Immortal Sex and Beauty Icon Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile, Took Her Own Life by Applying a Venomous Snake to Her Breast on This Date, 2,038 Years Ago.
Her rule of ancient Egypt is legendary.
She provided a signature role for screen vamps Theda Bara and Elizabeth Taylor.
She has served as the subject of numerous highbrow and lowbrow films alike.
And she laid down some of the most crucial cornerstones of goth-girl culture.
For those reasons, among others, Cleopatra lives on as one of humanity's -- and, especially, Hollywood's -- truly timeless glamor goddesses.
Her full name was Cleopatra VII Philopator, she was of Greek descent, and after sharing power with her father, she ascended to the highest throne of Egypt, bearing the title Pharaoh.
A love affair with Julius Caesar ended with the Roman emperor's assassination, after which Cleopatra famously took up with Mark Antony, with whom she had three of her four children.
When Rome's Octavian defeated Antony and Cleopatra's forces, the Queen took a singularly dramatic way out, letting a poisonous asp sink its fangs into her one of her most tender of vittles.
Cleopatra's story has endured through the centuries, as has recognition of her nearly superhuman beauty.
During her reign, Egyptians even believed Cleopatra to be the earthly incarnation of the goddess Isis.
Philosopher Blaise Pascal went so far as to contend that Cleopatra's classically stunning profile altered the course of human evolution, writing: "Cleopatra's nose, had it been shorter, the whole face of the world would have been changed."
She has certainly served as a muse to countless artists, from painters and sculptors to playwrights William Shakespeare and George Bernard Shaw.
No era of filmmaking has been devoid of meditations on Cleopatra either.
Pioneering cinema vamp Theda Bara played the Egyptian queen in a 1914 silent production, while Elizabeth Taylor embodied her in a lavish 1963 super-bomb that, dollar-for-dollar, remains the most expensive motion picture ever produced in Hollywood.
Leonor Varela took on the title role in a 1999 Cleopatra TV mini-series, while the recent HBO/BBC co-production Rome brought an electrifying spin to the ancient tale with Lyndsey Marshal in the part.
Of course, Mr. Skin would be remiss to overlook the vintage sexploitation favorite The Notorious Cleopatra.
So potent is the name Cleopatra alone that it lends itself effectively to projects as outlandish as Cleopatra Jones and Cleopatra 2525.
In addition to her life and name continuing to inspire, Cleopatra's raven-haired, Horus-eyed look and hyper-despairing demise can be see in the spooky-sexy likes of Asia Argento, Bif Naked, Pauley Perrette, Haji, Tura Satana, Kim Director, and countless other goth hotties who have turned inky gloom into sensual allure.
For all these skin-chievements, Mr. Skin happily declares that it's always great to see-o Cleo!
