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Jacquelyn Williamson

is an Egyptologist, with a special focus on gender and religious power. Her book, Nefertiti’s Sun Temple: A New Cult Complex at Tell el-Amarna, part of Brill’s Harvard Egyptology Series, was published in September 2016. She is involved in the ongoing investigation of Kom el-Nana at Tell el-Amarna in Egypt, the site of a sun temple associated with Queen Nefertiti, which is the subject of her first book. She has been a member of several archaeological missions in Egypt and has worked in many museums including the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and the Harvard Semitic Museum, and has held teaching and research positions at UC Berkeley, Harvard University, and Brandeis University. Dr. Williamson teaches classes on the art and archaeology of the Ancient Mediterranean World.
Cleopatra and Fake News: How ancient Roman political needs created a mythic temptress
Vivien Leigh as Cleopatra
Shakespeare and Beyond

Cleopatra and Fake News: How ancient Roman political needs created a mythic temptress

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Jacquelyn Williamson

The Roman distaste of powerful women, their misunderstanding of the Egyptian way of life, and Octavian’s political need to consolidate his rise to dictator created our image of Cleopatra today.