Illustration
“The nose of Cleopatra: if it had been shorter, the whole face of the earth would have changed” ~ Blaise Pascal, Pensées 162.
On the basis of portrait coins struck by Cleopatra, philosophers such as Blaise Pascal (1623-1662 CE) assumed that the queen’s prominent nose was an element of the physical attraction with which she seduced Julius Caesar and Marc Antony – and thus changed the course of world history.
Silver hemiobol struck in Patrae, Achaea (Greece) with the diademed portrait of Queen Cleopatra (Heritage 3015, 7-12 September 2011 CE, lot 23278; photo courtesy of David S. Michaels, Heritage Auctions); posthumous portrait of Blaise Pascal by François Quesnel II (1637-1699 CE; oil painting, ca. 1662 CE coll. Musée d’Art Roger-Quilliot). The latter is believed to be in the public domain.
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APA Style
Oppen, B. v. (2020, January 20). Cleopatra's Nose, Blaise Pascal. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/image/11728/cleopatras-nose-blaise-pascal/
Chicago Style
Oppen, Branko van. "Cleopatra's Nose, Blaise Pascal." World History Encyclopedia. Last modified January 20, 2020. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/11728/cleopatras-nose-blaise-pascal/.
MLA Style
Oppen, Branko van. "Cleopatra's Nose, Blaise Pascal." World History Encyclopedia. World History Encyclopedia, 20 Jan 2020. Web. 21 Feb 2025.
