This course explores the literary, documentary and archaeological evidence, and incorporates elements of Classical Reception, in order to explore the life, death and legend of Cleopatra VII, the last queen of Egypt.

10x1hr lectures; 10x1hr seminars per week over 10 weeks as scheduled on MyCampus. This is one of the Honours

options in Classics and may not run every year. The options that are running this session are available on

MyCampus

None

The standard assessments for this course are: 

■ Book Review (750 words) 25%. 

■ TV programme/Film Review (750 words) 25%. 

■ Essay (2,000 words) 50%. 

If required, for instance where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, the following alternatives are available: 

■ There are no alternatives to the assessments, but flexible deadlines can be offered as reasonable adjustment (Students should follow the usual process for extensions). 

Further reasonable adjustments may be provided where necessary. Students are encouraged to consult with the course convenor.  

This course aims to:

■ Enable students to become familiar with the events of the life and death of Cleopatra VII;

■ Enable students to engage closely with the sources for the events of the life and death of Cleopatra VII and evaluate their historical worth;

■ Enable students to investigate the reception of Cleopatra VII from antiquity to the present.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

• Place the historical events of the life of Cleopatra VII in their larger historical and cultural context;

• Analyse and evaluate the literary, documentary and archaeological sources for these events;

• Formulate their own opinions regarding how the sources have been received, repurposed and reimagined from antiquity to the present, and argue them in a lucid and scholarly manner.