Alexander III of Macedon, widely known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. As a young man, Alexander led a series of conquests with the ostensible purpose of uniting all of the Hellenistic states under his rule. He was an immensely successful war leader, conquering Persia and India before attempting to return to Macedon. He became emblematic to Greeks, and later Romans, as a warrior figure who harkened back to the Homeric heroes, and was widely admired by both cultures. Ptolemy I was one of Alexander’s generals who, after his death, seized control of Egypt and established the Ptolemaic Dynasty, to which Cleopatra belonged.

Isis was a primary goddess in the ancient Egyptian religion, the sister and wife of Osiris. Her maternal protection was widely sought and praised in Egypt, Greece, and later in Rome. She was closely tied to the Nile and associated with its fertility and its yearly rise and fall, and as such was extremely important in Egyptian religious practice. Cleopatra likely recognized the power Isis held over the population and very early on tied herself to the goddess. Schiff suggests that Cleopatra’s self-identification with the goddess reflects both her political savvy and genuine attempts to form a connection with her subjects.