museum of Art; three-quarter view of bronze statuette (accession number 54.1330), acquired in 1915 by American art collector and philanthropist Henry Walters (Sep. 26, 1848-Nov. 30, 1931) and now located on second floor, Roman Art gallery, of The Walters Art Museum, Mount Vernon neighborhood, Baltimore, Maryland: CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication, via The Walters Art Museum

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Dedication

This post is dedicated to the memory of our beloved blue-eyed brother, Charles, who guided the creation of the Met Opera and Astronomy posts on Earth and Space News. We memorialized our brother in "Our Beloved Blue-Eyed Brother, Charles, With Whom We Are Well Pleased," published on Earth and Space News on Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, an anniversary of our beloved father's death.

Image credits:

Two almost-twin bronze statuettes, held by The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, depict an Eastern-style costumed boy who may represent Cleopatra's second son, Alexander Helios, as ruler of Armenian, Median and Parthian lands recently conquered by his father, Mark Antony; "Bronze statuette of a boy in Eastern dress Greek, Ptolemaic or Roman mid-late 1st century BCE," accession number 49.11.3, in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Department of Greek and Roman Art: Public Domain, via The Metropolitan Museum of Art @ https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/254613; CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bronze_statuette_of_a_boy_in_Eastern_dress_MET_DT7206.jpg

bronze statuette of Eastern-costumed boy, suggested as depicting Cleopatra's second son, Alexander Helios, in Baltimore's The Walters Art Museum almost twins statuette in The Metropolitan Museum of Art; three-quarter view of bronze statuette (accession number 54.1330), acquired in 1915 by American art collector and philanthropist Henry Walters (Sep. 26, 1848-Nov. 30, 1931) and now located on second floor, Roman Art gallery, of The Walters Art Museum, Mount Vernon neighborhood, Baltimore, Maryland: CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication, via The Walters Art Museum @ https://art.thewalters.org/detail/24690/deity-or-genius-of-the-eastern-provinces/

Gilded silver plate, late 1st Century BCE-early 1st Century CE, may depict Cleopatra and Mark Antony with their three children; found in Aquileia, Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, northeastern Italy, now in collection of Kunsthistorisches Museum (Museum of Art History), Maria Theresien Platz, Innere Stadt, Vienna, Lower Austria, northeastern Austria: Jamie Heath (MumblerJamie), CC BY SA 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/mumblerjamie/49346010638/; CC BY SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gilded_silver_plate_from_Aquileia.jpg

For further information:

Goudchaux, Guy Weill (G.W.G.). "270 Bronze statuette perhaps representing Alexander Helios as Prince of Armenia." Pages 250-251. In: Walker, Susan; and Peter Higgs, eds. Cleopatra of Egypt: From History to Myth. First published in 2001 by The British Museum Press, a division of The British Museum Company Limited. Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press, 2001.
Available @ https://archive.org/details/cleopatraofegypt0000unse/page/249/mode/1up

Goudchaux, Guy Weill. "Bronze Statuettes of a Prince of Armenia." Pages 254-260. In: Zahi Hawass and Lyla Pinch Brock, eds., Egyptology at the Dawn of the Twenty-First Century: Proceedings of the Eighth International Congress of Egyptologists, Cairo 2000. Volume 2: History, Religion. Cairo; New York: The American University in Cairo Press, 2003.
Available via Google Books Preview @ https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/pJ48YP14qZQC?hl=en

Hawass, Zahi; and Lydia Pinch Brock, collab. Egypt at the Dawn of the Twenty-First Century: Proceedings of the Eighth International Congress of Egyptologists, Cairo 2000. Volume 2: History, Religion. Cairo; New York: The American University in Cairo Press, 2003.
Available via Google Books Preview @ https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/pJ48YP14qZQC?hl=en

Kleiner, Diana E.E.; and Bridget Buxton. "Pledges of Empire: The Ara Pacis and the Donations of Rome." American Journal of Archaeology, vol. 112, no. 1 (January 2008): 57-89.
Available via JSTOR @ https://www.jstor.org/stable/40037244

