--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It would be difficult to say to whom…" description: "\"“It would be difficult to say to whom Cleopatra was more vital in 32: the man to whom she was the partner, or the man to whom she was the pretext. Anto..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/010/stacy-schiff-7881_cleopatra_it-would-be-difficult-to-say-to-whom-cle_2906419.png" --- # It would be difficult to say to whom Cleopatra was more… ![“It would be difficult to say to whom Cleopatra was more vital in 32: the man to whom she was the partner, or the man to whom she was the pretext. Antony could not win a war without her. Octavian could not wage one.” quote by Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/010/stacy-schiff-7881_cleopatra_it-would-be-difficult-to-say-to-whom-cle_2906419.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/010/stacy-schiff-7881_cleopatra_it-would-be-difficult-to-say-to-whom-cle_2906419.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/010/stacy-schiff-7881_cleopatra_it-would-be-difficult-to-say-to-whom-cle_2906419.png) > ““It would be difficult to say to whom Cleopatra was more vital in 32: the man to whom she was the partner, or the man to whom she was the pretext. Antony could not win a war without her. Octavian could not wage one.”” [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Cleopatra’s importance is debated: she was vital to both Antony and Octavian’s ambitions. **In simple terms:** Cleopatra’s strategic value. Key Takeaway Recognize how individuals influence multiple power dynamics. Themes history politics influence Mood analytical curious Type historical political When to use this quote - political analysis - historical education - leadership studies Key Concepts female agency strategic alliances Questions to Reflect On - How does Cleopatra’s role reshape historical narratives? - What lessons apply to modern political partnerships? A Different Perspective Interpretations vary by source. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cleopatra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cleopatra/) [Cleopatra Vital](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cleopatra-vital-4161699/) [Octavian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/octavian/) [Partner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/partner/) [Pretext](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretext/) [Pretext Antony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretext-antony-4161701/) [Say Cleopatra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say-cleopatra-4161700/) [Vital](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vital/) [Wage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wage/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [Win](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/win/) ## Related quotes > [What we know about Cleopatra's looks is based purely on her coin portraits. Engraving was imperfect, and that when you are a ruler and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/what-we-know-about-cleopatra-s-looks-is-based-purely-on-her-coin/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) > [Here you have an incredibly ambitious, accomplished woman who comes up against some of the same problems that women in power come up against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/here-you-have-an-incredibly-ambitious-accomplished-woman-who-comes-up/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) > [In 'Plutarch,' her voice begins to come out; there are actual 2,000-year-old quotes from Cleopatra, and they are sly and saucy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/in-plutarch-her-voice-begins-to-come-out-there-are-actual-2-000-year/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) > [ “\[Cleopatra's\] power has been made to derive from her sexuality, for obvious reason; as one of Caesar's murderers had noted, 'How much more attention… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/cleopatra-s-power-has-been-made-to-derive-from-her-sexuality-for/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) > [“While it is unclear who had done so, someone had produced a heroine. Cleopatra's was an honorable death, a dignified death, an exemplary death.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/while-it-is-unclear-who-had-done-so-someone-had-produced-a-heroine/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) > [By the time Florence Nightingale got her neurotic hands on Cleopatra, she had been mangled beyond recognition by both history and literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/by-the-time-florence-nightingale-got-her-neurotic-hands-on-cleopatra/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) > [I once interviewed David Herbert Donald, the Lincoln historian, and we talked about how one deals with the secondary sources and the previous biographies.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/i-once-interviewed-david-herbert-donald-the-lincoln-historian-and-we/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) > [“Plutarch clearly notes that her beauty “was not in itself so remarkable that none could be compared with her, or that no one could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/plutarch-clearly-notes-that-her-beauty-was-not-in-itself-so/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) > [You have to scuba dive in the Alexandrian harbor if you want to see what remains of the lighthouse of Cleopatra's day, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/you-have-to-scuba-dive-in-the-alexandrian-harbor-if-you-want-to-see/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) > [The interesting thing about Cleopatra is that she is such a shape-shifter. I mean through history we've all molded her to our times and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/the-interesting-thing-about-cleopatra-is-that-she-is-such-a-shape/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) > [“History existed to be retold, with more panache but not necessarily greater accuracy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/history-existed-to-be-retold-with-more-panache-but-not-necessarily/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) > [Cleopatra stood at one of the most dangerous intersections in history; that of women and power. Clever women, Euripides had warned hundreds of years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/cleopatra-stood-at-one-of-the-most-dangerous-intersections-in-history/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) > [“Against a powerful enchantress there is no contest. Against a woman who ensnares a man in the coils of her serpentine intelligence - in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/against-a-powerful-enchantress-there-is-no-contest-against-a-woman/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) > [No one in the modern world controls the wealth or territory that Cleopatra did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/no-one-in-the-modern-world-controls-the-wealth-or-territory-that/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) > [“The personal inevitably trumps the political, and the erotic trumps all: We will remember that Cleopatra slept with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/the-personal-inevitably-trumps-the-political-and-the-erotic-trumps/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) ## More by Stacy Schiff > [As always, an educated woman was a dangerous woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/as-always-an-educated-woman-was-a-dangerous-woman/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) > [Recently a study proved that working from a larger, less cluttered computer screen increases concentration. I could have told them that. And yes, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/recently-a-study-proved-that-working-from-a-larger-less-cluttered/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) > [“She did not believe Fate as painstaking as her husband; she was more inclined to take matters into her own hands. She had ample…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/she-did-not-believe-fate-as-painstaking-as-her-husband-she-was-more/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) > [What we