[Perdogg]

Was Cleopatra black or a moor? Some African-American professors at colleges claim that she was a black woman.

[blam]

"Was Cleopatra black or a moor? Some African-American professors at colleges claim that she was a black woman."

Cleopatria was of Greek ancestory.

The Greeks ruled after Alexander conquered Egypt.

[mewzilla]

Was Cleopatra black or a moor? Some African-American professors at colleges claim that she was a black woman.

I've always thought she looked a lot like Liz Taylor...

[SunkenCiv]

WADR to Blam, Cleopatra was Macedonian, not Greek. The identity of one of her grandmothers isn't known, but the Macedonians were a little nutty about "ethnic purity" (to borrow a phrase from Jimmy Carter), so it's generally believed that she was a Macedonian too. I know the first names of a number of my female ancestors, but don't have a clue what their maiden names were. :')

One of those photo URLs I posted was this:

http://www.martinlutherking.org/images/cleopatra.jpg

That's the image accompanying an essay by none other than Mary Leftkowitz, entitled "Not Out of Africa", hosted right on the Martin Luther King website. The essay is similarly titled to the book of that name, which refutes claims that Greek philosophy and so on was stolen from Black Africa.

Remarkable as that is, you won't believe what's behind door number three...

http://www.martinlutherking.org/ma-chapter18.html

[after dark]

The Romans said she had red hair. I think this a pretty good indication she looked European.

Most of the scholars , who say Cleopatra was ugly point to the way she is depicted on coins.

The Romans said she was plain ,but they liked insulting foreign leaders.

The Romans were more flattering of Anthony. Which is why I find it hard to believe Cleopatra was as homely as the Romans described her.