Lucius Cassius Dio. ". . . . After this Antony occupied the whole of Armenia . . . . After accomplishing these things Antony betrothed to his son the daughter of the Median king with the intention of making him still more his friend; then he left his legions in Armenia and went once more to Egypt, taking the great mass of booty and the Armenian with his wife and children. Sending them with the captives ahead of him into Alexandria in a kind of triumphal procession, he himself drove into the city uppon a chariot, and he not only presented to Cleopatra all the other spoils but brought her the Armeanian and his family in golden bonds. . . .
"After this Antony feasted the Alexandrians, and in the assembly made Cleopatra and her children sit by his side; also in the course of his address to the people he commanded that she should be called Queen of Kings, and Ptolemy, whom they named Caesarion, King of Kings. And he then made a new distribution of provinces, giving them Egypt and Cyprus in addition; for he declared that in very truth one was the wife and the other the son of the former Caesar, and he professed to be taking these measures for Caesar's sake, though his purpose was to cast reproach upon Caesar Octavianus because he was only an adopted and not a real son of his. Besides making this assignment to them, he promised to give to his own children by Cleopatra the following districts: to Ptolemy, Syria and all the region west of the Euphrates as far as India; for he even bestowed the last-named regions as if they were already in his possession. . . ." Book XLIX: 40.2-41.4, pages 422-425. Dio's Roman History, vol. V. With an English Translation by Earnest Cary, Ph.D. On the Basis of the Version of Herbert Baldwin Forster, Ph.D. Loeb Classical Library LBL 175. London: William Heinemann Ltd; Cambridge MA Harvard University Press, MCMLV [1955].
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/diosromanhistory05cassuoft/page/422/mode/1up

Lucius Cassius Dio. ". . . . Cleopatra was married to Juba, the son of Juba; for to this man who had been brought up in Italy and had been with him on campaigns, Caesar gave both the maid and the kingdom of his fathers, and as a favour to them spared the lives of Alexander and Ptolemy. . . ." Book LI: 15.5-15.6, page 43. Dio's Roman History, vol. VI. With an English Translation by Earnest Cary, Ph.D. On the Basis of the Version of Herbert Baldwin Forster, Ph.D. Loeb Classical Library LBL 175. London: William Heinemann Ltd; Cambridge MA Harvard University Press, MCMLV [1955].
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/diosromanhistory06cassuoft/page/43/mode/1up

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Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/07/altes-museum-displays-green-caesar-next.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Caesar Commissioned Gilt Statue of Cleopatra for Venus Genetrix Temple." Earth and Space News. Thursday, Sep. 22, 2022.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/09/caesar-commissioned-gilt-statue-of.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Caesarion Sought to Refuge in India But Was Lured Away To Be Murdered." Earth and Space News. Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022.
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Marriner, Derdriu. "Cleopatra Had Planned Flight From Egypt But Nabateans Burned Her Ships." Earth and Space News. Thursday, Sep. 1, 2022.
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Marriner, Derdriu. "Cleopatra Painting in Pompeii May Copy Statue in Venus Genetrix Temple." Earth and Space News. Thursday, Sep. 29, 2022.
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Marriner, Derdriu. "Cleopatra's Needles: Heliopolis to Alexandria to London and New York." Earth and Space News. Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023.
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Marriner, Derdriu. "Cleopatra's Only Grandson Was Executed by Third Roman Emperor Caligula." Earth and Space News. Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/01/cleopatras-only-grandson-was-executed.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Cleopatra's Sons Disappeared But Her Daughter Was Queen of Mauretania." Earth and Space News. Thursday, Sep. 7, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/09/cleopatras-sons-disappeared-but-her.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Cleopatra I Was First of Seven Queens Named Cleopatra in Ancient Egypt." Earth and Space News. Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/01/cleopatra-i-was-first-of-seven-queens.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Cleopatra II Was Second of Seven Ptolemaic Queens Named Cleopatra." Earth and Space News. Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/01/cleopatra-ii-was-second-of-seven.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Cleopatra III Was the Third of Seven Ptolemaic Queens Named Cleopatra." Earth and Space News. Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/02/cleopatra-iii-was-third-of-seven.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Cleopatra IV Was the Fourth of Seven Ptolemaic Queens Named Cleopatra." Earth and Space News. Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/02/cleopatra-iv-was-fourth-of-seven.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Cleopatra V was the Fifth of Seven Ptolemaic Queens Named Cleopatra." Earth and Space News. Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/02/cleopatra-v-was-fifth-of-seven.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Did Cleopatra Kill Herself Or, As With Her First Son, Was She Killed?" Earth and Space News. Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/08/did-cleopatra-kill-herself-or-as-with.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Drusilla, Cleopatra's Great Granddaughter, Was Queen Consort of Emesa." Earth and Space News. Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/01/drusilla-cleopatras-great-granddaughter.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Heinrich Schliemann Quickly Found Marble Head of Cleopatra in 1888." Earth and Space News. Thursday, July 27, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/07/heinrich-schliemann-quickly-found.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Is Cleopatra's Tomb at Taposiris Magna Or Will It Never Be Found?" Earth and Space News. Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/08/is-cleopatras-tomb-at-taposiris-magna.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Mother and Child Fresco in Pompeii May Depict Cleopatra With Caesarion." Thursday, Sep. 15, 2022.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/09/mother-and-child-fresco-in-pompeii-may.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "On March 15, 44 BCE, Cleopatra Was in Caesar's Villa at Horti Caesaris." Earth and Space News. Thursday, March 23, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/03/on-march-15-44-bce-cleopatra-was-in.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Quintilii Marble Head May Copy Cleopatra Statue in Temple of Venus." Earth and Space News. Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/10/quintilii-marble-head-may-copy.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Villa of Quintilii Marble Head of Cleopatra Models Melon Hairstyle." Earth and Space News. Thursday, March 30, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/03/villa-of-quintilii-marble-head-of.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Was Cleopatra VI Tryphaena Really the Sixth Ptolemaic Queen Cleopatra?" Earth and Space News. Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/02/was-cleopatra-vi-tryphaena-really-sixth.html

