Relief Carving of Cleopatra and Her Son Caesarion

This relief carving appears on the wall of a temple at Dendera in Egypt. It depicts Cleopatra VII, queen of Egypt, and her son by Julius Caesar, Caesarion (“Little Caesar”). They are shown wearing the traditional ceremonial clothing and crowns of Egyptian pharaohs, a sign of the claim of the Ptolemaic ruling family to be the legitimate rulers of Egypt despite their Macedonian ethnic origins. Both died in 30 B.C.E. when Octavian, the adopted son of Julius Caesar and soon to become Augustus and the ruler of Rome, conquered Egypt and made it a Roman province. (© Ancient Art and Architecture Collection, Ltd.)