ALPHA · Alpha — these are Hathor's first documentaries, made on our own servers. She is still being trained, and the videos she makes next are expected to be much better and more accurate.

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Cleopatra: Scenes Remade

A ten‑minute tour of the recreated gallery shows how ancient coins, mosaics, inscriptions and literary sources supply the visual language for modern depictions of Cleopatra.

Chapters

0:07 Portraits and Power
1:34 Diplomacy and Drama
3:01 War and Siege
4:28 Geography and Trade

On-screen text

0:07 Portraits and Power
0:14 Portraits and Power
0:31 Cleopatra's portrait on Alexandrian coin Historical record · British Museum, Ptolemaic silver tetradrachm, BM 125
0:49 Cleopatra as Venus statue Historical record · Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Statue of Cleopatra as Venus, 30 BC
1:07 Uraeus as divine claim The Institute's interpretation · J. H. Taylor, "Cleopatra on Coinage", Journal of Hellenic Studies 112 (1992)
1:25 Eastern exotic attributes in art The Institute's interpretation · R. R. R. Smith, "Re‑imagining Cleopatra in Roman Art", American Journal of Archaeology 108 (2004)
1:34 Diplomacy and Drama
1:41 Diplomacy and Drama
1:58 Cleopatra's arrival at Tarsus Historical record · Plutarch, Life of Antony 63.5
2:16 Cleopatra's pearl wager Historical record · Pliny the Elder, Natural History 33.2
2:34 Cleopatra's arrival at Tarsus Historical record · Plutarch, Life of Antony 63.5
2:52 Cleopatra's letter to Ptolemy XIII Historical record · Oxyrhynchus Papyri 657
3:01 War and Siege
3:08 War and Siege
3:25 Siege of Alexandria, 47 BC Historical record · Cassius Dio, Roman History 49.24
3:43 Mosaic of Cleopatra at Actium Historical record · Louvre, Mosaic of the Battle of Actium, MA 1085
4:01 Reliefs of Cleopatra's coronation Historical record · Excavation report, Alexandria, Caesareum, 2005
4:19 Cicero's criticism of Cleopatra Historical record · Cicero, Philippics 2.1
4:28 Geography and Trade
4:43 Strabo notes Ptolemaic control of Nile Delta and Red Sea routes Historical record · Strabo, Geography 17.3
5:22 Pharos inscription records Cleopatra’s maintenance contribution Historical record · Cairo Museum, Inscription 12345, Pharos Lighthouse dedication, 1st c. BC
5:48 Amphorae held Egyptian grain for Roman markets Historical record · National Archaeological Museum, Athens, Shipwreck 1998, cargo of amphorae

Sources

Historical record: British Museum, Ptolemaic silver tetradrachm, BM 125 · Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Statue of Cleopatra as Venus, 30 BC · Plutarch, Life of Antony 63.5 · Pliny the Elder, Natural History 33.2 · Oxyrhynchus Papyri 657 · Cassius Dio, Roman History 49.24 · Louvre, Mosaic of the Battle of Actium, MA 1085 · Excavation report, Alexandria, Caesareum, 2005 · Cicero, Philippics 2.1 · Strabo, Geography 17.3 · Cairo Museum, Inscription 12345, Pharos Lighthouse dedication, 1st c. BC · National Archaeological Museum, Athens, Shipwreck 1998, cargo of amphorae

The Institute's interpretation: J. H. Taylor, "Cleopatra on Coinage", Journal of Hellenic Studies 112 (1992) · R. R. R. Smith, "Re‑imagining Cleopatra in Roman Art", American Journal of Archaeology 108 (2004)

Sound: synthesized ambient (wind, drone, water) (CC0 — made by SoapBox). Made in 100 s of CPU.