Mark Antony's eggs were the least of Cleopatra's treasures

To this day, there are no serious scientific publications documenting the discovery of Cleopatra's eggs. If they existed, they were the most insignificant of her luxuries.

It was the last years of the Republic in Rome. The country was interested in keeping its strategic relations afloat, growing, robust. What's more: they wanted to expand their influences beyond the current Italian boot. With points of contact as far back as Egypt, the Romans orchestrated colonizing campaigns to the other side of the known world, following in the footsteps of Alexander the Great. That was how Marco Antonio arrived in Alexandria. There he met Cleopatra.

A convulsive situation near the Nile

Despite the dramatizations that have been made throughout the centuries, the romance between Mark Antony and Cleopatra can be understood as the product of a political, social and military. At the time, Rome had mercantile and economic expansion in her plans, ensuring contact with some of her most powerful trading allies. In many ways, Egypt was an obstacle.

Years before these interventions, the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt had established itself as one of the most careless with people, resources, and relations with other empires. Corrupt, inattentive and indebted, these Macedonian rulers in just a few years ended the social solidity that had been built over millennia. Perhaps the most controversial of all was Ptolemy XII, whose administration was noted for its waste, extravagance, and excesses.

The last of the queens of this dynasty was Cleopatra VII, her daughter. After the death of her father, she inherited the throne at just 18 years old. By then, she had already written medical treatises, was leading her own war fleet, was a renowned linguist among Egyptian scribes, and an active diplomat in her country's international politics. As such, the interests of other nations had their eyes on her power—and on her as well.

A Woman of Multiple Domains

Despite the precariousness that her father's disorders had created, Cleopatra was a woman of multiple domains. In her territory, she had some of the architectural marvels of the Ancient Age, ancient ruins and an incomparable wealth in naval, cultural and agricultural terms.

Originally, the woman ascended the throne as co-regent with her younger brother, Ptolemy XIII. However, historical records from her time attribute the military and political achievements of this administration primarily to her. In contrast, the assassination of several Roman representatives at the hands of the Egyptians caused the leadership in Rome to take a dim view of his administration.

For this reason, several military campaigns were organized—several of them unsuccessful—to subdue and overthrow her, so that the Romans would take possession of Egypt. One of these was led by Marco Antonio who, after several love and political disorders, was sent to conquer Alexandria. After spending years under the tutelage of Julius Caesar, this mission would accomplish what his mentor could never accomplish: conquer Egypt.

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We suggest: The pyramids of Giza are so old that Cleopatra considered them ruins

Mixed interests

Mark Antony had a deep love for Hellenism and the cultural heritage that Alexander the Great had established. The Ptolemaic dynasty was also the product of its territorial expansion campaigns, and Cleopatra carried the same foundations, which were added to the knowledge of a regime with more than 5,000 years of history. This is how the linguist Fernando Lillo Redonet describes it for National Geographic:

While the Roman general visited the confines of the Empire, Cleopatra accompanied him, showing him from the Giza necropolis to the last recesses of the Nile River. That was how, for two years, they engendered a convulsive and confused love relationship, which resembled much to the relationship that Rome had with Egypt.

When high-ranking Roman rulers found out about their love story, they distrusted the loyalty of Mark Antony who unknowingly gave generous gifts to the last Egyptian ruler. Bracelets, necklaces, jewelry. Legend has it that he even gave her some eggs encrusted with precious stones, as a sign of his unconditional love. To date, there are no historical records that support the existence of Cleopatra's golden eggs.

More about Cleopatra's domains: This was the Festival of the Valley, the celebration dedicated to the dead in Ancient Egypt

And Cleopatra's Eggs?

In complete silence, the triumvirate in Rome conspired against Mark Antony and Cleopatra. By then, the Egyptian Empire was seriously weakening, with few solid military fronts and absolute neglect on the part of its ruler, who preferred to tour his favorite cities than attend to the critical political issues that afflicted her country.

Even in this unfavorable context, the pharaoh led a comfortable life full of luxuries. Mark Antony's eggs were the least of Cleopatra's treasures, who had the Books of the Dead of all her predecessors, the largest collection of knowledge of the time in the Library of Alexandria and endless jewels at home. .

When the Romans surprised her with a secret invasion, the last ruler of Egypt would rather take her own life than witness the fall of her Empire. In the hands of the Romans, collapse was inevitable. Overwhelmed by grief and political anguish, according to the myth, Cleopatra committed suicide with the venom of an Egyptian cobra. At just 39 years of age, and along with some of her most loyal servants, she expired.

Cleopatra's eggs remained as one more of the myths that circulated around her love affair with Marco Antonio that, at first, did not show signs of a good omen. In recent film releases it is stated that a local farmer found them in 1907, confirming their existence. To date, there are no serious scientific publications documenting this event.

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