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Cleopatra, the queen of white privilege


This article is a response to the SJW outrage over white actresses! Greeks ruled Egypt for 3 centuries.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/cleopatra-the-queen-of-white-privilege

Social justice bores are in a tizzy over the latest reports that certain actresses are being considered to reprise the role of Egyptian queen Cleopatra, not because one of them is the woefully overhyped Lady Gaga and the other is the hopelessly contrived Angelina Jolie, but rather that both of the celebrities are white.

Here's the thing: Cleopatra was white. In fact, as the same social justice bores might put it, she exemplified white privilege. A product of centuries of inbreeding, Cleopatra inherited her prestige and slept her way up to the top. In practice, she lacked the political acumen, and her real beauty must have paled in comparison to that of the iconic Liz Taylor, who infamously took on the role in her heyday.
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This one asks if she was a Ginger: https://beautifulintheory.com/2014/04/01/cleopatra-was-a-redhead-a-history-of-hair/

Then there were the redheads, like Cleopatra. Cleopatra? Yes, according to historian Joann Fletcher in Cleopatra the Great (2011). The evidence is not conclusive, but one particular portrait in the Herculaneum seems to show Cleopatra, identified by her royal diadem, with red hair. There were fair-haired Greeks in her family line, and red hair does show up in that part of the world, so it is possible. Maybe this explains her fiery and seductive disposition – oh wait, another cliché. Aren’t we humans simple-minded?

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Funny how everyone knows that the historical Cleopatra was probably white... except today's college students.

But I can't say I'm looking forward to this project, Hollywood will always get Cleopatra Queen of Egypt wrong. They think of her as beautiful and seductive, whereas the real queen was rather plain, but extremely charming and intelligent. And who had relationships that were politically motivated, she was hardly the great seductress Hollywood wants her to be.

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"Probably"? She was Macedonian Greek: that's white.

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Off white compared to North West Europeans.

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There were blondes in ancient Greece and Macrdonia, including Al the Great himself. But as we dont know everything about every ancestor the Ptolmies had before they stopped mixing their gene pool, I'm still willing to include the "probably".

Are there still blond/fair ethnic Greeks? I've never been closer than Italy.

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Nope.

East of Europe was heavily invaded from the South. Think that Muslim invasion reached the gates of Vienna in the XVIth century.

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Have you been to Greece, then?

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Nobody's really sure of what Cleopatra looks like, but you can bet there would be written historical evidence if she were truly black. Somebody would have noticed back then, particularly the Romans.

The closest historians have been able to get to her true appearance is this bust statue, which might possibly be her with her hair done up the Roman way:

https://melodyandcleopatra.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/cleopatra-bust-1.jpg?w=584

Keep in mind that nobody is sure if this is really her. Best we can go on is an educated guess.

Nobody's even sure what color her hair was, though it has been suggested that it was either dark, or auburn. My money's on her following ancient Egyptian custom and shaving her head bald to avoid lice, and wearing wigs. That would then cause a lot of confusion, particularly if she dressed as a Roman woman and wore Roman wigs when visiting Rome.

That, and based on what we've seen with white actors playing Egyptian Pharaohs, you could pretty much doll up anyone to look like a proper god king/queen if you do it right.

There's one more thing. I found this really cool historical project on Quora, where famous paintings/statues of royals are photo-shopped to see what these people would look like today. Here's Cleopatra, based on the Roman bust statue.

https://allthatsinteresting.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/cleopatradigital.jpg

If you want to see more, take a look here: https://allthatsinteresting.com/becca-saladin-instagram#4

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Nice link, did you ever read of how a designer used AI and Photoshop to bring ancient Roman's back to life?

Unfortunately there's no Cleopatra or any women for that matter, just Roman Emperors but it’s still fascinating all the same!
https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/21/21395115/roman-emperors-photorealistic-portraits-ai-artbreeder-dan-voshart

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