Cleopatra’s Sister on Trial in Rome
A chained young queen walked through a jeering Roman crowd—her crime: being Cleopatra’s sister.
Salvator Rosa — "The Dream of Aeneas" (1660–65), public domain
The queen in chains.
After Julius Caesar took Alexandria, Cleopatra’s younger sister Arsinoe was captured and dragged to Rome for a Triumph—the ultimate humiliation. She walked behind Caesar’s chariot, watched by thousands, as people screamed insults.
A life bought by outrage.
Romans pitied the young queen. Instead of execution, the crowd demanded mercy. Arsinoe was exiled to a temple in Ephesus. For a moment, she was safe.
Nowhere to hide from family.
Years later, Cleopatra sent assassins to Ephesus. Arsinoe was murdered on sacred ground, a warning: no one escapes the reach of Egyptian royalty—not even a sister.
Arsinoe, Cleopatra's rival, survived being paraded through Rome in chains—only to face her sister again, years later, with deadly consequences.
