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This handout from the University of Newcastle (UN) shows the two sides of a silver coin depicting Mark Antony (L) and Cleopatra. (AFP Photo)
Photo Gallery>>> | BEIJING, Feb. 15 (Xinhuanet) -- A 2,000-year-old
coin issued by the mint of Mark Antony reveals his lover, Egyptian Queen
Cleopatra had a shallow forehead, pointed chin, thin lips and a sharp nose.
An
image that brings to mind the Wicked Witch of the West in the movie "The Wizard
of Oz," not Elizabeth Taylor's sultry, sexy, sensuous Cleopatra in the
ultra-extravagant 1963 film of the same name. History has depicted Cleopatra as
a great beauty, befitting a woman who as Queen of Egypt seduced Julius Caesar,
and then his rival Mark Antony.
The flip side of the coin shows the image of Antony:
bulging eyes, hook nose and a thick neck. Not exactly a Richard Burton
look-alike in his heroic, love-struck portrayal of half of one of history's most
romantic couples.
It appears Antony and Cleopatra were not the great
beauties Hollywood has led us to believe, according to British academics. The
coin, which goes on show on Wednesday at Newcastle University for Valentine's
Day, after years lying in a bank, is much less flattering about both famous
faces.
The 32 B.C. artifact was in a collection belonging to
the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne, which is being researched in
preparation for the opening of the new Great North Museum.
"The image on the coin is far from being that of
Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton," said Lindsay Allason-Jones, director of
the university's archaeological museums. "Roman writers tell us that Cleopatra
was intelligent and charismatic, and that she had a seductive voice but,
tellingly, they do not mention her beauty.
"The image of Cleopatra as a beautiful seductress is
a more recent image," she added.
On the side of the silver denarius coin bearing the
image of Antony is the caption "Antoni Armenia devicta" meaning "For Antony,
Armenia having been vanquished."
The caption on the reverse side reads "Cleopatra
Reginae regum filiorumque regum," meaning "For Cleopatra, queen of kings and of
the children of kings," or possibly "Queen of kings and of her children who are
kings."
Experts say the coin, on display in Newcastle
University's Shefton Museum, is not particularly rare but is very collectable.
The collection has been owned by the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon
Tyne since the 1920s.
(Agencies)
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