The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Bronze statuette of a boy in Eastern dress Greek, Ptolemaic or Roman mid-late 1st century BCE. On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 164." The Metropolitan Museum of Art > Art > The Met Collection.
Available via Met Museum @ https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/254613

Perrin, Bernadotte, trans. "LIV. . . . He was hated, too, for the distribution which he made to his children in Alexandria; it was seen to be theatrical and arrogant, and to evince hatred of Rome. For after filling the gymnasium with a throng and placing on a tribunal of silver two thrones of gold, one for himself and the other for Cleopatra, and other lower thrones for his sons, in the first place he declared Cleopatra Queen of Egypt, Cyprus, Libya, and Coele Syria, and she was to share her throne with Caesarion. Caesarion was believed to be a son of the former Caesar, by whom Cleopatra was left pregnant. In the second place, he proclaimed his own sons by Cleopatra Kings of Kings, and to Alexander he allotted Armenia, Media and Parthia (when he should have subdued it), to Ptolemy Phoenicia, Syria, and Cilicia. At the same time he also produced his sons, Alexander arrayed in Median garb, which included a tiara and upright head-dress, Ptolemy in boots, short cloak, and broad-brimmed hat surmounted by a diadem. For the latter was the dress of the kings who followed Alexander, the former that of Medes and Armenians. And when the boys had embraced their parents, one was given a bodyguard of Armenians, the other of Macedonians. Cleopatra, indeed, both then and at other times when she appeared in public, assumed a robe sacred to Isis, and was addressed as the New Isis." Pages 260-263. Plutarch's Lives, vol. IX: Anthony, pages 138-333. In eleven volumes. Loeb Classical Library. First printed 1920. London: William Heinemann Ltd; Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press, MCMLIX [1959].br /> Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/plutarchslives09plutuoft/page/260/mode/1up
Available via Perseus Digital Library Project -- Tufts University @ http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0007%3Achapter%3D81

Picón, Carlos A.; Joan R. Mertens; Elizabeth J. Milleker; Christopher S. Lightfoot; and Seán Hemingway; Richard De Puma, contrib. Art of the Classical World in The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Greece, Cyprus, Etruria, Rome. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art; New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2007.
Available via Google Books Read for Free @ https://www.google.com/books/edition/Art_of_the_Classical_World_in_the_Metrop/1I-jt0aDmvMC?hl=en
Available via The Metropolitan Museum of Art @ https://www.metmuseum.org/art/metpublications/Art_of_the_Classical_World_in_The_Metropolitan_Museum_of_Art_Greece_Cyprus_Etruria_Rome

Smith, A.H. "A Bronze Figure of a Youth in Oriental Costume." The Journal of Hellenic Studies, vol. 37 )1917): 135-139.
Available via JSTOR @ https://www.jstor.org/stable/i225767
Available via JSTOR @ https://www.jstor.org/stable/625471

Tyldesley, Joyce. Cleopatra: Last Queen of Egypt. London: Profile Books Ltd., 2008.
Available @ https://archive.org/details/cleopatralastque0000tyld

Walker, Susan (S.W.). "270 Bronze statuette perhaps representing Alexander Helios as Prince of Armenia." Pages 250-251. In: Walker, Susan; and Peter Higgs, eds. Cleopatra of Egypt: From History to Myth. First published in 2001 by The British Museum Press, a division of The British Museum Company Limited. Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press, 2001.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/cleopatraofegypt0000unse/page/250/mode/1up

