In the first volume of Oxford's series Women in Antiquity, historian and archeologist Roller (Through the Pillars of Herakles
), professor emeritus at Ohio State University, debunks the myth of Cleopatra (69–30 B.C.E.), offering a straightforward, reader-friendly biography of this intriguing and powerful ruler. Drawing on ancient sources, he portrays not a seductress who used her charm to blind men to their better judgment but a powerful naval commander during the Battle of Actium and a savvy royal administrator, “who skillfully managed her kingdom in the face of a deteriorating political situation” and Rome's increasingly intrusive presence. Roller also reveals her for the first time as an author—of Cosmetics
, a medical and pharmacological treatise for such conditions as hair loss and dandruff. Tracing her life from her birth and her extensive education as a young girl to her ascension to the throne in 51 B.C.E., her consolidation of the Egyptian empire, and her strategic alliances with Rome, Roller provides a definitive account of a queen of remarkable strength (she compared herself to Alexander) who was a leader of her people. 18 b&w illus. (Apr.)
