8 Facts about Cleopatra

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1. Cleopatra was born of a LOT of incest: there were 3 brother-sister marriages and 3 uncle-niece marriages within 4 (patrilineal) generations, such that her family tree collapses to a single couple.

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2. Due to inbreeding amongst the Ptolemies, Cleopatra had only two pairs of great-grandparents. One of those pairs was the son and daughter of the other.

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3. Cleopatra and Julius Caesar nicknamed their lovechild “Caesarion” which means “Little Caesar”

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4. Cleopatra of Egypt was of Greek descent and was the first in her dynasty who could speak Egyptian

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5. Cleopatra was 18 when she married her 10 year old brother to become co-ruler of Egypt.

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6. Cleopatra had red hair

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7. Cleopatra lived closer to the founding of Pizza Hut than the building of the pyramids

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8. Cleopatra was not perceived as very beautiful. Plutarch states that it was her wit and charm that drew people to her.

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9. The probability that you will find at least 1 molecule of water once drunk by Cleopatra in any glass of water is almost 100%.

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