Another trip to Golden Age England here, a trip to Ancient Egypt there, and we'll finally finish this off!
Skull - Stratford-upon-Avon, 1601
Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, Macbeth -- these are only just a few of the famous characters immortalized by the greatest playwright and poet in English literature, William Shakespeare. Born over 400 years ago in 1564, Shakespeare's plays are still performed throughout the world. Shakespeare wrote during England's "Golden Age," a time when Queen Elizabeth I was generously supporting the arts. It is said that Shakespeare wrote a play just for her.
An actor as well as an author, Shakespeare is known to have written some 37 plays. Among them were histories, such as "Richard III" and "Henry V," comedies, such as "The Taming of the Shrew" and "Twelfth Night"; and tragedies, such as "Hamlet" and "Romeo and Juliet." Most of Shakespeare's plays were first performed at the open-roofed Globe Theatre where bad weather could cancel a performance. Shakespeare lived until 1616, having made a modest fortune. He was buried in the village where he was born, Stratford-upon-Avon.
Royal Staff - Alexandria, 47 B.C.
Upon their father's passing, Cleopatra and her brother were named to rule the kingdom of Egypt. However, Cleopatra's selfish brother, Ptolemy XII, didn't want to share the throne, so she banished his sister to the capital city of Alexandria. It was up to the Roman ruler, Julius Caesar, who served as Egypt's guardian, to restore Cleopatra to the throne. Thus, a second coronation was held for the queen in the year 47 B.C.
Meanwhile, Caesar fell deeply in love with Cleopatra, and she eventually bore him a son named Caesarion. However, on March 15th, 44 B.C., Julius Caesar was done away with by members of the Roman senate. One of Rome's new leaders, Marc Antony, had once been an officer in Caesar's army. Cleopatra, who had a penchant for powerful rulers, soon married Antony and bore him three sons. A Roman civil war soon followed in which Antony's forces were defeated in a great sea battle. Soon after, both Antony and Cleopatra took their own lives.
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