4. Cleopatra Made Herself a Goddess
In true Egyptian fashion, Cleopatra declared herself a goddess. Although her Ptolemaic predecessors had done the same, often assuming the roles of Greek deities, she went one step further and echoed previous Ptolemaic queens by associating herself with Isis, the mother goddess. Isis was the mother of Horus, the first pharaoh-god of Egypt.
By making herself Isis incarnate, Cleopatra was declaring she was the divine mother and protectress of the Two Lands and her people. She also tied herself to her subjects and solidified her rule. Like Isis and other mortal queens, Cleopatra married her brother(s). She wore sacred robes at a festival and had herself portrayed as Isis in statuary. She was dubbed “Nea Isis,” or “new Isis.” In fact, her consort Mark Antony became Osiris in these depictions, to show that a divine pair was once again ruling Egypt.
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