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Although Cleopatra is best known for her reported beauty, her influence went well beyond her outward appearance in Egyptian and Roman society. Cleopatra was a bright woman and used her beauty as a mechanism to profoundly affect those around her without arousing too much suspicion. In a time when it was uncommon and unpopular to have a woman in a position of such power, Cleopatra used her cunning to manipulate situations to her favor so that she could keep her power. In the pursuit of constructing a historical analysis of the perceptions of Cleopatra, this research addresses the ways in which Cleopatra has been portrayed and then provides a clear compare and contrast of that with how she actually lived and conducted herself. This study utilized a historical design, and ultimately textual analysis, to answer the research question. To facilitate the research on the topic of the political influences of Cleopatra, it is necessary to find and analyze both primary and secondary sources. Sources of this type are imperative in historical research in order to triangulate information. Primary sources for this topic consist of writings authored by individuals who were familiar with Cleopatra and her actions as a ruler. These primary sources ended up being primarily from Roman authors as they were more prolific writers than people from other areas. Secondary sources were also utilized in order to incorporate other scholar's writings and conclusions about Cleopatra and the people around her. These documents help to elucidate findings from researchers of Cleopatra and provide insight into her relationships and interactions with others. Amassing and analyzing these two types of sources together ultimately helped form a clearer picture of what evidence exists about Cleopatra and her life. This research is not yet completed, however, based on what information has been gathered so far, the expected outcome is the conclusion that Cleopatra was definitely not exactly what people in her time or currently have perceived her to be. Cleopatra, like any historical figure, is not two-dimensional; she is quite complex, in fact. From what has been gathered thus far, it has been easy to see that individuals who wrote about her around her lifetime had some interesting variations in what they believed to be true about her. From analyzing many of the similarities and differences that exist in these writings, it seems to be logical to expect that the Cleopatra was not all that her contemporaries have made her out to be and, in fact, was a bit more clever than any of them wished to give her credit for. It also initially appears that Cleopatra’s role in the events that transpired with the men in her life was not just a passive one but a very active, influential one.

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Text in Afrikaans / Die politieke struktuur van antieke Egipte en ons eie politieke geskiedenis het meegebring dat aspekte rakende die vrou, vir baie jare oor die hoof gesien was, veral in die literatuur. Met antieke Egipte, waar mans hoofsaaklik verantwoordelik vir die samestelling van geskrewe materiaal was, en in Suid-Afrika waar daar in navorsing meer op onderwerpe wat mans interesseer gefokus was, het daar soveel vrae rakende die vrou onbeantwoord gebly. Die mans kon nie, het nie of wou nie, verslag doen oor wat gedurende swangerskap en baring gebeur het nie. Met behulp van ‘n uitgebreide literatuurstudie (wat bronne uit die geskiedenis, argeologie, antropologie, medisyne, wetenskap, ikonografie, kunste, argitektuur, taalkunde, astronomie, sielkunde, mitologie, tuinbou ensovoorts ingesluit het) is ontdek dat daar, in antieke Egiptiese geskrifte en uitbeeldings, baie oor swangerskap en baring gekommunikeer is. Die inligting is net nie altyd in die konteks of plekke waar ‘n mens dit sou verwag nie. Manlike skrywers het argeologiese inligting vanuit hulle manlike verwysingsraamwerk geïnterpreteer. Die meerderheid inligting oor swangerskap en baring in antieke Egipte, is dus in die verlede òf oor die hoof gesien, òf dit is vanuit ‘n manlike perspektief geïnterpreteer. Belangrike betekenisse het so verlore geraak. Hierdie studie is onderneem om lig op swangerskap en baring in antieke Egipte te werp. ‘n Grondige kennis van die vroulike fisiologie en -denkpatrone is met ‘n uitgebreide studie van die gebruike, tradisies en gelowe van antieke Egipte gekombineer om die bestaande poel van kennis op te helder. / Due to the political structure of ancient Egypt, as well as in our own political history, female matters have been overlooked for many years, especially in literature. With ancient Egypt, where mainly men were responsible for written material, and in South Africa where research, in the past, focused mainly on topics of interest to men, many questions regarding women remained unanswered. Men could not, did not, or didn’t want to report on what happens during pregnancy and birth. The research of extensive literature sources (including historical, archaeological, anthropological, medical, scientific, iconographical, art, architectural, linguistic, astronomical, physiological, mythological, horticultural and other sources) indicates that the ancient Egyptian writings and depictions contained information about pregnancy and birth. In the past most information about pregnancy and birth in ancient Egypt was either overlooked or interpreted from a male perspective. Thus important meanings and interpretations got lost. The aim of this study is to shed light on pregnancy and birth in ancient Egypt. A current thorough knowledge of female physiology and thought patterns was combined with an extensive study of practices, traditions and beliefs in ancient Egypt to elucidate the existing pool of knowledge. / Biblical Archaeology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Biblical Archaeology)

