托福阅读：埃及艳后传记

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　　After Caesar's assassination in 44 BC, she aligned with Mark Antony in opposition to Caesar's legal heir, Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (later known as Augustus). With Antony, she bore the twins Cleopatra Selene II and Alexander Helios, and another son, Ptolemy Philadelphus (her unions with her brothers had produced no children). After losing the Battle of Actium to Octavian's forces, Antony committed suicide. Cleopatra followed suit. According to tradition, she killed herself by means of an asp bite on August 12, 30 BC. She was outlived by Caesarion, who was declared pharaoh by his supporters, but soon killed on Octavian's orders. Egypt then became the Roman province of Aegyptus.

　　在凯撒于公元前44年被谋杀之后，埃及艳后克里奥帕特拉与马克·安东尼(Mark Antony)联合起来对抗凯撒的法定继承人——盖乌斯·尤利乌斯·凯撒·屋大维(Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus，他后来被称作奥古斯都，Augustus)。她与安东尼诞下了三个孩子：双胞胎姐弟—克里奥帕特拉·赛勒涅二世(Cleopatra Selene II )和亚历山大·赫利俄斯(Alexander Helios)，以及幼子托勒密·菲拉德尔福斯(Ptolemy Philadelphus)。在此之前，克里奥帕特拉与她的兄弟们的结合并没有留下子嗣。在亚克兴战役(Battle of Actium)中败给屋大维之后，安东尼选择了自杀，克里奥帕特拉也如此效仿。根据传统的记载，埃及艳后在公元前30年八月十二日引毒蛇将自己咬死。在她死后，其子凯撒里昂(Caesarion)被支持者拥戴为法老，但他也很快被屋大维下令处死。从此，埃及变为了罗马的埃及行省(拉丁文写作Aegyptus)。

　　R

　　elationship with Julius Caesar

　　Eager to take advantage of Julius Caesar's anger toward Ptolemy, Cleopatra had herself secretly smuggled into his palace to meet with Caesar. Plutarch, in his Life of Julius Caesar gives a vivid description of how she entered past Ptolemy’s guards rolled up in a carpet that Apollodorus the Sicilian was carrying. She became Caesar’s mistress and nine months after their first meeting, in 47 BC, Cleopatra gave birth to their son, Ptolemy Caesar, nicknamed Caesarion, which means "little Caesar."

　　埃及艳后克里奥帕特拉想要利用凯撒对托勒密的愤怒，便设法秘密潜入凯撒的住处与他见面。普鲁塔克(Plutarch，罗马帝国时期的希腊历史学家)在他的凯撒传记中生动地描述了这一过程：她将自己裹在毯子里，由西西里的阿波罗多鲁斯(Apollodorus the Sicilian)扛进凯撒的住处，以此躲过托勒密的卫兵的眼睛。她成为了凯撒的情妇，并且在两人第一次见面的九个月之后，公元前47年，产下了他们的儿子—托勒密·凯撒(Ptolemy Caesar,)。他绰号凯撒里昂，意思是”小凯撒“。

　　At this point, Caesar abandoned his plans to annex Egypt, instead backing Cleopatra's claim to the throne. After Mithridates raised the siege of Alexandria, Caesar defeated Ptolemy's army at the Battle of the Nile; Ptolemy XIII drowned in the Nile and Caesar restored Cleopatra to her throne, with another younger brother Ptolemy XIV as her new co-ruler. When Caesar left Egypt he stationed a Roman occupying army of three legions there under the command of Rufio.

　　凯撒放弃了兼并埃及的计划，转而支持克里奥帕特拉取得王位。在米特里达梯(Mithridates)开始围攻亚历山大之后，凯撒在尼罗河战役中击败了托勒密的军队。托勒密十三世溺死在尼罗河中，而凯撒帮助克里奥帕特拉重夺王位，并且立她的另一个弟弟托勒密十四世(Ptolemy XIV)为她的新共治者。凯撒离开埃及时留下了一支三个军团组成的罗马军队，交给鲁菲奥(Rufio)指挥。

　　Although Cleopatra was 21 years old when they met and Caesar was 52, they became lovers during Caesar’s stay in Egypt between 48 BC and 47 BC. Cleopatra claimed Caesar was the father of her son and wished him to name the boy his heir, but Caesar refused, choosing his grandnephew Octavian instead.

　　凯撒于公元前48年和47年在埃及逗留期间，尽管克里奥帕特拉当时仅有21岁而凯撒已经有52岁，他们还是成为了恋人。克里奥帕特拉声称凯撒是他儿子的生父，并且希望凯撒指定他们的孩子作为继承人。然而凯撒拒绝了她的要求，并将自己的甥孙屋大维(Octavian)立为继承人。

　　Cleopatra, Ptolemy XIV and Caesarion visited Rome in the summer of 46 BC. The Egyptian queen resided in one of Caesar's country houses, which included the Horti Caesaris just outside Rome (as a foreign head of state she was not allowed inside Rome's pomerium). The relationship between Cleopatra and Caesar was obvious to the Roman people and caused a scandal because the Roman dictator was already married to Calpurnia Pisonis. But Caesar even erected a golden statue of Cleopatra represented as Isisin the temple of Venus Genetrix (the mythical ancestress of Caesar's family), which was situated at the Forum Julium. The Roman orator Cicero said in his preserved letters that he hated the foreign queen. Cleopatra and her entourage were still in Rome when Caesar was assassinated on 15 March 44 BC., returning with her relatives to Egypt. When Ptolemy XIV died – allegedly poisoned by his older sister – Cleopatra made Caesarion her co-regent and successor and gave him the epithets Theos Philopator Philometor (= Father- and mother-loving God).

　　克里奥帕特拉、托勒密十四世和凯撒里昂于公元前46年夏天访问了罗马。埃及艳后下他在凯撒在乡下的庄园中，包括罗马近郊的凯撒庄园(拉丁文Horti Caesaris。作为外国元首，克里奥帕特拉不可以进入罗马的城市边界，拉丁文pomerium)。凯撒和克里奥帕特拉之间的关系，对于罗马人民来说是显而易见的事情。这成了一桩丑闻，因为罗马独裁者已经和卡普尼亚·皮索尼斯。凯撒甚至在位于尤利乌斯广场(Forum Julium)专门供奉自己的家族神话祖先母亲维纳斯(Venus Genetrix)的神庙中立起了一座克里奥帕特拉的黄金塑像。罗马著名演说家西塞罗(Cicero)甚至在自己的私人信件中直接表达了他对这位外国女王的怨恨。凯撒在公元前44年三月十五日被刺杀时，克里奥帕特拉和克里奥帕特拉和她的随行人员正准备从罗马返回埃及。在托勒密十四世死后(他有可能正是被自己的姐姐克里奥帕特拉毒杀的)，她将凯撒里昂立为自己的共治者和继承人，并赐予他爱父亲爱母亲的神这个称号(希腊语是Theos Philopator Philometor)。

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