This paper considers the image of Egypt and Queen Cleopatra in Roman poetry in the late 30s BC. It is noted that the poetry of the Augustan age was not, in fact, aimed at maligning the image of Egypt, but the basis of Octavian's political strategy was to present in the public's mind the de facto civil war against Mark Antony and his supporters not as a conflict between Romans, but as a war against a foreign enemy - Cleopatra, queen of Egypt. The author comes to the conclusion that the involvement of the image of Egypt in Roman poetry contributed to the formation of a number of negative clich?s in respect of Cleopatra, which had an impact on the late perception of Egypt and the Egyptian culture.
|
