When you envisioned Cleopatra, did you tend to mentally insert the face of anyone in particular, famous or otherwise?
No. I wasn't overly concerned with the face. It was the personality for which I was searching. From Plutarch in particular we get the sense of woman who charmed and flattered and (intellectually) seduced, also one with a fierce sense of humor.
The first pages of the book detail a whirlwind of murder. Someone ascends to the throne and immediately get murdered. Were none of the Ptolomies or their family members able to see this coming or prevent it?
Nope. Really an orgy of backstabbing and murder. And as Plutarch reminds us, this was standard operating procedure in dynasties. Think of the Medicis! It happened, sighs Plutarch, "in the best of families."
Life in Alexandria seemed so chaotic then--was it, to them, or was it just life?
Doesn't strike me as any more chaotic than say, New York or Mumbai. The city was vibrant and restless, as multiethnic cities in particular tend to be. It was also artistically fertile and as sophisticated as any city of its time.
Are there any certified descendants of Cleopatra or any of the big players from your book around?
The bloodline ends with Cleopatra's grandson, the King of Juba. He is -- to drive home the point about dynasties -- murdered in Rome by Caligula. Do you know what this means for the biographer? No one to interview!
If you could meet Cleopatra in real life,
what's something you'd love to hear her confirm or deny herself?
She dressed as a goddess, comported herself as a goddess, passed herself
off before her subjects as a goddess. Did she truly think of herself as
divine? Of course I'd have a few questions about her relationships with
Caesar and Antony as well.
This is sort of a silly question but why was the ancient symbol
of royalty a diadem? It seems like a
simple ribbon is something that anybody could acquire. Why not something
more rare?
Wonderful question. I don't know the origin of the diadem, but it was a
constant among Hellenistic rulers. I bet there weren't a lot of
imitators.
What helped you recreate what the palace looked like? The way
you describe it is so enticing and vivid, yet it's not like we have
photos that helped you.
Indeed there's nothing whatever left of Cleopatra's palace. Josephus's
descriptions of Herod's palace are precise, and Cleopatra's could only
have been far more opulent. (Her fortune far, far exceeded his, and a
Ptolemy made a religion of luxury.) Athenaeus -- born in Egypt, if
later -- is very specific on the fittings. Lucan and Aristeas go on at
length, though I took those descriptions with a grain of salt. Among
modern reconstructions I leaned on Inge Nielsen, Hellenistic Palaces,
and Maria Nowicka, La maison privee dans l'Egypte ptolemaique.
In that same section, you talk about the meals, flowers,
processions, and so on that went on during Cleopatra's reign: that all
sounds great, but who was in charge of executing all that?
An army of florists and lamplighters and seamstresses and
silver-polishers and specialists of all kinds. And above them an
administrative staff that knew not only about how to throw a party, but
how to make pageantry work to political end.
When I envision researching a book such as this, I imagine the
author in the stacks of a dusty, ancient library, poring over materials
that haven't been accessed in hundreds of years. What's the most
interesting place that you did your research? What were the most
fascinating sources you found?
Most interesting spot was probably the eastern desert, near the fortress
of Pelusium,
where Cleopatra was camped with her mercenary army when Caesar arrived.
It looks little different today than it did in her time, save that the
fortress is in ruins and the Mediterranean is further away. As for
sources, the nuggets came from reading around in the classical authors.
Plutarch's sigh about bloodthirsty dynasts above, for example, does not
come from his Life of Antony.
Which parts of the book were most difficult to fill in, in terms
of fact (or what we can assume as fact?)
Why exactly did she Cleopatra to Rome, and for how long? How did she
react on hearing of Caesar's murder? How did her people greet her? How
did they address her? I could write a book of the unanswered questions.
Of the subjects you've written about, who do you think would be
the most enjoyable to spend time with (within your best guess?)
A very close tie between Ben Franklin and Saint-Exupery. If you felt
like sharing a bottle of wine, the former. If you felt like drinking a
lot of caffeine, the latter.
Whom do you think you'd like to write about in the future?
My next book is on the Salem witch trials. I like to think that is the
answer to your question.
Who's a subject that you'd love to read a book on but don't have
it in you to actually research and execute?
I've several times approached and abandoned a subject which would
require time in Mexican archives.
What's the best or most enjoyable biography you've read lately?
I've just started Robert Massie's new Catherine
the Great biography. John Matteson's Margaret
Fuller is next. Most delicious recent read, if more the
biography of a time: Anka Muhlstein's Balzac's Omelette,
published next month.
Have you discovered a theme, after all the books you've written,
in terms of which part of the process is most difficult for you?
The beginning, the middle, and the end. Seriously, probably getting
started, as it's difficult to know which questions to ask when you're
still limited by your own ignorance and entirely prey to misconceptions.
Asking a difficult question in an interview does not come easily to me
either. Not a problem in writing about Cleopatra, of course.
How does it feel to be the 293rd person interviewed for Zulkey.com?
You ask truly terrific questions, though I bet you did even of
interviewee #1.