--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We're talking about, essentially, the…" description: "\"We're talking about, essentially, the Roman historians, who wrote Cleopatra into the story mostly so that they could talk about the rise of Rome. And t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2d/stacy-schiff-7881_about_we-re-talking-about-essentially-the-roma_2256248.png" --- # We're talking about, essentially, the Roman historians… ![“We're talking about, essentially, the Roman historians, who wrote Cleopatra into the story mostly so that they could talk about the rise of Rome. And that is one of the problems, of course, in recounting her life. She's only ever apparent to us when there is a Roman in the room, or when her story…” quote by Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2d/stacy-schiff-7881_about_we-re-talking-about-essentially-the-roma_2256248.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2d/stacy-schiff-7881_about_we-re-talking-about-essentially-the-roma_2256248.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2d/stacy-schiff-7881_about_we-re-talking-about-essentially-the-roma_2256248.png) > “We're talking about, essentially, the Roman historians, who wrote Cleopatra into the story mostly so that they could talk about the rise of Rome. And that is one of the problems, of course, in recounting her life. She's only ever apparent to us when there is a Roman in the room, or when her story intersects with the rise of Rome.” [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. Roman historians framed Cleopatra primarily to highlight Rome’s ascendancy, marginalizing her agency. **In simple terms:** Cleopatra’s story is told through Rome’s perspective. Key Takeaway Seek sources that center her own voice. Themes history gender imperialism narrative bias Mood reflective inquisitive Type analytical critical When to use this quote - academic research - museum exhibits - educational curricula - media portrayals Key Concepts historical revisionism gendered historiography Eurocentrism Questions to Reflect On - Whose perspectives are missing from mainstream histories? - How can we amplify marginalized voices? A Different Perspective Roman-centric narratives can obscure non‑Roman experiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [About](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/about/) [Apparent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apparent/) [Cleopatra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cleopatra/) [Cleopatra Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cleopatra-story-5174315/) [Could](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/could/) [Course](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/course/) [Essentially](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essentially/) [Ever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ever/) [Her](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/her/) [Historians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historians/) [Historians Wrote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historians-wrote-5174317/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Mostly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mostly/) [Only](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/only/) [Problems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problems/) [Rise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rise/) [Roman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roman/) [Roman Historians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roman-historians-2047210/) [Rome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rome/) [Room](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/room/) [She](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/she/) [Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story/) [Talk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talk/) [Talking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talking/) [Us](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/us/) [Who](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/who/) [Wrote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrote/) [Wrote Cleopatra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrote-cleopatra-5174316/) ## Related quotes > [What dazzles us in Stacy Schiff's Cleopatra are not the alluring mythologies about the evasive queen, but the astonishing if rare historical facts that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azar-nafisi/what-dazzles-us-in-stacy-schiff-s-cleopatra-are-not-the-alluring/) [Azar Nafisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azar-nafisi/) > [History is gossip that's been legitimized, and that's really the case when you get into some of the Roman historians. 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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/) > [ “\[Cleopatra's\] 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/) > [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 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/) > [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/) ## 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. 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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. 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