Submitted by Tower of Babel: So maybe Mark Antony loved Cleopatra for her mind. That's the conclusion being drawn by academics at Britain's University of Newcastle from a Roman denarius coin that depicts the celebrated queen of Egypt as a sharp-nosed, thin-lipped woman with a protruding chin. In short, a fair match for the hook-nosed, thick-necked Mark Antony on the other side of the coin, which went on public display Wednesday at the university's Shefton Museum. "The image on the coin is far from being that of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton," said Lindsay Allason-Jones, director of archaeological museums at the university, recalling the 1963 film "Cleopatra," which ignited the tempestuous romance between the two stars. The notion that Cleopatra was not in Taylor's league was hailed as a revelation in British newspapers on Valentine's Day, though the image is hardly a discovery. Replicas of the denarius can be found on eBay, and images on other ancient coins are no more flattering.

Cleopatra's legend has grown over the centuries. Plutarch, in the "Life of Antony" written a century after the great romance, said of Cleopatra: "her actual beauty, it is said, was not in itself so remarkable that none could be compared with her."

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Beauty is at the eye of the beholder, not according to Hollywood's standards. Geez.

Maybe I'm a little behind on Cleopatra, but don't they have actual period busts of her? I mean granted, even they may not be accurate. I have read about the death masks of some mummies being made to purposely portray them as a little more attractive than they actually were. Also, do they or do they not have her mummy? I was just thinking with all of the high tech imaging technology and forensics experts, couldn't they just do a virtual image of her or even do a clay bust of her like they do for unidentified bodies?

Scratch that last comment. I think I am thinking of Nefertiti........

This is quite interesting.
Most of the time, well known people (nobility etc.) were portrayed as beautiful even if they weren't.
The artists were under a lot of pressure, specifically death or ridicule, to portray leaders and their families in a good light.
This could backfire on occasion. Artist's were often commissioned to travel to other countries to paint portraits of potential
brides for Kings and Princes.
If the prospective bride wasn't quite as beautiful as hoped, the artist would often "paint them up" in the portrait due to pressure from the woman's family. Unfortunately, if the King or Prince was taken by the beauty that the portrait presented and decided to go through with the marriage, the artist would be in hot water.
In a way, it's similar to plastic surgery.

Also, I'm not sure if this matters, but wasn't Cleopatra from a long line of inbreeding?

Whatever. Ugly is ugly.

Okay, so her face was ugly. Maybe she had a killer bod. (That's my sexist comment for the day).

Just remember: Beauty is skin deep, but ugly is to the bone.

Who cares about physical beauty...she had something infinately more seductive. Power.

I say no way.
Give me Carmen Electra(beauty) over Hillary Clinton(yuck, but has power) any day. Sorry , but I am a sucker for beautiful woman.

I think the common historians belief is that Cleopatra's beauty was in her power, not her physical person. There are a number of coins minted during her time and by today's standards, she wouldn't have been considered any great beauty:

Cleopatra Coinage

Inbreeding was certainly something that was done during her time. Cleopatra Ptolemy was married to her brother 8 years her junior. However, it's speculated that this was likely a marriage of state and not a sexual relationship.

Of course, coinage may not tell the whole story. Typically speaking, women co-rulers were still suppose to be subordinate to their male co-rulers. The fact that much of her coinage depicts her "ugly" and in fact quite masculine might be a red herring... she and her officers may have approved mints that made her look masculine on purpose. Think about it, beautiful, seductive women are thought of typically as incompetent, lustful and feather heads... can't have the people of Egypt and Rome thinking Cleo was anything other than efficient and brilliant--therefore manly. Good Classic marketing maybe :-)

I've read that her beauty was in her intelligence and charm. She was the ultimate socialite-- could entertain anyone-- and could keep her brilliant politician side under wraps.

It probably also bears mentioning that many numisists (coin historians) also think that the "monyers" or people who created dies for coins during the 12 Caesars era may have had some influence over what the busts on the coins looked like. Cleopatra wasn't exactly well loved in Rome by certain folks... her imagery could have been skewed by that as well. Interesting enough, the first bust coins in Rome were minted by Julius Caesar with his own image, in other words... the real him, not a likeness of him as a "god".

I collect Roman coins from this era, I'd love to have a Julius Caesar or Marc Antony coin, but alas, they're rare and expensive.

Something always told me that she wasn't a dazzling beauty. I was interested in her a while back and read some articles.

Excellent point MissM! I was pondering the masculine depiction of her on the coin in comparison to other images of her. She was also known as a great seductress. I think your theory may be correct.

I say that girl in Uhmanduh's little pic is Hot!!
Anyone agree?

[color="#FFC0CB"][/color]You have to know that we are in different times maybe how Cleopatra looked was the ultimate beauty back then who knows maybe it's cause of her power that people labeled her as gorgeous again who knows..[font="Times New Roman"][/font]

but again the fascination with her could be personality but beuaty being in the yee of the beholder can hold true. For many they find their partner whom they love beautiful even though others may not. Indeed the very ideal of beauty changes. Look at old paintings depicting beauty including a whole lot of curves and even cellulite painted in. For a time socially the twiggy image was considered beautiful, and some find it so but others do not.

In the end her real looks are irrelevant what she had, wether it came from body or mind, was and is charisma.