Text in Afrikaans / Die politieke struktuur van antieke Egipte en ons eie politieke geskiedenis het meegebring dat aspekte rakende die vrou, vir baie jare oor die hoof gesien was, veral in die literatuur. Met antieke Egipte, waar mans hoofsaaklik verantwoordelik vir die samestelling van geskrewe materiaal was, en in Suid-Afrika waar daar in navorsing meer op onderwerpe wat mans interesseer gefokus was, het daar soveel vrae rakende die vrou onbeantwoord gebly. Die mans kon nie, het nie of wou nie, verslag doen oor wat gedurende swangerskap en baring gebeur het nie. Met behulp van ‘n uitgebreide literatuurstudie (wat bronne uit die geskiedenis, argeologie, antropologie, medisyne, wetenskap, ikonografie, kunste, argitektuur, taalkunde, astronomie, sielkunde, mitologie, tuinbou ensovoorts ingesluit het) is ontdek dat daar, in antieke Egiptiese geskrifte en uitbeeldings, baie oor swangerskap en baring gekommunikeer is. Die inligting is net nie altyd in die konteks of plekke waar ‘n mens dit sou verwag nie. Manlike skrywers het argeologiese inligting vanuit hulle manlike verwysingsraamwerk geïnterpreteer. Die meerderheid inligting oor swangerskap en baring in antieke Egipte, is dus in die verlede òf oor die hoof gesien, òf dit is vanuit ‘n manlike perspektief geïnterpreteer. Belangrike betekenisse het so verlore geraak. Hierdie studie is onderneem om lig op swangerskap en baring in antieke Egipte te werp. ‘n Grondige kennis van die vroulike fisiologie en -denkpatrone is met ‘n uitgebreide studie van die gebruike, tradisies en gelowe van antieke Egipte gekombineer om die bestaande poel van kennis op te helder. / Due to the political structure of ancient Egypt, as well as in our own political history, female matters have been overlooked for many years, especially in literature. With ancient Egypt, where mainly men were responsible for written material, and in South Africa where research, in the past, focused mainly on topics of interest to men, many questions regarding women remained unanswered. Men could not, did not, or didn’t want to report on what happens during pregnancy and birth. The research of extensive literature sources (including historical, archaeological, anthropological, medical, scientific, iconographical, art, architectural, linguistic, astronomical, physiological, mythological, horticultural and other sources) indicates that the ancient Egyptian writings and depictions contained information about pregnancy and birth. In the past most information about pregnancy and birth in ancient Egypt was either overlooked or interpreted from a male perspective. Thus important meanings and interpretations got lost. The aim of this study is to shed light on pregnancy and birth in ancient Egypt. A current thorough knowledge of female physiology and thought patterns was combined with an extensive study of practices, traditions and beliefs in ancient Egypt to elucidate the existing pool of knowledge. / Biblical Archaeology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Biblical Archaeology)

Animals were given a preponderant position in Egyptian art, symbolism, and cultual practices. This thesis centres on the relationship between humans and animals during the predynastic period in Upper Egypt (Naqada I-IIIB, 4th millennium BCE), focusing on hippopotamus and crocodile as representatives of the Nile environment and antelope species as representatives of the desert environment. Depictions of these animals are analysed and compared with contemporary faunal remains derived from activities such as cult, funerary, or every day consumption. The material analysed covers several centuries: temporal evolutions and changes have been identified. The animals studied in this thesis were first used by the Naqada I-IIB elites as means to visually and practically express their power, which they envisioned in two contrasting and complementary ways. The responsibilities of the leaders were symbolised by the annihilation of negative wild forces primarily embodied by antelope species. In contrast, they symbolically appropriated positive wild forces, chief among them being the hippopotamus, from which they symbolically derived their power. Faunal remains from after mid-Naqada II are few, depictions of hippopotamus disappeared and those of crocodile became rare. Antelope species became preponderant, especially on D-ware vessels, which were accessible to non-elite people. However, toward the end of the predynastic period, antelope species came to be depicted almost exclusively on high elite material; they lost their individuality and became generic representatives of chaotic forces that the leaders and early rulers had to annihilate in order to maintain control and order.

This work is focused on the conceptions involving the disorder and chaos in the re- ligion of the ancient Egypt. The basic ground was Jiří Janák's text Chaos a ne-řád ve starám Egyptě (Chaos and Disorder in Ancient Egypt), that was published in colle- ction Řád a chaos v archaických kulturách. This text presented the foundation, that could be evolved further through studying of another author's attitudes (for example J. Assmann, E. Hornung, H. Smith, H. Te Velde) and reflection of ancient writings (Pyramid Texts, Book of Dead, Amduat, Book of Gates etc.). A larger scope was gi- ven to the question of preexistence of chaos, its manifestations and interferences in the created cosmos. Further, I dealt with the problem of origin of order (maat) en- dangering forces - origin of Apophis and disorder (isfet) and impact of this forces on the life and afterlife of an individual. Outside the created world, there is the primeval ocean. It was personified by the god Nun. It is inactive, but, in spite of it, it can be a threat for the universe - every- thing could be destructed in its waters. Primeval ocean can be compared with the conception of chaos in sense of the original state of the universe. But it is also the place of the origin of the creator god. Within the world of creation there was established the...

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