Cleopatra’s Heritage — Whether Black, Greek, or Both — Has Never Been Proven
Modern-day Egyptian archeologists claim that Cleopatra was of solely Macedonian Greek descent, whereas other historians argue that she was part Egyptian, making her of African descent as well. But according to Professor Haley, no one really knows for sure.
“We don’t know her exact racial heritage. We don’t know who Cleopatra’s mother was. There’s been a lot of research to prove that her mother was Egyptian, but we can’t know for sure,” Professor Haley says in Queen Cleopatra.
“If you look at her depictions, she looks different depending on who it is that’s depicting her,” Debora Heard, a Ph.D. candidate in anthropology specializing in Nubian archaeology & Egyptian studies, says in the docuseries.
We can’t test her DNA because her remains have never been found, despite being sought after for centuries. The docuseries posits the possibility that she and Mark Antony’s remains were cremated, as was ancient Roman tradition, after they lost a war to Octavian.
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