×
GreekEnglish

×
  • Politics
  • Diaspora
  • World
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Cooking
Monday
12
Jan 2026
weather symbol
Athens 5°C
  • Home
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • World
  • Diaspora
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Mediterranean Cooking
  • Weather
Contact follow Protothema:
Powered by Cloudevo
> Culture

Queen Cleopatra’s sole surviving handwriting is a single Greek word

The remarkable document is a royal decree dated back to 33 BC

Newsroom September 25 07:04

The sole surviving sample of Queen Cleopatra’s handwriting, found on an ancient papyrus, reveals a single Greek word, “ginesthoi” (Greek: γίνεσθοι), meaning “make it happen” or ” so be it”.

This remarkable document is a royal decree dated back to 33 BC. It granted tax exemption to Publius Canidius, a Roman officer closely associated with Mark Antony. According to the papyrus, Canidius was permitted to annually export ten thousand bags of wheat and import five thousand amphorae of wine without taxation. However, what captured imaginations was a Greek postscript, which could be translated as “make it so.” Believed to be Cleopatra’s handwriting, it hinted at her direct involvement.

See Also:

>Related articles

Maria Machado at the Vatican, a few days before she meets Trump

Erich von Däniken, Swiss bestselling author who linked ancient civilizations to extraterrestrials, dies at 90

Who are the Basij militias who are spreading terror among protesters in Iran?

German whistleblower finds DNA contamination up to 354 times recommended limit in BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine

Notably, this paper was signed two years before the Battle of Actium in 31 BC. In that prominent fight, Mark Antony and Cleopatra faced defeat against Roman Emperor Octavian Augustus.

Continue here: Greek Reporter

Ask me anything

Explore related questions

#ancient egypt#ancient Greek#Ancient Greek language#culture#language#Queen Cleopatra#world
> More Culture

Follow en.protothema.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news

See all the latest News from Greece and the World, the moment they happen, at en.protothema.gr

> Latest Stories

Agatha Christie: the unpublished photo from her visit to the Acropolis in 1958

January 12, 2026

Russia declares war on the Ecumenical Patriarch: “He is dismantling the Body of the Church, has nationalist and neo-nazi allies”

January 12, 2026

Video: The “battle” of the Skopelitis with the waves in the Aegean

January 12, 2026

Coordination Committee of Thessaly’s “hardline” roadblocks meets; Trip to Athens for meeting with Mitsotakis in doubt

January 12, 2026

Maria Machado at the Vatican, a few days before she meets Trump

January 12, 2026

Hardliners at the blockades put obstacles to dialogue with Mitsotakis – “We do not operate with ultimatums,” the government responds

January 12, 2026

Winter sales kick off, which Sundays shops will be open

January 12, 2026

The local judicial authorities decided to detain the owner of the bar in Crans-Montana for three months

January 12, 2026
All News

> World

Maria Machado at the Vatican, a few days before she meets Trump

The Venezuelan opposition leader has been sidelined by Washington after the US intervention that overthrew Nicolas Maduro.

January 12, 2026

The local judicial authorities decided to detain the owner of the bar in Crans-Montana for three months

January 12, 2026

Ukraine: 35,000 households in Odessa are without electricity after a Russian drone attack

January 12, 2026

Bloomberg: Britain and Germany discuss the presence of NATO forces in Greenland

January 12, 2026

Who are the Basij militias who are spreading terror among protesters in Iran?

January 12, 2026
Homepage
PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION POLICY COOKIES POLICY TERM OF USE
Powered by Cloudevo
Copyright © 2026 Πρώτο Θέμα