Many more finds from other recent excavations provide a picture of life in the royal capital and reveal the impact of Alexandrian culture on the wealthier inhabitants of the Bay of Naples and upon Rome itself, where Cleopatra held court for nearly two years during Caesar's dictatorship. It was said that Cleopatra presented herself to Caesar rolled in an Oriental carpet. Her meetings with Antony were also elaborately stage-managed, and the mythologising of Cleopatra clearly began in her own lifetime. She incurred as much hostility as admiration, and after her death a very negative image of 'the foreign queen' was energetically promoted by her victorious Roman detractors. The exhibition traces ancient attitudes to Cleopatra, even including some caricatures of the queen. The myth of Cleopatra is traced through the ages to the present day, as her tragic tale is told through conventional and more diverse forms of media such as ceramics, jewellery and early watches.

The exhibition catalogue, edited by curator Susan Walker, will be available from 9 April, published by the British Museum Press. The catalogue contains contributions from key international scholars and explores the myth and reality that surrounds antiquity's most famous queen. A beautiful gift book, Cleopatra's Face: Fatal Beauty by Michelle Lovric, will also be available from 9 April.

The Cleopatra of Egypt exhibition will be accompanied by a study day; Epic Queen: Cleopatra on Film on Saturday 9 June between 10.00 - 4.30. This event is a collaboration between the British Museum and the British Film Institute and explores the mythology and iconography of Cleopatra across the centuries and through different art forms. Cost: £25.

A two day course, Cleopatra, linked with the exhibition will consider the life and times of Cleopatra VII and the world in which she lived. The course will also examine the Roman dominion of Egypt from Julius Caesar to Hadrian. The course will take place on 11 and 12 May between 10.00 - 4.30 and costs £50.

Fig: Roundel from a mosaic floor decorated with a dog and a gilded askos, c200-150BC. Excavated on the site of the new Alexandria Library, 1993. © Greco-Roman Museum, Alexandria