Cleopatra’s family line was filled with incestuous relations

We’ve all heard of the beautiful Cleopatra. Legend has it that she bathed in milk. However, a lesser known fact is that Cleopatra came from an incestuous family.

Photo: Falvorwire

Inter-marriage was common practice among the Ptolemies. In Cleopatra’s family, an uncle had three marriages with three of his nieces, who also happen to be siblings. One of the siblings gave birth to Cleopatra, which means Cleopatra’s mother was also her first cousin.

With inter-marriage occurring between different generations, a single couple in the family tree could represent four or five different generations in the family. Due to inbreeding, it was often stated that “there was not one drop of Egyptian blood in the Ptolemaic line.” Because Ptolemaic culture adopted Egyptian customs of marrying their sisters, inbreeding in Cleopatra’s family was actually not as scandalous as we might see it today.

Inbreeding Among Various Royalties

The modern, 21st century person might raise an eyebrow at inter-marriage and inbreeding, however, the practice was actually quite common in the past among various royal families from different cultures.

One reason why inbreeding was practiced was because royal families wanted to keep their bloodline pure. Queen Victoria of England had married her first cousin, Albert. This was just one of the many intermarriages that happened in the royal family of England as many of their descendents also married among themselves. Inbreeding was so rampant that hemophilia (a genetic disorder) had spread in the royal family.

Besides trying to maintain a pure bloodline, inbreeding was also practiced to strengthen political power. In the Roman Empire, Agrippina married her uncle (Emperor Claudius) in order to strengthen her son’s, Nero, right to the throne. It was also believed that Agrippina and Nero had shared an incestuous relationship later on, when Nero became emperor. Although reasons are unclear why Nero and Agrippina shared an incestuous relationship, some thought that it was Agrippina’s way to cumulating power for herself.

Inbreeding was indeed common practice, particularly among royalties in the past. Cleopatra’s Ptolemaic culture may not see anything wrong with inbreeding but it’s important to note that not all royal families in the past shared the same views towards incestuous relations. Although some cultures (such as the Roman culture) condemned incestuous relations, inter-marriage was still practiced anyway to achieve political agendas.