Walker, Susan; and Peter Higgs, eds. Cleopatra of Egypt: From History to Myth. First published in 2001 by The British Museum Press, a division of The British Museum Company Limited. Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press, 2001.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/cleopatraofegypt0000unse/

The Walters Art Museum. "Deity or Genius of the Eastern Provinces. Roman (Artist) Egyptian (?) (Artist). 1st century BCE-1st century CE (Hellenistic-Roman Imperial) leaded bronze (Roman Empire, Ancient Egypt and Nubia )." The Walters Art Museum's Online Collection > Search the collection.
Available @ https://art.thewalters.org/detail/24690/deity-or-genius-of-the-eastern-provinces/

Cleopatra's Sons Disappeared But Her Daughter Was Queen of Mauretania

Summary: Cleopatra's three sons disappeared but her only daughter, who lived for approximately 25 years after her mother's death, became Queen of Mauretania.

melon-coiffed marble portrait credited as Cleopatra's daughter, Cleopatra Selene, ca. 10-1 BCE, found ca. 1856 near Juba II and Cleopatra Selene's palace in Caesarea (modern-day Cherchell), Algeria; detail of image of Cleopatra Selene, extracted Aug. 22, 2020, from June 18, 2018, image: Hichem algerino, CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons

Last Ptolemaic Queen Cleopatra's three sons disappeared soon after her death in 30 BCE, but her only daughter married, had two children and became Queen of Mauretania in a lifespan that extended approximately 25 years after her mother's death.

Cleopatra VII Philopator (Ancient Greek: Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ, Kleopatra Philopator; ca. 69-Aug. 10 or 12, 30 BCE) birthed four known children. Roman general and statesman Gaius Julius Caesar (July 12 or 13, 100-March 15, 44 BCE) fathered Ptolemy XV Caesar Philopator Philometor (Ancient Greek: Πτολεμαῖος Καῖσαρ Φιλοπάτωρ Φιλομήτωρ, Ptolemaios Kaisar Philopator Philometor, "Ptolemy Caesar, Beloved of his Father, Beloved of his Mother"; 47-30 BCE), known as Caesarion (Ancient Greek: Καισαρίων, Kaisarion, "Little Caesar"). Cleopatra's first child and first son is considered as Julius Caesar's only known biological son.

Roman militarian and politician Marcus Antonius "Mark Antony" (Jan. 14, 83-Aug. 1, 30 BCE) fathered three children with Cleopatra. Fraternal twins Cleopatra Selene II (Greek: Κλεοπάτρα Σελήνη, Kleopatra Selene, "Cleopatra the Moon") and Alexander Helios (Greek: Ἀλέξανδρος Ἥλιος, Alexandros Helios, "Alexander the Sun") were born in 40 BCE as Cleopatra's second daughter and second son, respectively. Ptolemy Philadelphus (Greek: Πτολεμαῖος ὁ Φιλάδελφος, Ptolemaios Philadelphos) was born in 36 BCE as the last Ptolemaic queen's third son and fourth child.

The deaths of Mark Antony, firstly, and of Cleopatra, soon thereafter, in August 30 BCE orphaned the four children. Their Ptolemaic descent placed them at the mercy of the Macedonian Greek royal dynasty's overthrower, Gaius Octavius "Octavian" (Sep. 23, 63 BCE-Aug. 19, 14 CE). Octavian had become Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus in 44 BCE as adopted son and heir of his assassinated maternal great uncle, Julius Caesar. Octavian's name change to Caesar Augustus beginning in January 27 BCE signaled the transformation of the Roman Republic as the Ptolemaic Kingdom's (305-30 BCE) replacer into the Roman Empire.

In summer 30 BCE, prior to her August death, Cleopatra had assessed the safety of her four children, according to British Egyptologist Joann Fletcher (born Aug. 30, 1966) in Cleopatra the Great (Part Six, Chapter 11 The Final Year: Defeat, Death and Eternal Life, pages 306-307), published in 2011. She evacuated her three youngest children, accompanied by their tutor Euphronios, to the safety of her supporters in Thebes, Upper Egypt (Southern Egypt). But she sent Caesarion, targeted as her Ptolemaic heir, to refuge, in the company of his tutor, Rhodon, in India, according to Greek biographer Plutarch (46 BCE-ca. 122 CE) in Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans, commonly known as Parallel Lives.

"Cleopatra's children, together with their attendants, were kept under guard and had generous treatment. But Caesarion, who was said to be Cleopatra's son by Julius Caesar, was sent by his mother, with much treasure, into India, by way of Ethiopia," narrated Plutarch in his biography of "Antony," according to American classicist Bernadotte Perrin's (Sep. 15, 1847-Aug. 31, 1920) translation, published in 1920 (Plutarch's Lives, vol. IX: Anthony, pages 318-321).

