Cleopatra Versus Agrippina: Comparative Analysis

Depending on the current ideologies people are judged on their actions, woman throughout the years have been judged by various degrees. In the past women were denied of liberties and even now we are still fighting for complete equality. Some sources view Cleopatra and Agrippina as great women of history, others portray them in a less positive way. The comparison and contrast of how both Cleopatra and Agrippina the younger are portrayed today and how they were portrayed in the past, is somewhat alike but also very biest depending on the sources and where or who they came from.

We have been led to believe that Cleopatra got to where she did by using seduction as well as her beauty to get what she wanted, and even today she is still portrayed as somewhat of a powerful woman but mainly she is remembered for her seductive behaviour.

In today’s era, women are still fighting for complete equality, and although in the past women have been denied of liberties and human rights, or even being viewed particularly through the gaze of a male. Women end up being looked at and judged through a distorted lens even today.

In the 1963 film titled Cleopatra starring Elizabeth Taylor [Cleopatra] Richard Burton [ Mark Antony ] and Rex Harrison [Julius Caesar]. Cleopatra is scrutinized as a seductive and charming woman who used her looks to get where she needed to be, in order to gain an army to fight her younger brother [Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator] and therefore gain the higher power of Pharaoh.

In the book titled ‘ The British Museum: Illustrated Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt ‘ written by Geraldine Harris and Delia Pemberton, Cleopatra is perceived as a woman of power and a woman who used her power in an attempt to make Egypt a strong and independent country. Although another source suggests the opposite , and quotes her as ‘ clever, charming and sexy ‘. The oversexulaisation of women, especially Cleopatra in modern sources suggests that women as one or a community are always brought down to their looks and not their accomplishments. Therefore women to a certain extent are being brought down to nothing less then how then look.

Agrippina the younger, although an empress of the Roman empire, she is not remembered as such in many modern sources. Women throughout history and even today have been distorted and being gazed at through a distorted lens and therefore have only been looked at on the verge and not in full detail.

Women to an extent have been and continue to be represented through a distorted lens. Women are fighting to be remembered as something more than just their looks. Women are known in some sources as that of a powerful being, but mostly they are just known as sexual material. As women continue to fight, as they take one step forward society takes one step backwards and treats them worse.

Agrippina the younger has been distorted as a manipulating and power/ money hungry women, who used sexual manipulation as a way to gain the power of other’s, “ Agrippina used her sexuality in many ways and was able to use powerful men as puppets for her personal gain and increase in power and control “.

Agrippina the younger has been described as a “ scandalous and manipulative women”, therefore Agrippina like Cleopatra and many other woman has again been brought down to the immoral parts of her life, and not the reputable.

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Cleopatra is represented through primary sources as not only a powerful woman but a sexualy manipulative one. Though some of these sources may be biest, depending on where or who they came from. Cleopatra is certainly a powerful woman but society can’t just pretend that she didn’t manipulate Mark Antony and Julius Caesar into sleeping with her.

Throughout the years woman have continuously been judged and gazed on the verge through a distorted lens, woman are continuously recognised as sexual materials and are not known for what they do in their lifetime but rather bought down just to their looks. Women are materialised as sexual objects, and therefore society always looks at woman as sexual objects. Woman are fighting not to be recognized as objects but as real people, and not to continuously be compared to men.

Cleopatra has been portrayed in society as a powerful being, but as a sexually powerful manipulative being. In a depiction of Cleopatra on a Roman coin, she is interpreted as that of a not very beautiful woman. The hooked nose and large eyes, suggest that the Romans were trying to portray Cleopatra as a man. This coin suggest that Romans have deliberately depicted Cleopatra as ugly, in order to mock what she may have really looked like. Romans weren’t a fan of Cleopatra so they may have purposely depicted her like that. Woman are again brought down to their looks and not what they actually do in their lifetime, therefore woman even in Cleopatra's day we're still fighting for complete equality and were judged in various degrees.

This is another example of woman being distorted and being gazed at through a distorted lens and therefore have only been looked at on the verge and not in full detail.

Women throughout history have been judged to certain extents and are still fighting for complete recognition and equality today.

Agrippina the younger has been represented through a bias source, as being a goddess of beauty and fertility. She is being based off a bias opinion and therefore gazed at on the verge through a distorted lens and not in full depth ot detail. Agrippina is interpreted as a powerful goddess of beauty and the fruit in her hair suggests that she is also a goddess of fertility.

Agrippina the younger is therefore based off a biased opinion and scrutinized through a distorted lens. Women have again been denied of equal rights and are still attempting to fight for complete equality in today’s society, This source explores the standards that a society expects a women to be, ‘ a goddess of beauty ‘.

Women have always been based off society's expectations, to be beautiful or a goddess, and today women are being based off barbie dolls or models. Agrippina the younger is depicted as a powerful, goddess of fertility and beauty, but as this source is based off a bias opinion, Agrippina the younger has therefore been scrutinized through a distorted lens and not viewed in full depth.

Women throughout history and even today are still fighting to be recognised in society as something more for just their looks and bodies. Women are viewed through distorted lens and never viewed in full detail or depth, therefore the truth is hard to find, and woman are distorted into something that may not have been. Agrippina the younger and Cleopatra are both powerful and beautiful women of history but through both secondary and modern sources they have become distorted and scrutinized as woman who just used sexual manipulation ( seduction ) to get what they wanted, power and money. Women are based off societal expectations, e.g. models, barbie dolls, magazine covers etc , and as a society woman are fighting together to be recognised as something more than what they look like but their accomplishments in life. In conclusion this essay explored how the modern world scrutinized Cleopatra and Agrippina the younger , and how they were gazed at through a distorted lens in the past.