Exhibit explores Cleopatra’s power struggles in ancient world
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Archaeologists once believed they had found the remains of Arsinoë IV, Cleopatra’s half-sister, in Ephesos, an ancient city in modern-day Turkey, but recent DNA analysis revealed the skeleton belonged to a teenage boy.
The Kunsthistorisches Museum (KHM) in Vienna will present an exhibit beginning October 20, 2026, using the story of Arsinoë’s death as a starting point to explore the political conflicts between Egypt and Rome. The exhibit, titled “Tatort Ephesos. Kleopatra und Rom” (“Crime Scene Ephesos.
Cleopatra and Rome”), will cover the late 1st century BC, when Cleopatra attempted to maintain control of Egypt through alliances with Roman leaders like Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. Cleopatra defeated Arsinoë in a power struggle, and after Caesar’s assassination, she allied with Antony before both were defeated by Octavian, later Emperor Augustus, and took their own lives, ending Ptolemaic rule in Egypt.
Around 100 objects will be on display, including pieces from the KHM’s own collections and loans from museums in New York, London, Cleveland, Paris, and Berlin. These items include sculptures, mummy portraits, manuscripts, and ornate cameos, such as portrait heads of Caesar and Cleopatra from Berlin and the “Gemma Augustea” from the KHM’s collection, an early 1st-century AD carving depicting Augustus with his family and gods.
The KHM also holds fragments of the Oktogon where the misidentified remains were discovered, which will be presented as a digital reconstruction in the exhibit.
