Cleopatra by Alberto Angela

Author:Alberto Angela
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperVia
Published: 2021-02-10T00:00:00+00:00

Cleopatra Risks Shipwreck in the Mediterranean

The sky is dark and blinding lightning bolts illuminate the horizon. The helmsman’s eyes are on the waves, trying to detect from any slight changes in the sea and sky the progression of the weather. The white-hemmed crests, everywhere by now, the wind growing stronger, the black clouds approaching, menacing, and no birds flying. All signs that make one fear the worst. Many eyes are searching the horizon. Two in particular: Cleopatra’s.

The Mediterranean is a dangerous sea, sometimes more than an ocean, because it can alter within just a few hours and turn into a bloodthirsty monster. And that’s what everybody on board fears.

Cleopatra is sitting, motionless, her hands clutching at the royal throne, in the middle of the ship, beneath a baldachin with gilded, impalpable silk curtains that are now quivering in the wind, practically hysterical. The wind has been blowing even stronger for the past few minutes. The sky has turned gray over their heads. The waves send up spray that wets everyone’s face, and the sea slowly heaves up and down. It feels like being on the chest of a giant breathing deeply, like bellows. A giant about to wake up. The sea has lost its colors. It’s no longer dark or bright blue, or green. Now it’s just gray, like lead. Between the black of the sky and the gloomy gray of the sea, Cleopatra’s fleet advances, undaunted, almost in defiance. The colorful vessels have also lost their bright hues in the pale light that reminds everyone of death. Powerful and imposing, these sailing ships, which belong to one of the most feared naval powers in the entire Mediterranean, now seem extremely fragile. The sea is swelling and their sails look like small feathers between the fingers of giants. Like in a game of death, the sea rises, swells, and lifts Cleopatra’s enormous flagship high up, as though, for a moment, it were weightless. At the peak of the giant wave, the bow emerges from the billows as though about to take flight, then starts the crazy descent down the slope of this huge mountain of water. In a fraction of a second, it vanishes from the sight of the escort ships and the fleet. Cleopatra’s eyes and those of everyone aboard are staring, waiting for it to end this descent, and it does so with an explosion of creaking. The flagship shudders and shakes. Its bow dives entirely into the sea before resurfacing after long, interminable seconds, like someone gasping for breath. Meanwhile, on board, everything, including the sailors, is rolling around. Many items have flown overboard. But nobody is concerned about them. Everybody is gripping masts and stays, terrified of an imminent death.

What is Cleopatra doing in this immense, stormy sea?

We don’t know when the queen heard about the dreadful slaughter triggered by the proscription lists. She probably did not receive comprehensive accounts of it until early 42 BC, maybe even during the spring. She would have been shocked

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.