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Description

This is my portrait of the Ptolemaic Egyptian princess Arsinoe IV (b. 68-63 BC), who was the youngest daughter of Ptolemy XII and a sister to Cleopatra VII (the famous Cleopatra). After their father’s death, a secession dispute broke out between Arsinoe, Cleopatra, and their brother Ptolemy XIII, with the Roman statesman Julius Caesar entering the conflict as he became Cleopatra’s lover. After the conflict turned bloody and then ended with Cleopatra gaining the Ptolemaic throne, Arsinoe found sanctuary at the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus (located in what is now Turkey), only for her big sister and Mark Antony to have her executed. Ancient power politics could often be cutthroat like that!

Description

This is my portrait of the Ptolemaic Egyptian princess Arsinoe IV (b. 68-63 BC), who was the youngest daughter of Ptolemy XII and a sister to Cleopatra VII (the famous Cleopatra). After their father’s death, a secession dispute broke out between Arsinoe, Cleopatra, and their brother Ptolemy XIII, with the Roman statesman Julius Caesar entering the conflict as he became Cleopatra’s lover. After the conflict turned bloody and then ended with Cleopatra gaining the Ptolemaic throne, Arsinoe found sanctuary at the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus (located in what is now Turkey), only for her big sister and Mark Antony to have her executed. Ancient power politics could often be cutthroat like that!