Yet, Rhodon's duplicitous insistence of Octavian's intention of passing the Ptolemaic Kingdom to its rightful heir convinced Caesarion to make a fateful decision. Meanwhile, first century BCE Alexandrian philosopher Areius has been credited with a pithy persuasion of Octavian against mercy.

"There Rhodon . . . persuaded him to go back, on the ground that Caesar invited him to take the kingdom. But while Caesar was deliberating on the matter, we are told that Areius said: -- Not a good thing were a Caesar too many. As for Caesarion, then, he was afterwards put to death by Caesar, -- after the death of Cleopatra" (Bernadotte Perrin translation; Plutarch's Lives, vol. IX: Anthony, pages 320-321).

In addition to Caesarion, Octavian ordered the execution of Marcus Antonius Antyllus (47 BCE-Aug. 23, 30 BCE), designated as his father's heir. Known as Antyllus ("the Archer"), he was the older of two sons born to Mark Antony and his third wife, Fulvia (ca. 83-40 BCE).

With removal of the two heirs, Octavian blended Cleopatra's offspring with Mark Antony's other children in the home of his sister, Octavia the Younger (Latin: Octavia Minor; ca. 66/69-11 BCE). Octavia had numbered as Mark Antony's fourth wife. Her household already included the two Antonias (Antonia Major, Antonia Minor), her two daughters fathered by Mark Antony. In referring to the blended household, Plutarch only mentioned Cleopatra's daughter. Her two Antonine sons were not referenced.

"Antony left seven children by his three wives, of whom Antyllus, the eldest, was the only one who was put to death by Caesar; the rest were taken up by Octavia and reared with her own children. Cleopatra, the daughter of Cleopatra, Octavia gave in marriage to Juba, the most accomplished of kings . . ." (Bernadotte Perrin translation; Plutarch's Lives, vol. IX: Anthony, pages 330-331).

Cleopatra Selene II's husband, Mauretanian King Juba II, joined her in vanishment, as their burial sites are unknown and the Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania stands as an empty memorial; bronze bust of Juba II, ca. 20 BCE, collection of Museum of History and Civilizations in Rabat (Arabic: متحف التاريخ والحضارات, French: Musée de l'histoire et des civilisations), northwestern coastal Morocco: Françoise Foliot, CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons

Cleopatra Selene's twin, Alexander Helios, and their younger brother, Ptolemy Philadelphus, disappeared from Rome-supporting sources after 25 BCE. The last official sighting of Alexander occurred during Octavian's triple Roman triumphs, held Aug. 13 through Aug. 15, 29 BCE. The Senate-granted civil ceremony lavishly celebrated Octavian's victories in his campaigns in south central and southeastern Europe's Illyricum, 35 to 33 BCE, and against Cleopatra and Mark Antony in the Battle of Actium, Sep. 2, 31 BCE, and in the siege of Alexandria, Aug. 1, 30 BCE.

Only Alexander and Cleopatra Selene were identified as suffering through the humiliating event by Roman historian Lucius Cassius Dio (ca. 155-235 CE), known as Dio Cassius, in Roman History (Ῥωμαϊκὴ Ἱστορία, Historia Romana), his historical compendium of ancient Rome, written in Greek. Ptolemy Philadelphus possibly had predeceased the event. His succumbence to his first, and last, cold Roman winter in 29 BCE has been suggested by American Classicist Duane Roller (born Oct. 7, 1946) in The World of Juba II and Kleopatra Selene (page 84), published in 2003, and by Joann Fletcher (Cleopatra the Great, Part Six, Chapter 12 Epilogue: The Aftermath, page 333).

"On the second day the naval victory at Actium was commemorated, and on the third the subjugation of Egypt. Now all the processions proved notable thanks to the spoils from Egypt, -- in such quantities, indeed, had spoils been gathered there that they sufficed for all the processions, -- but the Egyptian celebration surpassed them all in costliness and magnificence. Among other features, an effigy of the dead Cleopatra upon a couch was carried by, so that in a way she, too, together with the other captives and with her children, Alexander, called also Helios, and Cleopatra, called also Selene, was a part of the spectacle and a trophy in the procession," Dio Cassius stated, according to American classicist Earnest Cary's (Feb. 25, 1879-) translation, published in 1955 (Dio's Roman History, Vol. VI, Book LI: 21.7-21.8, pages 61-62).

