I recently read that archaeologists in Cairo recently discovered an alabaster head of Cleopatra and a mask thought to belong to her lover Mark Antony have been found near Egypt's Mediterranean city of Alexandria.

Quick history lesson, Cleopatra was the queen of Egypt some good time ago. Nuff said.

I would really like to stop the explanation there but I guess that I should make the Mark Antony connection for you. He was her lover and as it goes with these stories, it ended in tragedy. He commits suicide along the way and she kills herself shortly after.

Talk about predictability. When haven’t these “tragedy’s” ended any other way... but if you really think about it, is it tragic to end your life? To take control of the situation? I don’t know if it’s better to live your whole life waiting for the guards (once there’s a violent change in government) to take spears or daggers to your neck.

I say... good for you! Don’t ever let anyone determine your sell by date!!

Another somewhat important connection here (Mark Antony and Cleopatra) is a play written by William Shakespeare titled Mark Antony and Cleopatra (I know, sometimes picking names for plays is soooo easy, they like suddenly leap off a page and you think “yes this will do nicely!”)

Did you know that Cleopatra hooked up with her brothers/husbands Ptolemy XII and Ptolemy XIII? Although apparently there is a possibility these marriages were not consummated and in case you are wondering, no, they did not have any children ( her and the brothers).

Imagine this today… in the name of cementing your future as president (a bit of a stretch that, lets bring it down to Cultural leader) you align with your brothers or sisters. African culture would NEVER allow that to happen regardless although I’m not sure it never ever did…

Kind of how certain people frown at the thought of and existence of prostitution claiming that it isn’t African. My question is by saying this, are you implying that it is one of those things “those people” taught us? One of those habits “those people” brought with them that we took to because we did not know any better?

A barefaced lie if ever there was one.

First off the actual definition of prostitution is hard to come by. It has been defined as the act of offering your body (usually women) for money but with sexual diversity being what it is, men do sell their bodies as well for money. Sometimes the motivation for prostitution is not money per se; it might be sexual gratification for example.

As it is usually associated with lewdness and promiscuity, when a woman marries a man for his money and thus sleeps with him to ensure her place in his life, is that too prostitution? Or is she exempted?

I don’t know why our minister of integrity and what not is bent on acting like this does not exist or if he does acknowledge it, he doesn’t want to give them a chance to mobilize themselves. Every body has a right to assemble and what not.


I know, I over extended the history lesson and got carried away telling you about other things and notions I have. Back to the discovery, I have always wondered if I would have made a good archeologist or if I or anyone I knew ever wanted to be one. The idea of digging holes and studying bones just never appealed to me.

Okay, that’s not entirely true, after one too many episodes of CSI and Silent witness, I tend to convince myself that I could have actually become a pathologist and then I remember the state of the Uganda police and decide it surely isn’t worth it.


I understand this discovery is a huge deal because of what it represents in terms of history and our understanding of Cleopatra and Mark Antony and what not.

Unfortunately for me, the moment I hear the word, discovery, I tend to snigger. That history lesson in P.3 (I think) cured me of all illusions. John Hanning Speke and his buddy's discovered the source of the Nile, some other chap the Nile itself. I keep wondering how the natives had missed it all those centuries before.

Just because you give something a name does not mean people did not know about it before or did not refer to it in some other way.

In addition, no offence intended and what not, no one really knows what Cleo looked like so for all intents and purposes shall we just go around branding any old head we find Cleopatra?



Disclaimer: the author is not a history nut.