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Before Social Media: How Cleopatra Turned Herself Into a Living God | Natasha Solomons
8 Jun 2026
Show notes
💬 Much of the myth of Cleopatra was crafted by her during her lifetime. An intentional process to shape how the citizens of Egypt - and the world - saw her. But without social media, how did great rulers of the ancient world fashion their own brand?
Cleopatra was unusually good at shaping her own image - and the brand she built has endured for over 2,000 years. But who was the woman behind the myth?
⚡ That’s the Cleopatra Natasha Solomons explores in her new book, where she reimagines the life of this ancient queen.
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🎧 Stay tuned to learn about:
➡ Why Natasha wanted to detangle Cleopatra’s story from the men in her life
➡ How Cleopatra understood sex as power - and leant into the story of politics
➡ Why she chose to make her nose look big on coins
➡ How she dressed as Isis to portray the image of her as a goddess
➡ What Alexandria and its Great Library might have felt like in ancient times
➡ What it takes to fictionalise and reimagine parts of such a famous story
Buy Natasha’s book: https://amzn.eu/d/02eG3udG
About the podcast:
What We Did Before is a podcast exploring the history of everyday life, from how we kept food fresh before fridges, to how we survived without shoes and what came before AI.
About your host:
Ollie Guillou is an award-winning podcast producer and broadcaster. He's co-founder of OG Podcasts, working with the likes of New Scientist, Dr Karan and Lessons From Our Mothers.
Connect with Ollie:
Website: www.ogpodcasts.co.uk
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ollie-guillou
Email: hello@ogpodcasts.co.uk