Cleopatra Selene's Octavian-approved marriage to Juba II (Latin: Gaius Iulius Iuba; Ancient Greek: Ἰóβας, Ἰóβα or Ἰούβας; ca. 48 BCE-23 CE), King of Mauretania in northwestern Africa, took place in 25 BCE, approximately five years after her parents' deaths. The marriage occasioned exemptions for the bride's two brothers from suffering the fate of their half-brother, Caesarion, according to Dio Cassius.

"Cleopatra was married to Juba, the son of Juba; for to this man who had been brought up in Italy and had been with him on campaigns, Caesar gave both the maid and the kingdom of his fathers, and as a favour to them spared the lives of Alexander and Ptolemy," Dio Cassius stated (Earnest Cary translation; Dio's Roman History, vol. VI, Book LI: 15.6, page 43).

Cleopatra Selene joined her brothers in vanishment after her death in 5 BCE. She was entombed in the Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania, located east of the Mauretanian capital of Caesarea (modern-day Cherchell, Algeria). The mausoleum also was the burial site for her husband, who died 18 years later, in 23 CE. Yet, no trace of the couple remains in the mausoleum, according to travel writer Ethel Davies in North Africa: The Roman Coast (Part One, Chapter 1 Background Information: The Romans, page 11), published in 2009.

As with her mother's and father's tomb and burial sites of her half-brother and her two brothers, Cleopatra Selene II, Queen of Mauretania, along with her husband, lacks a gravesite.

The resting place of the last Ptolemaic Queen Cleopatra's daughter, Cleopatra Selene II, Queen of Mauretania, mystifies modern-day researchers, voyagers and armchair travelers, as the Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania has been found to be an empty tomb; "James Bruce, 1730–1794, British, Tomb de la Chretienne / Juba and Cleopatra, ca. 1769, Watercolor, pen and brown ink, black ink, gouache, gray wash and graphite on moderately thick, moderately textured, cream laid paper, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection, B1977.14.9090": Public Domain, via Yale Center for British Art

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Dedication

This post is dedicated to the memory of our beloved blue-eyed brother, Charles, who guided the creation of the Met Opera and Astronomy posts on Earth and Space News. We memorialized our brother in "Our Beloved Blue-Eyed Brother, Charles, With Whom We Are Well Pleased," published on Earth and Space News on Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, an anniversary of our beloved father's death.

Image credits:

melon-coiffed marble portrait credited as Cleopatra's daughter, Cleopatra Selene, ca. 10-1 BCE, found ca. 1856 near Juba II and Cleopatra Selene's palace in Caesarea (modern-day Cherchell), Algeria; detail of image of Cleopatra Selene, extracted Aug. 22, 2020, from June 18, 2018, image: Hichem algerino, CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cleopatra_Selene_II.jpg

Cleopatra Selene II's husband, Mauretanian King Juba II, joined her in vanishment, as their burial sites are unknown and the Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania stands as an empty memorial; bronze bust of Juba II, ca. 20 BCE, collection of Museum of History and Civilizations in Rabat (Arabic: متحف التاريخ والحضارات, French: Musée de l'histoire et des civilisations), northwestern coastal Morocco: Françoise Foliot, CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Françoise_Foliot_-_Juba_II_bis.jpg

The resting place of the last Ptolemaic Queen Cleopatra's daughter, Cleopatra Selene II, Queen of Mauretania, mystifies modern-day researchers, voyagers and armchair travelers, as the Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania has been found to be an empty tomb; "James Bruce, 1730–1794, British, Tomb de la Chretienne/ Juba and Cleopatra, ca. 1769, Watercolor, pen and brown ink, black ink, gouache, gray wash and graphite on moderately thick, moderately textured, cream laid paper, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection, B1977.14.9090": Public Domain, via Yale Center for British Art @ https://collections.britishart.yale.edu/catalog/tms:15508; Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tomb_of_Juba_II_and_Cleopatra_Selene_(James_Bruce).jpg

For further information:

Beard, Mary. "Who Was Cleopatra’s Daughter? The perils of searching for feminist heroes in antiquity." The Atlantic. June 2023 issue. May 12, 2023.
Available @ https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2023/06/cleopatra-selene-daughter-book-draycott-biography/673786/

Davies, Ethel. North Africa: The Roman Coast. The Bradt Travel Guide. 2009.
Available via Google Books Preview @ https://www.google.com/books/edition/North_Africa/H4QeOGV_zl4C?hl=en

