Augustus Caesar’s most lasting monument is the Ara Pacis, a monument to peace. It’s a splendid work of propaganda, and one could spend a lifetime unraveling all its hidden symbols and meanings. After having defeated Cleopatra and Mark Antony, Augustus wanted to usher in a Golden Age. He wanted to be remembered for restoring peace. What fascinates me, of course, is that one of the mysterious children depicted on the monument has been tentatively identified as Ptolemy of Mauretania–the grandson of Cleopatra VII, son of Cleopatra Selene and Juba II.

If the Hellenistic figure is actually Selene’s son, an argument can be made that the Mauretanian royal family was far more important to Augustus than historians have led us to believe. It is possible that Ptolemy’s inclusion on the monument is as a royal hostage–Augustus wasn’t shy in pointing out that he held the children of Gaul and Parthia as his ‘guests’. This figure may count as evidence that Selene’s children were raised in Rome, just as she had been, as wards of the emperor.

On the other hand, Mauretania wasn’t a conquered nation and Selene was a nominal member of the imperial family. She was the half-sister of the Antonias and a favorite of the emperor’s sister, Octavia. She’d been raised in their household. Perhaps it’s not so strange that her child should be portrayed on what is, in the end, a family monument.

Either way, Ptolemy’s inclusion on the Ara Pacis casts the importance of Mauretania, which has previously been considered a sort of minor league western frontier, in a new light. Certainly, Virgil’s insistence that Rome would expand beyond the Garamantes (a Numidian and Mauretanian tribal group) gives us a hint as to Augustus’ ambitions. Perhaps it was no accident that he put Selene and Juba II at the western border of the empire where he would need strong allies for a new campaign.

But back to the monument. What captured my attention is the swan in the so-called Tellus Panel, which cannot help but call to mind the mythology of Apollo and Cyrene, whose son became the patron god of cattle, fruit trees, hunting, husbandry. (Selene, of course, was the nominal successor to Cyrene as the queen of Cyrenaica in title if not in fact.) Then, of course, there is the similarity between the portrait of the goddess (identified variously as Tellus, Ceres, Pax and Venus) with her straight over-masculine nose, and the surviving portraits of Cleopatra Selene. But those are the kinds of eye-of-the-beholder things that an author of fiction is bound to make hay with.

If you want a little tour of the Ara Pacis monument, check out this video:

It’s a good time to be an archeologist in Egypt, especially since satellites have been helping out. This latest find might not seem important, but is directly relevant to the time period that Cleopatra Selene lived in. According to this article, the earliest ever Roman basilica has been unearthed outside Alexandria…and beneath it? One of the temples Strabo (a contemporary of Selene’s and good friend of Juba II’s) discussed in his writing. It’s always wonderful to confirm what the ancient historians wrote about and some of the relics discovered are in great condition!

This isn’t your typical promo interview. This is an NPR-style in-depth discussion of the life of Cleopatra Selene and Juba. Other than my hideous mispronunciations and my niggling fear that I wasn’t quite precise enough in some of my answers, I think it went extremely well and that even people who have read the novels will learn new things in this interview. Also, there’s a slide-show that accompanies the talk. Please let me know what you think!

Cross-posted from: Unusual Historicals Blog

Entertainment in the ancient world relied upon trained performers. Such training didn’t come cheap, so royal patronage was highly sought after by would-be entertainers. The most prestigious patronage to secure in the Augustan Age was, of course, the imperial court in Rome, but if a budding young entertainer couldn’t find a place there, other opportunities beckoned.

The king and queen were enthusiasts of plays–and one of the first things they built in their new kingdom was an outdoor theater, carved into the hillside, in Greek fashion, with stepped seats for playgoers to gather on. There, actors would bring to life the plays of Sophocles, Euripedes, and Aristophanes. Some plays that may have been performed on that stage are still popular today, including Medea, Oedipus the King, and Antigone. But new works were undoubtedly commissioned and enacted as well, for we know that one tragedian, Leonteus of Argos, was a member of the Mauretanian court.

Having a court poet was a a sign of status in the ancient world. Certainly, Augustus made the most of his stable of poets to reshape his image. The poetry written during his reign has outlasted many of the histories. The poet as chronicler was a long-standing tradition. So, while Virgil, Horace and Ovid penned verse in Rome, Cleopatra Selene and Juba II certainly had a court poet of their own, and he was almost certainly Crinagoras of Mytilene. The venerable old poet was a man of some distinction, having apparently served as an ambassador. He rubbed elbows with the highest society–he seems to have been present when Caesar indulged in his scandalous affair with Cleopatra and undoubtedly met the Queen of the Nile when she was in Rome. Perhaps this is when the Greek Epigrammatist took an interest in Cleopatra and her children, for he is best known for the verse he wrote in honor of her daughter, Cleopatra Selene. His two most famous works were written on the occasion of Cleopatra Selene’s marriage to Juba and upon her death during a lunar eclipse.

More lighthearted entertainment was to be had in Mauretania too. We know that the King also employed mimes, for one of them, a young girl named Ecloga, apparently died in Rome. (The connection between Juba II, Cleopatra Selene and the imperial family in Rome was a close one and it’s quite likely that the king and queen maintained a home there in which they entertained in high style.)

Given King Juba’s lineage as a Numidian and his alleged horsemanship, it’s likely that chariot races were a common type of entertainment in Mauretania. However, instead of a circus, we find amongst the ruins of the Mauretanian capital city of Iol-Caesaria, an amphitheatre. Though gladiator games in which the fighters battled to the death were unknown in Cleopatra Selene’s native Egypt, Mauretania was filled with Roman veterans who expected such entertainment as their due. Consequently, the amphitheatre would have been a hot spot for the subjects of Cleopatra Selene and Juba II to gather for bloody entertainment.

One last form of entertainment in Mauretania is worth mentioning. In North Africa, then, as now, snake charmers mesmerized and entertained passersby with cobras who would lift up from their baskets to dance for their owners. Given that Cleopatra Selene’s mother was said to have committed suicide by surrendering to the bite of one of these vipers, one has to wonder how much Selene enjoyed such displays!

Stephanie Dray’s debut historical fiction novel, LILY OF THE NILE , was just release by Berkley Books. The sequel is expected to release at the end of 2011. Both novels are set in the Augustan Age and feature Cleopatra’s daughter.

Many thanks to the Ancient World Mapping Center for giving me permission to post this map in anticipation of the release of Song of the Nile, my forthcoming novel about Cleopatra’s daughter. I’m delighted to be able to share it with readers.

Courtsey of the Ancient World Mapping Center (www.unc.edu/awmc)