Much of Antony and Cleopatra takes place in the Egyptian capital of Alexandria and the city-state featured largely as a home base in Cleopatra’s life and reign. In the ancient world, Alexandria boasted famous landmarks and influential citizens as a seat of power and cultural renown. As the backdrop for Cleopatra’s Egypt in Shakespeare’s play, Alexandria’s enduring reputation frames the story of Shakespeare’s famous lovers within a legendary city of power and prestige.
Alexander the Great established the celebrated city around 331 BCE and its status grew steadily throughout the ensuing Ptolemaic dynasty. The Ptolemies began their rule over Egypt with the Macedonian named Ptolemy I Soter (or “Saviour”) who was a former bodyguard and defender of Alexander the Great. Ptolemy I declared himself king in 305 BCE and initiated a lineage of powerful monarchs in the years to come (Burstein 87).
Before the events of Shakespeare’s tragedy, Alexandria was the site of civil war for Cleopatra and Julius Caesar. Cleopatra’s brother, Ptolemy XIII, plotted to end her reign and battled Caesar for control of Egypt. The Romans defended Alexandria’s port from the Egyptian insurgents and burned the Egyptian ships. Ptolemy XIII drowned in the battle and Caesar declared Cleopatra co-regent with her younger brother, Ptolemy XIV – now her husband (Chauveau 24).
Ruins of Alexandria under water (Creative Commons)
Recent archaeological excavations have revealed Alexandrian structures that haven’t been seen for centuries. At over one hundred meters tall, the famous lighthouse (pyrgos) of Pharos Island became one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Ptolemy I Soter commissioned its building on the edge of Alexandria’s harbor (McKenzie 50), and it survived until the late fifteenth century when its remaining stones were used to build elsewhere (Hawass 33).
Ancient coins depicting the Pharos lighthouse (Creative Commons)
The Royal Library at Alexandria was widely celebrated for its collection of books in the ancient world. Ptolemy II focused his official efforts on acquiring “all scientific, historical and literary writings” in multiple languages, “on a scale not previously attempted” (McKenzie 50). It was part of the Museum in the city, which stood as a research center for scientists and philosophers.
When Demetrius of Phalerum was put in charge of the library of the king he was assigned large sums of money with a view to collecting, if possible, all the books in the world … When he was asked, in my presence, about how many thousands of books were already collected, he replied, ‘Above two hundred thousand Your Majesty; and in a short while I shall exert every effort for the remainder, to round out a number of half a million’. (McKenzie 50)
Historians differ on the library’s famous demise. Plutarch and Dio Cassius claimed that the civil battle between Caesar and Cleopatra’s brother, Ptolemy XIII, created a fire in the harbor that spread to the library (MacLeod 71). In actuality, the unparalleled collection may have suffered several destructive fires over the centuries rather than a single catastrophic event.
At the conclusion of Shakespeare’s tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra, Octavius declares that Cleopatra “shall be buried by her Antony” (5.2.348). Many researchers believe, based on anecdotal evidence recorded by historians like Suetonius, that Marc Antony and Cleopatra are buried together in Alexandria, probably within the tomb she built for herself – lost now beneath the ocean (MacLeod 53). Recently, however, archaeologist Kathleen Martinez has posited that Antony and Cleopatra were buried in Taposiris Magna within the temple dedicated to Osiris and Isis. The site was an important location during Cleopatra’s lifetime and the queen often associated herself and Antony with the two gods. Martinez believes that the alternate temple was “within the ancient limits of Alexandria but outside the area controlled by the Romans, and the priests could have easily hidden her body” in order to save it from destruction (Hawass 200).
The Magna temple today (Creative Commons)
Early modern audiences attending performances in theatres like the Globe would have seen plays like Antony and Cleopatra without large, constructed Alexandrian sets. Lines, gestures, costumes, or props often suggest the various locations and allow spectators to imagine the scene. Similarly, in Brave Spirits Theatre’s ongoing production in Alexandria, Virginia, audiences travel quickly in their minds across ancient spaces without a pause in the action. When characters mention the famous name of “Alexandria,” they connect with the literal playing space of the Brave Spirits production while invoking an ancient realm – an imagined space of Egypt – in which the city’s impressive wonders and powerful elite await just within and beyond Antony and Cleopatra’s story.
— Claire Kimball, BST Resident Dramaturg
Burstein, Stanley M. The Reign of Cleopatra. University of Oklahoma Press, 2007.
Chauveau, Michel. Egypt in the Age of Cleopatra: History and Society Under the Ptolemies. Translated by David Lorton, Cornell University Press, 2000.
Hawass, Zahi A., and Franck Goddio. Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt. National Geographic Books, 2010.
MacLeod, Roy. The Library of Alexandria: Centre of Learning in the Ancient World. I. B. Tauris, 2000.
McKenzie, Judith. The Architecture of Alexandria and Egypt, C. 300 B.C. to A.D. 700. Vol 63, Yale University Press, 2007.
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra. The Norton Shakespeare. 1st ed., Edited by Stephen Greenblatt, Walter Cohen, Jean E. Howard, and Katherine Eisaman Maus, W. W. Norton, 1997.