Power, Drama, and Cleopatra
From Research and Reason by Faculty of Arts and Education, University of Auckland
August 12, 2025 · 29 min · Season 5 · Episode 2
About this episode
Dr Alex McAuley discusses the influence of ancient queens during the Hellenistic period and their portrayal in modern media.
Dr Alex McAuley joins our media adviser Julianne Evans to talk about the ancient queens and royal women of the Hellenistic period, including the seven Cleopatras. He examines the ways these women used power to intervene in politics and support their family, and often with dramatic effects. He also shares his upcoming project, which looks at how pop culture, film and television have shifted in their depiction of antiquity since the war on terror, and how ancient history is really about how we understand the world around us.
People in this episode
Host: Julianne Evans
Guest: Dr Alex McAuley
Topics covered
- ancient queens
- Hellenistic period
- political power
- pop culture
- depiction of antiquity
Keywords
- Cleopatra
- Hellenistic queens
- politics
- pop culture
- ancient history
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Cleopatra
Places: Hellenistic
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