![]() ![]() ![]() In the memorable phrase of critic Harold Bloom, she was the "world's first celebrity." If history is a stage, no actress was ever so versatile: royal daughter, royal mother, royal sister from a family that makes the Sopranos look like the Waltons. Today the woman who ruled as the last pharaoh of Egypt and who is alleged to have tested toxic potions on prisoners is instead poisoning her subjects as the most popular brand of cigarettes in the Middle East. Her "bath rituals and decadent lifestyle" are credited with inspiring a perfume. She is orbiting the sun as the asteroid 216 Kleopatra. Where, oh where is Cleopatra? She's everywhere, of course-her name immortalized by slot machines, board games, dry cleaners, exotic dancers, and even a Mediterranean pollution-monitoring project. ![]() This story appears in the July 2011 issue of National Geographic magazine. ![]()
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