I’m currently in the process of painting (yet another) portrait of Cleopatra, and it really got me thinking about how important heroes are in our lives. Children love to surround themselves with idols and role-models. They have posters of their favorite bands, movies, and athletes. They read about them, follow their careers, and aspire to be them. But what do our heroes have to say about us and the way we choose to live? Has any band formed without idolizing another, I wonder? My guess is no.
In addition to the Power Rangers, Ace of Base, and Carmen Sandiego (don’t judge, I was a 90s kid) decorating my childhood walls, I also idolized the famous Queen Cleopatra. And she has shaped my life in more ways than I can count.
For those who don’t know the backstory: I found my passion for ancient history around second grade, several years before my interest in Cleopatra began. I knew of her, but I had always thought of her as a traitor and an unskilled ruler. After all, she was the last queen of Egypt… so she couldn’t have been any good, right? (In retrospect, I realize that many children’s history books do not mention her beyond that single fact). One day, my mom rented the Elizabeth Taylor “Cleopatra” for us to watch together. She knew I would appreciate it, being obsessed with anything Egyptian by that point. It has many inaccuracies to be sure, but the film was not at all what I expected. I still remember asking my mom whether Cleopatra was “good or bad” at the end of the film. I had expected to see a textbook villain, a cruel and irresponsible tyrant, but instead, I saw simply a woman. My curiosity was piqued. I began to read more about her and the more I learned, the more I grew to appreciate her.
And the rest, you may say, is history.
But how, exactly, have I been shaped by my childhood hero? (My adulthood hero, too, for that matter). For starters, I began learning Greek. I made up my mind that I wanted to study history when I got to college. I began reading everything I could find about Cleopatra, which drastically increased my vocabulary, writing proficiency, etc. I didn’t like many pieces of art depicting her, which were inspired by ancient slurs, and began painting my own depictions. The list goes on and on.
I still have a deeply rooted love of languages. I grew up bilingual, but learning Greek was the first time I learned a language strictly for fun. I did, indeed, study history in college, which also affected my entire professional life thereafter. I still enjoy academic pursuits, and while one may argue that those are character traits more than influences by childhood heroes, the subject matter was certainly influenced. And as I stated at the beginning of this post, I still paint. In fact, Cleopatra was the subject of my very first painting.
It’s likely that a lot of these interests may have manifested themselves through other means, but the results would certainly have been different. I would have been different. People we admire have the power to inspire us, and inspiration is what drives us in our creative pursuits. And Cleopatra was just one of my childhood heroes. I can’t imagine how different a person I may have been without them all. Most childhood interests are fleeting and trivial, but some are not. Some plant seeds that won’t mature for many years to come.
Who are your heroes and how have they shaped your life?