Stacy Schiff: "Cleopatra"
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2010-11-09/stacy-schiff-cleopatra
Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile, died 2000 years ago, but in popular imagination she looms large. Her modern image as a wily seductress who wielded extraordinary power has been largely created by stage and screen, but Pulitzer prize winning writer Stacy Schiff sought to separate the facts from the many fictions of her life. In a new biography she details Cleopatra’s political shrewdness, her staggering wealth and influence, and the outsize role of her enemies in shaping her legacy. Stacy Schiff joins us in the studio to talk about one of the most interesting but maligned women in history.
Guests
Stacy Schiff
author of "Vera," winner of the Pulitzer Prize; "Saint-Exupery," a Pulitzer Prize finalist and "A great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America," winner of the George Washington Book Prize.
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Mary of Magdala was subjected to similar defamation: Until recently and beginning sometime after the third century, her name and title were synonymous with prostitution, "fallen women" and street walkers. In reality, Mary, it is now thought, was probably a wealthy widow from Magdala, a small village in Judea, likely the First Disciple of Jesus of Nazareth and the foremost. Additionally, she may have provided the monetary resources for Jesus, the Twelve Apostles and their activities. Also, many scholars consider it probable that she and Jesus were husband and wife.
As Phyllis Chesler observes in her book WOMEN AND MADNESS, most capable, outstanding women who seek and/or attain power and influence are subjected to similar defamation, especially if they are attractive. Dr. Chesler speaks of this as "the crime and punishment of competent women." They can be viciously attacked, not only by men but also by other women because they do not conform to "traditional" and accepted roles for women. Consider the vehemence of recent attacks on Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton.
[As an observation, it looks as though there is a scar similar to those produced by a lumpectomy in the left breast of Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra. Flaw in the picture reproduction or reality?]
Mary of Magdala was subjected to similar defamation: Until recently and beginning sometime after the third century, her name and title were synonymous with prostitution, "fallen women" and street walkers. In reality, Mary, it is now thought, was probably a wealthy widow from Magdala, a small village in Judea, likely the First Disciple of Jesus of Nazareth and the foremost. Additionally, she may have provided the monetary resources for Jesus, the Twelve Apostles and their activities. Also, many scholars consider it probable that she and Jesus were husband and wife.
As Phyllis Chesler observes in her book WOMEN AND MADNESS, most capable, outstanding women who seek and/or attain power and influence are subjected to similar defamation, especially if they are attractive. Dr. Chesler speaks of this as "the crime and punishment of competent women." They can be viciously attacked, not only by men but also by other women because they do not conform to "traditional" and accepted roles for women. Consider the vehemence of recent attacks on Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton.
[As an observation, it looks as though there is a scar similar to those produced by a lumpectomy in the left breast of Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra. Flaw in the picture reproduction or reality?]
November 21, 2010 - 3:20 pm
I would LOVE to talk history with Stacy Schiff! She sounds like she gets excited for the exact same reasons that I get excited about history :) Great interview! Fascinating subject :)