Psychiatric assessment of Cleopatra--a challenging evaluation.

There was conducted a retrospective study of a remarkable personality in history of two millennia ago: Cleopatra, the Great. Though there was a paucity of hard facts about her early years, yet considerable pertinent information could be gleaned from scholarly writings about this versatile queen to render a diagnosis. Cleopatra was a complex, dynamic woman who rose to power in the Mediterranean world, but eliminated herself dramatically when she could not bear defeat in her narcissistic personality.