Draycott, Jane. "Dynastic Politics, Defeat, Decadence and Dining: Cleopatra Selene on the So-Called 'Africa' Dish From the Villa della Pisanella at Boscoreale." Papers of the British School at Rome, vol. 80 (2012): 45-64.
Available via JSTOR @ https://www.jstor.org/stable/41725316

Draycott, Jane; and Sam Haselby, ed. "The other Cleopatra: Daughter of Cleopatra and Mark Antony, she became the influential queen of a mysterious, abundant North African kingdom." Aeon > Essays.
Available via Aeon @ https://aeon.co/essays/there-was-another-more-successful-queen-cleopatra

Ferroukhi, Mafoud (M.F.). "197 Marble portrait, perhaps of Cleopatra VII's daughter, Cleopatra Selene, Queen of Mauretania." Page 219. In: Susan Walker and Peter Higgs, eds., Cleopatra of Egypt: From History to Myth. First published in 2001 by The British Museum Press, a division of The British Museum Company Limited. Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press, 2001.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/cleopatraofegypt0000unse/page/219/mode/1up

Fletcher, Joann, Dr. Cleopatra the Great: The Woman Behind the Legend. New York: Harper Collins, 1988.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/cleopatragreatwo00flet/page/n6/mode/1up

Fletcher, Joann. "Marble head of Cleopatra VII set up by her daughter Cleopatra Selene in her capital Iol Caesarea (modern Algeria)." Opposite page 247. Cleopatra the Great.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/cleopatragreatwo00flet/page/n267/mode/1up

Kilani, Marwan. "7. Contacts between Egypt and India during the Ptolemaic and Roman Periods: An Overview of the Evidence." Pages 91-101. In: Christian Langer, ed., Global Egyptology: Negotiations in the Production of Knowledges on Ancient Egypt in Global Contexts. Part III -- Late Pharaonic and Graeco-Roman Ideology and Interconnections. GHP Egyptology 26. London: Golden House Publications, Oct. 17, 2017.
Available @ https://www.academia.edu/38147247/Contacts_between_Egypt_and_India_during_the_Ptolemaic_and_Roman_Periods_An_Overview_of_the_Evidence

Lucius Cassius Dio. ". . . . Cleopatra was married to Juba, the son of Juba; for to this man who had been brought up in Italy and had been with him on campaigns, Caesar gave both the maid and the kingdom of his fathers, and as a favour to them spared the lives of Alexander and Ptolemy. . . ." Book LI: 15.5-15.6, page 43. Dio's Roman History, vol. VI. With an English Translation by Earnest Cary, Ph.D. On the Basis of the Version of Herbert Baldwin Forster, Ph.D. Loeb Classical Library LBL 175. London: William Heinemann Ltd; Cambridge MA Harvard University Press, MCMLV [1955].
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/diosromanhistory06cassuoft/page/43/mode/1up

Lucius Cassius Dio. ". . . . On the second day the naval victory at Actium was commemorated, and on the third the subjugation of Egypt. Now all the processions proved notable thanks to the spoils from Egypt, -- in such quantities, indeed, had spoils been gathered there that they sufficed for all the processions, -- but the Egyptian celebration surpassed them all in costliness and magnificence. Among other features, an effigy of the dead Cleopatra upon a couch was carried by, so that in a way she, too, together with the other captives and with her children, Alexander, called also Helios, and Cleopatra, called also Selene, was a part of the spectacle and a trophy in the procession. . . ." Book LI: 21.7-21.8, pages 61-62. Dio's Roman History, vol. VI. With an English Translation by Earnest Cary, Ph.D. On the Basis of the Version of Herbert Baldwin Forster, Ph.D. Loeb Classical Library LBL 175. London: William Heinemann Ltd; Cambridge MA Harvard University Press, MCMLV [1955].
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/diosromanhistory06cassuoft/page/61/mode/1up

Marriner, Derdriu. "Caesarion Sought to Refuge in India But Was Lured Away To Be Murdered." Earth and Space News. Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/08/caesarion-sought-to-refuge-in-india-but.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Cleopatra Had Planned Flight From Egypt But Nabateans Burned Her Ships." Earth and Space News. Thursday, Sep. 1, 2022.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/09/cleopatra-had-planned-flight-from-egypt.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Cleopatra or Caesarion Could Have Refuged in Five Ports in Western India." Earth and Space News. Thursday, Sep. 8, 2022.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/09/cleopatra-or-caesarion-could-have.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Cleopatra's Needle in London Associates Cleopatra With Julius Caesar." Earth and Space News. Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/08/cleopatras-needle-in-london-associates.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Cleopatra's Needle in New York Associates Cleopatra With Julius Caesar." Earth and Space News. Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/08/cleopatras-needle-in-new-york.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Cleopatra's Needles: Heliopolis to Alexandria to London and New York." Earth and Space News. Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/08/cleopatras-needles-heliopolis-to.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Did Cleopatra Kill Herself Or, As With Her First Son, Was She Killed?" Earth and Space News. Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/08/did-cleopatra-kill-herself-or-as-with.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Is Cleopatra's Tomb at Taposiris Magna Or Will It Never Be Found?" Earth and Space News. Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/08/is-cleopatras-tomb-at-taposiris-magna.html

