![]() In 34 BC, Antony granted further eastern lands and titles to Caesarion and his own three children with Cleopatra in the Donations of Alexandria. Octavian gave public approval to the Donations of Antioch in 36 BC, which have been described as an Antonian strategy to rule the East making use of Cleopatra's unique royal Seleucid lineage in the regions donated. Cleopatra and Antony staged both "Donations" to donate lands dominated by Rome and Parthia to Cleopatra's children: Caesarion, the twins Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene II, and Ptolemy Philadelphus (the last three were his maternal half-siblings fathered by Mark Antony). Two years later he also appears at the Donations of Alexandria. ![]() There is no historical record of Caesarion between 44 BC until the Donations of Antioch in 36 BC. Cleopatra compared her relationship to her son with that of the Egyptian goddess Isis and her divine child Horus. ![]() Caesarion was named co-ruler by his mother on 2 September 44 BC at the age of three, although he was pharaoh in name only, with Cleopatra keeping actual authority. After Caesar's assassination on 15 March 44 BC, Cleopatra and Caesarion returned to Egypt. Cleopatra hoped that her son would eventually succeed his father as the head of the Roman Republic, as well as of Egypt. Ĭaesarion spent two of his infant years, from 46 to 44 BC, in Rome, where he and his mother were Caesar's guests at his villa, Horti Caesaris. The matter became contentious when Caesar's adopted son, Octavian, came into conflict with Cleopatra. Nevertheless, Caesar may have allowed Caesarion to use his name. One of Caesar's supporters, Gaius Oppius, even wrote a pamphlet which attempted to prove that Caesar could not have fathered Caesarion. His mother Cleopatra insisted that he was the son of Roman politician and dictator Julius Caesar, and while he was said to have inherited Caesar's looks and manner, Caesar did not officially acknowledge him. Ptolemy Caesar Philopator Philometor ( Koinē Greek: Πτολεμαῖος Καῖσαρ Φιλοπάτωρ Φιλομήτωρ, romanized: Ptolemaĩos Kaĩsar Philopátōr Philomḗtōr, lit.'Ptolemy Caesar, Beloved of his Father, Beloved of his Mother') was born in Egypt on 23 June 47 BC. Right: a limestone stela of the High Priest of Ptah bearing the cartouches of Cleopatra and Caesarion, Egypt, Ptolemaic Period, the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London By placing a statue of Greek-Egyptian queen Cleopatra in a Roman temple and representing her as the amalgamation of these goddesses, Caesar would have been nodding toward history.Left: reliefs of Cleopatra and Caesarion at the Temple of Dendera There was a long-standing literary tradition of associating Isis with Venus and their Greek counterpart Aphrodite in the ancient world. ![]() ![]() Yet Antony Kamm points out in his book Julius Caesar: A Life that it may well have had genuine religious significance in addition to being a tribute to Caesar's lover. The statue was also controversial because Venus Genetrix was associated with marriage, so Caesar drawing a link between her and Cleopatra could be interpreted as a metaphorical slap in the face to Calpurnia. However, Caesar giving Cleopatra a statue in a Roman temple was unprecedented, as it suggested that the Roman people were supposed to see her as divine - especially since the statue gave her aspects of both Venus and her Egyptian counterpart Isis. Jenny Hill notes that it was common for the pharaohs of the Ptolemaic kingdom to have statues of themselves commissioned and placed beside statues of the gods. ![]()
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