Cleopatra

the egyptian pharaoh cleopatra is often
portrayed in movies as a woman of great
beauty. but writers of the time and portraits of
her tell a different story. although she was pretty,
those who met her praised her mind and manner
more than her beauty.
cleopatra was born in 69 b. c.e. in
alexandria. at that time, the city was the capital
of egypt. the daughters of pharaohs played as
large a role in governing as the sons did. the
children of a pharaoh married each other and
then ruled as co-pharaohs. so cleopatra
received the same education as her male
relatives.
her education was broad. cleopatra studied
the classics of greek literature. she read the
works of herodotus and thucydides. (these
writers are still studied today as important
thinkers.) from them she would have learned
about history, war and politics. she also learned
arithmetic, geometry and astronomy. she
practiced the art of speechmaking. she even
took courses on medicine. her real talent,
though, lay in learning foreign languages. one
historian of the time wrote that she could speak
at least seven languages, if not more.
alexandria was known as the most learned
city in the ancient world. in the third century
b. c.e., the famous "school of alexandria"
thrived there. this was a group of poets, artists
and scientists. euclid, who gave us geometry,
was part of this group. during cleopatra's time,
scholars came from all over to study there.
alexandria had the largest library of the ancient
world. cleopatra was a product of this tradition
of learning.

which of the following best summarizes the passage?

1. in creon’s first words to the chorus, what are the “storms” that threatened to destroy the ship of state?   polynices’ invation of the city with foreign armies was the “storms” eteocles and polynices decided to switch the crown every year, but after eteocles’ first year decided not to share it with polynices. polynices joined forces with foreign armies to invade the city and tried to take the crown from his brother, where he and eteocles killed each other   2. examine creon’s opening speech. what are his concerns? how does he feel about the city and its citizens? what are his motivations for banning the burial of polyneices? what would drive creon to place the concerns of the collective citizens over those of his family?   in creon’s opening speech, his concerns are to count on his citizens to rule. in addition, he wanted to give a clear message by not giving a proper burial to polyneices, if creon gave a proper burial to polyneices his people would think that he was an allied to the foreign forces that invaded the city and threatened the peace of his people.   creon placed the concerns of the collective citizens because he has no use for those who put individual concerns over the needs of his people 3. pay attention to creon’s speech at the beginning of the scene. what does creon think someone’s first loyalty should be and what comes second? do you think he is correct under some conditions? do you think he is wrong in some conditions? explain those conditions. creon thinks someone’s first loyalty should be with the concerns of the collective citizens and second comes our individual wants. i think he is correct because true loyalty takes place in the benefits of many not of a few.   4. what news is the sentry reluctant to deliver?   the sentry is reluctant to say that polyneices had a burial. 5. who does the chorus suggest might have done this?   the chorus suggests that the gods have done that 6. what is creon’s reaction and who does creon think is responsible? creon reacted abruptly and thinks it was a man who bribed his guard to bury polyneices