Perrin, Bernadotte, trans. "LXXXI. As for the children of Antony, Antyllus, his son by Fulvia, was betrayed by Theodorus his tutor and put to death; and after the soldiers had cut off his head, his tutor took away the exceeding precious stone which the boy wore about his neck and sewed it into his own girdle; and though he denied the deed, he was convicted of it and crucified. [2] Cleopatra's children, together with their attendants, were kept under guard and had generous treatment. But Caesarion, who was said to be Cleopatra's son by Julius Caesar, was sent by his mother, with much treasure, into India, by way of Ethiopia. There Rhodon, another tutor like Theodorus, persuaded him to go back, on the ground that Caesar invited him to take the kingdom. But while Caesar was deliberating on the matter, we are told that Areius said: -- Not a good thing were a Caesar too many." Pages 318-321. Plutarch's Lives, vol. IX: Anthony, pages 138-333. In eleven volumes. Loeb Classical Library. First printed 1920. London: William Heinemann Ltd; Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press, MCMLIX [1959].
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/plutarchslives09plutuoft/page/318/mode/1up
Available via Perseus Digital Library Project -- Tufts University @ http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0007%3Achapter%3D81

Perrin, Bernadotte, trans. "LXXXII. As for Caesarion, then, he was afterwards put to death by Caesar, -- after the death of Cleopatra; but as for Antony, though many generals and kings asked for his body that they might give it burial, Caesar would not take it away from Cleopatra, and it was buried by her hands in sumptuous and royal fashion, such things being granted her for the purpose as she desired. But in consequence of so much grief as well as pain (for her breasts were wounded and inflamed by the blows she gave them) a fever assailed her, and she welcomed it as an excuse for abstaining from food and so releasing herself from life without hindrance. [2] Moreover, there was a physician in her company of intimates, Olympus, to whom she told the truth, and she had his counsel and assistance in compassing her death, as Olympus himself testifies in a history of these events which he published. But Caesar was suspicious, and plied her with threats and fears regarding her children, by which she was laid low, as by engines of war, and surrendered her body for such care and nourishment as was desired." Pages 320-321. Plutarch's Lives, vol. IX: Anthony, pages 138-333. In eleven volumes. Loeb Classical Library. First printed 1920. London: William Heinemann Ltd; Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press, MCMLIX [1959].
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/plutarchslives09plutuoft/page/320/mode/1up
Available via Perseus Digital Library Project -- Tufts University @ http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0007%3Achapter%3D82

Rolfe, J.C. (John Carew). ". . . . He allowed them both the honour of burial, and in the same tomb, giving orders that the mausoleum which they had begun should be finished. The young Antony, the elder of Fulvia's two sons, he dragged from the image of the Deifird Julius, to which he had flet after many vain entreaties, and slew him. Caesarion, too, whom Cleopatra fathered on Caesar, he overtook in his flight, brought back, and put to death. But he spared the rest of the offspring of Antony and Cleopatra, and afterwards maintained and reared them according to their several positions, as carefully as if they were his own kin." Pages 147-148, Book II The Deified Augustus. Suetonius The Lives of the Caesars, vol. I. In two volumes. Loeb Classical Library. London: William Heinemann; New York: The Macmillan Co., MCMXIV [1914].
Available @ https://archive.org/details/L031SuetoniusTheLivesOfTheCaesarsI/page/n177/mode/2up

van Oppen de Ruiter, Branko. "Monsters of Military Might: Elephants in Hellenistic History and Art." Arts, vol. 8, issue 4 (December 2019): 160. Available via MDPI @ https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0752/8/4
Available via ResearchGate @ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/337762748_Monsters_of_Military_Might_Elephants_in_Hellenistic_History_and_Art

Walker, Susan; and Peter Higgs, eds. Cleopatra of Egypt: From History to Myth. First published in 2001 by The British Museum Press, a division of The British Museum Company Limited. Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press, 2001.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/cleopatraofegypt0000unse/