know about Cleopatra's looks is based purely on her coin portraits. Engraving was imperfect, and that when you are a ruler and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/what-we-know-about-cleopatra-s-looks-is-based-purely-on-her-coin/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) > [No one in the modern world controls the wealth or territory that Cleopatra did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/no-one-in-the-modern-world-controls-the-wealth-or-territory-that/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) > [“Against a powerful enchantress there is no contest. Against a woman who ensnares a man in the coils of her serpentine intelligence - in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/against-a-powerful-enchantress-there-is-no-contest-against-a-woman/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) > [Motherhood is always an act of courage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/motherhood-is-always-an-act-of-courage/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) > [Cleopatra stood at one of the most dangerous intersections in history; that of women and power. Clever women, Euripides had warned hundreds of years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/cleopatra-stood-at-one-of-the-most-dangerous-intersections-in-history/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) > [“Nabokov complained he was afflicted with total recall, an affliction of which he could be miraculously cured by the presence of a biographer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/nabokov-complained-he-was-afflicted-with-total-recall-an-affliction/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) > [“History existed to be retold, with more panache but not necessarily greater accuracy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/history-existed-to-be-retold-with-more-panache-but-not-necessarily/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) > [“Véra assumed her married name almost as a stage name; rarely has matrimony so much represented a profession. It was one of the ironies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/v-ra-assumed-her-married-name-almost-as-a-stage-name-rarely-has/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) > [When a woman teams up with a snake a moral storm threatens somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/when-a-woman-teams-up-with-a-snake-a-moral-storm-threatens-somewhere/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) > [The interesting thing about Cleopatra is that she is such a shape-shifter. I mean through history we've all molded her to our times and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/the-interesting-thing-about-cleopatra-is-that-she-is-such-a-shape/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) > [parenting is an exercise in unintended consequences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/parenting-is-an-exercise-in-unintended-consequences/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) > [Strangely enough, politics may just be the one realm in which having kids imposes no penalty on women. Kids are practically a necessity. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/strangely-enough-politics-may-just-be-the-one-realm-in-which-having/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) [Explore all 86 Stacy Schiff quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) ## More Cleopatra quotes > [“There's beggary in the love that can be reckoned. (Anthony and Cleopatra - William Shakespeare.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-stuart/there-s-beggary-in-the-love-that-can-be-reckoned-anthony-and/) [Sarah Stuart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-stuart/) > [I'm certainly no Cleopatra. I have legs like a schoolgirl and I don't know how I acquired the knack of attracting producers with very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-tushingham/i-m-certainly-no-cleopatra-i-have-legs-like-a-schoolgirl-and-i-don-t/) [Rita Tushingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-tushingham/) > [Vanity is illustrated in the cause and effect of love, as in the case of Cleopatra.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/vanity-is-illustrated-in-the-cause-and-effect-of-love-as-in-the-case/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [What we know about Cleopatra's looks is based purely on her coin portraits. Engraving was imperfect, and that when you are a ruler and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/what-we-know-about-cleopatra-s-looks-is-based-purely-on-her-coin/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) > [No one in the modern world controls the wealth or territory that Cleopatra did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/no-one-in-the-modern-world-controls-the-wealth-or-territory-that/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) > [Girls have always wanted to be pretty, even in Egyptian times. Cleopatra wore all that eyeliner, you know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-ora/girls-have-always-wanted-to-be-pretty-even-in-egyptian-times/) [Rita Ora](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-ora/) > [“Her passions are made of nothing but the finest part of pure love; we cannot call her winds and waters, sighs and tears; they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/her-passions-are-made-of-nothing-but-the-finest-part-of-pure-love-we/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“O, whither hast thou led me, Egypt? See How I convey my shame out of thine eyes By looking back what I have left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/o-whither-hast-thou-led-me-egypt-see-how-i-convey-my-shame-out-of/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Against a powerful enchantress there is no contest. Against a woman who ensnares a man in the coils of her serpentine intelligence - in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/against-a-powerful-enchantress-there-is-no-contest-against-a-woman/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) > [Cleopatra stood at one of the most dangerous intersections in history; that of women and power. Clever women, Euripides had warned hundreds of years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/cleopatra-stood-at-one-of-the-most-dangerous-intersections-in-history/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) > [“History existed to be retold, with more panache but not necessarily greater accuracy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/history-existed-to-be-retold-with-more-panache-but-not-necessarily/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) > [The interesting thing about Cleopatra is that she is such a shape-shifter. I mean through history we've all molded her to our times and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/the-interesting-thing-about-cleopatra-is-that-she-is-such-a-shape/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) > [“Cleopatra's nose, had it been shorter, the whole face of the world would have been changed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/cleopatra-s-nose-had-it-been-shorter-the-whole-face-of-the-world/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [The truth is very few of us are related to Napoleon or Cleopatra. Although, those are bad examples as I am actually descended from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-piddock/the-truth-is-very-few-of-us-are-related-to-napoleon-or-cleopatra/) [Jim Piddock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-piddock/) > [“Not romantic," she disagreed. "To me it would be romantic if Antony properly fell on his sword and kicked the bucket and Cleopatra escaped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gantos/not-romantic-she-disagreed-to-me-it-would-be-romantic-if-antony/) [Jack Gantos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gantos/) [Browse all 89 Cleopatra quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cleopatra/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It would be difficult to say to whom Cleopatra was more vital in 32: the man to whom she was the partner, or the man to whom she was the pretext. Antony could not win a war without her. 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