Cleopatra’s Snake — An easy bead craft
Cleopatra's Snake -- An easy bead craft
Cleopatra could be considered one of the most famous Egyptian pharaohs. But guess what? She was not ethnically Egyptian. Cleopatra was actually Greek! She was a descendant of Ptolemy, who was one of Alexander the Great’s main military advisors. When Alexander the Great died, his empire was divided among his generals and Ptolemy took over Egypt.
So in fact, Cleopatra was no relation to those ancient pharaohs who built the famous Pyramids of Giza. The pyramids were almost 2500 years old by the time Cleopatra saw them. She was very interested in Egypt and its culture. While Cleopatra might have been the last Egyptian pharaoh, she was also the first Ptolemaic pharaoh to speak native Egyptian. The others all spoke Greek.
Cleopatra is often remembered for her keen political mind and the alliances she made with Roman leaders, like Julius Caesar and Marc Antony. She knew Julius Caesar as a young woman and had one child with him. By the time she was with Antony, almost ten years later, she had grown up into a powerful and rich woman. In the painting by Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Cleopatra greets Antony showing off her wealth and power to impress him. It must have worked because she went on to have three children with Antony and almost took over the Roman Empire.
After Julius Caesar’s death, his nephew Octavian (soon to be Emperor Augustus) and Marc Antony started a civil war to see who would rule the Roman Empire. Antony and Cleopatra were on the losing side and Octavian came to Egypt to take over. Antony stabbed himself and Cleopatra was left to face Octavian alone.
When Roman generals won important victories, they held great triumphs and paraded their captives and treasures through the streets of Rome. (Learn more about Roman triumphs with our Laurel Wreath Craft) Rather than be taken prisoner and humiliated, Cleopatra decided to kill herself.
Legend says she killed herself with an asp (an Egyptian cobra) that was smuggled to her in a basket of figs. Other versions of the story say she took poison. The exact date of her death is unknown but, many scholars place it around August 10th or 12th.
For this MythologyCraft, we will make Cleopatra’s famous and deadly asp. Join me as I explain how to make your asp out of beads on the MythologyCrafts.com YouTube Channel video or by looking at the step by step instructions provided below.
Supplies:
- Plastic Beads (We used black, gray, red and yellow, but feel free to be creative and use any colors you want.)
- String
- Scissors
Directions:
Step one: Cut a piece of string about 4 feet long.
Step two: Put a red bed on the string, bring it to the middle and tie it one with a knot.
Step three: Put another red bead on one end of the string and take the other end of the string and thread it through the opposite side of the bead. The two ends will cross at the bead. Repeat this process two more times. You are making the snake’s tongue.
Step four: Take grey beads and put 2 on the string and repeat the beading process. Then add 3 beads and repeat the beading. Next 4 beads and finally 5 beads. You are creating the snake’s head.
Step nine: When your sneak is long enough, start to reduce the number of beads to make a tail. Use only three beads now.
Step ten: Finally, do one row of two grey beads, and a row of a single black bead. Tie off the string and cut off any left over material.
Now you have completed Cleopatra’s Snake.
Need more help? Want to learn more? Check out the Video...
Step five: Create the eyes of the snake by stringing 5 beads but place 2 yellow beads in between 3 grey beads.
Step six: Add another row of 5 grey beads after the eyes.
Step seven: Add two rows of 4 grey beads. This will start the body of your snake.
Step eight: Create the asp pattern with your beads by alternating rows of 4 solid grey beads with rows of one black bead, two grey beads and one black bead. Repeat this as many times as you would like. You may vary the length of your snake based on the rows of beads you choose to add.
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