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Beauty secrets of Egyptian queens. Smoke in your eyes

Secrets of Cleopatra's charm

Probably one of the most interesting riddles Cleopatra is actually a “portrait” of the legendary queen. Legends and novels paint her as a dazzling beauty. But, according to contemporaries, she did not have any special beauty, however, more importantly, she was very smart, educated, sophisticated, knew nine languages and brilliantly mastered the art of seduction. “It’s a pleasure to hear her voice,” they said about her. “Her speech is like a many-stringed lyre, no matter what language she speaks.”

Does this mean that the “famous and legendary” Cleopatra VII (before her there were six more rulers of the XXXI dynasty in Ancient Egypt, who bore this throne name) was not a beauty at all? In any case, a similar impression can be formed if you look at the “authentic” computer reconstruction of her appearance and the “authentic” lifetime images of the last sovereign ruler of Egypt, presented to the public not so long ago. They have already started talking about a new, also “genuine” secret of Cleopatra, which allegedly consisted in the fact that with such, frankly speaking, not a brilliant appearance, she somehow managed to make an irresistible impression on men. But let's not rush to conclusions.

Concerning the appearance of the queen, the opinions of modern authors are divided. Some of them claim that Cleopatra was beautiful, like the Trojan Helen, and also “intelligent, like Aspasia,” and “passionate, like Sappho.” However, there are opinions that the queen was not just ugly, but very ugly (some even mention a long hooked nose).

The most interesting thing about this is that reliable description Cleopatra's appearance does not exist. Ancient authors only mention that she had extraordinary charm and attractiveness, intelligence, and the talent of a true diplomat. Therefore, the source of information for modern authors is, apparently, fiction or some images of the queen preserved on reliefs, coins and statues, which are striking in their diversity and lack of similarity to each other.

The words about “reliability” and “authenticity” of new facts are not put in quotation marks by chance. The point is that they are not actually “reliable” or “authentic.” That is, from the point of view of antique and archaeological value, the found statues, of course, are genuine and really depict Cleopatra and were not made by the worst sculptors of ancient Alexandria. But the whole point is that they cannot be considered historically reliable, conveying the real appearance of the queen.

Europeans are accustomed to such a genre as the “ceremonial portrait”. In it, an important and wealthy customer always looks somewhat embellished - with a proud posture, without a paunch, if any, with an excellent complexion, etc.

But in Ancient Egypt, since the time of the heretic pharaoh Akhenaten, things were different. Then an unusual trend arose in Egyptian sculpture, which is sometimes called “hyperrealism.” The strange ruler demanded from his sculptors not only to depict himself - the “living god” - and mere mortals in their true appearance, but, moreover, to emphasize in every possible way the features of the “original’s” appearance, even if these features were completely unattractive. In his sculptural incarnation, a man of mediocre appearance seemed simply a freak, and it’s scary to think how ugly he looked by nature. The pharaoh passed into eternity, his very name was cursed and forgotten, but the sculptural style took root, albeit in a somewhat softened form. Therefore, the ceremonial statues of the ancient Egyptians after Akhenaten look worse than the “original source”. A kind of “reverse formal portrait”.

The situation with computer reconstruction is even clearer. The peculiarity of the “electronic portrait” is that, like the Egyptian “solar style,” it always somewhat highlights the features of human appearance, especially the features, from a computer point of view, non-standard. This is the “inherent defect” of all electronic anthropological reconstructions. And if we take into account that the computer based its conclusions on the mentioned figurines, it becomes clear why the “electronic portrait” of Cleopatra VII looks even more unattractive than her sculptural images. However, some things have been pointed out correctly. The Egyptian queen was truly a very plump woman vertically challenged. But this is from our point of view; for her time she was a person of average, and perhaps slightly above average height and normal build.

We must not forget about acceleration. Average height the inhabitants of Ancient Egypt did not exceed 154 cm. To this we can only add that thinness (in modern language - slimness) is also a consequence of acceleration, and our ancient ancestors were not only short, but also more massive. But still, even adjusted for strange traditions Egyptian sculpture and acceleration, there was nothing out of the ordinary in Cleopatra’s appearance. Where did the amazing impression she made on the men of her time come from?

It should be noted here that rumors of this amazing experience may well be exaggerated. Did Caesar and Antony love Cleopatra? one hundred percent certainty we don’t know and will never know. But we can say: how would these two outstanding statesmen and commanders Ancient Rome no matter how they treated the Egyptian woman, they needed an alliance with her, including a dynastic (marriage) alliance to implement their own political and military plans. It is more difficult to say about Anthony, but, as far as can be judged from his biographies, he also sought this union. For in the life of this man, power and glory played a dominant role...

However, all of the above does not at all exclude the fact that Cleopatra was desirable as a woman for most men of her era. And now any representative of the fairer sex knows what can be done from the most banal appearance with the help of well-chosen clothes, cosmetics, hairstyles and perfumes. Especially if you add personal charm and temperament to this. And two thousand years ago the industry " feminine charms"was a little worse than the current one (if it was worse at all), although not as technologically advanced. In any case, the secrets of many ancient dyes and incense have not yet been revealed and, perhaps, will never be solved. Recipes were literally crystallized over thousands of years, by the “collective mind” of the priestly caste and craft corporations.

Here, for example, is one of these “secrets”. A mixture in the form of a weak solution of mercury and antimony in vegetable oil is very harmful to health, but when rubbed into the skin it gives it, firstly, a characteristic “mercury” shine, and secondly (more importantly), creates a female body an elusive, but felt by the body, “micro-atmosphere” that causes a man to have an irresistible attraction to opposite sex. And this is only one of dozens of similar “cocktails” that were widespread among the “high society” of antiquity and the Middle Ages (and which is strongly not recommended to be tried, since ignorance of the exact proportions can easily lead to death for an unlucky seductress).

In any case, whether Cleopatra was an irresistible beauty or not, on August 2, 30 BC. e. in her person independent Egypt perished irrevocably, although its culture existed for almost six more centuries. The ruins of Cleopatra's palace long ago sank to the bottom of the sea as the terrain changed. The queen's tomb was never found. Together with the coastal part of Alexandria, it slowly sank to the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea, which Cleopatra loved so much. Somewhere there, under its emerald waves, she still rests, the legendary queen, heir to the great pharaohs of antiquity and simply a faithful daughter of the Egyptian land, who fought with all the strength of her heart for the future of the country on the banks of the Nile...

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