2. Cleopatra, the Queen of Egypt, is introduced as a powerful member of the Ptolemaic dynasty who turned Egypt into a Mediterranean "gold mine". She meets Antony at Tarsus in 41 BC with a spectacular, perfumed barge presentation that immediately wows him. Strauss portrays her as a tough political player who survived dynastic murders to secure her throne. She claims her son, Caesarion, is Julius Caesar’s child, a significant political asset. By providing Antony with her massive treasury, she bankrolls his ambitions while demonstrating Alexandria’s cultural and scientific superiority over Rome. (2)