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Primary sourceSculpturec. 40s-30s BC

Relief of Cleopatra VII and Caesarion at Dendera

Commissioned by Cleopatra VII · c. 40s-30s BC

A carved temple relief in Egypt showing Cleopatra VII presenting her son Caesarion, whose father was Julius Caesar, as pharaoh.

This relief depicts Caesarion, Caesar's son with Cleopatra, showing the Egyptian dimension of his legacy.

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Black-and-white photograph of a carved stone relief on a temple wall at Dendera, Egypt. A standing female figure wearing a headdress with a disk and horns offers an object to a male figure wearing a crown and tall headdress. Hieroglyphic inscriptions fill the surrounding wall.
Relief of Cleopatra VII and Caesarion, Temple of Hathor, Dendera, c. 40s-30s BC. Photograph by Félix Teynard.

About this source

What it is

This stone relief is carved on a wall of the Dendera Temple complex in Egypt. It was commissioned by Cleopatra VII and shows her with her son Caesarion, whose father was Julius Caesar, presented in pharaonic style with Egyptian royal symbols and surrounded by hieroglyphic inscriptions. The photograph here is an old black-and-white print of the relief, not the relief itself.

Why it matters

The relief shows how Cleopatra used Egyptian religious imagery to present her son by Caesar as a legitimate ruler of Egypt. It reflects the political alliance and personal relationship between Cleopatra and Caesar, and how their connection shaped Egyptian-Roman politics after Caesar's death.

Look closer

  • What symbols of Egyptian kingship can you identify in the figures' clothing and headdresses?
  • Why might Cleopatra have wanted her son shown in this traditional pharaonic way?
  • What does this relief suggest about how Cleopatra wanted her power to be seen by Egyptians?

This sculpture is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Julius Caesar on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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