Cleopatra in Warandepark, Brussels

This marble bust in Warandepark in Brussels, Belgium, was sculpted by an unknown artist but is known to depict the Pharoah Cleopatra, bitton by a viper after her defeat by the Romans (the body of the snake can be seen on her revealed right breast). Cleopatra VII Philopator (69 – August 12, 30 BC), known to history simply as Cleopatra, was the last active pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt, shortly survived by her son, Caesarion as pharaoh. After her reign, Egypt became a province of the then-recently established Roman Empire. Cleopatra was a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, a family of Macedonian Greek origin that ruled Egypt after Alexander the Great's death during the Hellenistic period. The Ptolemies, throughout their dynasty, spoke Greek and refused to speak Egyptian, which is the reason that Greek as well as Egyptian languages were used on official court documents such as the Rosetta Stone. By contrast, Cleopatra did learn to speak Egyptian and represented herself as the reincarnation of an Egyptian goddess, Isis.   This object is part of Scan The World. Scan the World is a non-profit initiative introduced by MyMiniFactory, through which we are creating a digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures, artworks and landmarks from across the globe for the public to access for free. Scan the World is an open source, community effort, if you have interesting items around you and would like to contribute, email stw@myminifactory.com to find out how you can help.