Cleopatra's Translational Power

Abstract

When Plutarch introduces Cleopatra in the Life of Antony, he notes that though she was not beautiful, she charmed those around her with her ability to speak an abundance of languages. In this passage, he associates the word hermeneus, «translator», with Cleopatra. Analyzing all appearances of hermeneus in Plutarch’s corpus reveals how, on the surface, Cleopatra’s association with the translator figure reinforces her reputation as a femme fatale, though this association gestures to a three-dimensional character who resists the two-dimensional bounds of extant written accounts—including Plutarch’s own.