I'm Peter Frankerpern and in our podcast Legacy we explore the lives of some of the biggest characters in history.

This season we're exploring the life of Cleopatra.

An iconic life full of romances, seages and tragedy. But who was the real Cleopatra? It feels like her story's been told by others with their own agenda for centuries.

But her legacy is enduring,

and so we're going to dive into how her story has evolved

all the way up to today.

I am so excited to talk about Cleopatra Peter.

She is an icon.

She's the most famous woman in antiquity.

It's got to be up there with the most famous women of all time.

But I think there's a huge gap between how familiar people are with the idea of her

compared to what they actually know about her life and character. So for Pyramids,

Cleopatra and Cleopatra's nose. Follow legacy now wherever you get your podcasts. Or you can

binge entire seasons early and ad-free on Wonder E Plus. If you think that the female spy is a 20th century phenomenon, be it

Matahari, Mrs. Zigzag or Eve Palastry, think again.

Accounts of numerous 17th century she intelligences

have lain undiscovered in archives for centuries,

and these remarkable women were much more than the honey trap

accomplices of a Stuart era George Smiley. Take Susan Hyde for example,

sister of the Earl of Claringdon who met a sorry end in Lambeth prison.

A very melancholy account of a cruel usage of one Mrs Hyde,

a relation of the chancellors who had been seized upon suspicion of illicit

...