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In the comic Asterix and Cleopatra (1963), Caesar exclaims, “she is kind, but the spices that easily go up her nose... she is pretty, too, though!” The joke (translated in the English edition as “only her nose is so easily put out of joint”) not only puns on the size of Cleopatra’s nose, but also plays on a French expression meaning someone is easily agitated, and then continues to perpetuate the idea that she was attractive. Also notice that the opening words quote Pascal, Pensées 162 verbatim.
Image taken from René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo, Astérix et Cléopâtre (Paris: Dargaud, 1965), p.5.
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Cite This Work
APA Style
Uderzo, R. G. a. A. (2020, January 30). Cleopatra's Nose. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/image/11729/cleopatras-nose/
Chicago Style
Uderzo, René Goscinny and Albert. "Cleopatra's Nose." World History Encyclopedia. Last modified January 30, 2020. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/11729/cleopatras-nose/.
MLA Style
Uderzo, René Goscinny and Albert. "Cleopatra's Nose." World History Encyclopedia. World History Encyclopedia, 30 Jan 2020. Web. 30 Dec 2025.
