Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2021 November 9

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November 9

Cleopatra being so popular

I use the Wikipedia app on my phone and every day it shows me the most 'Top Read' pages on English speaking Wikipedia. The top stuff is usually a major film that's just come out, a big sporting event or an actor that's recently died. Another day it might be poplar TV show or a celebrity that's been involved in a scandal of some kind. But I noticed recently that Cleopatra was almost always in the top ten. I initially wondered if there was a big TV show about her, or if she had been the Google doodle for that day. But I noticed day after day that she was always up there with things like big new movies, sporting events and news items. Today she is the fourth most read page in the English speaking world, immediately after the big new Marvel movie. Is there a reason why she is so popular at the moment? I understand why she is an interesting character, being connected to both Rome and Egypt, as well as the Ptolemaic dynasty but it seems a bit of a surprise to see her so consistently popular. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 46.69.11.105 (talk • contribs)

It's not really just Wikipedia, it really is throughout history. As noted at Cleopatra#Legacy, she was a popular subject of writings going back to near-contemporary Roman sources. However, her popularity really blossomed in the late medieval and early modern period. From the above article In modern times Cleopatra has become an icon of popular culture,[375] a reputation shaped by theatrical representations dating back to the Renaissance as well as paintings and films.[453] This material largely surpasses the scope and size of existent historiographic literature about her from classical antiquity and has made a greater impact on the general public's view of Cleopatra than the latter.[454]. Her status as a cultural icon has only accelerated with time. From the same article: By the end of the 20th century there were forty-three separate films, two hundred plays and novels, forty-five operas, and five ballets associated with Cleopatra.[480]. As Wikipedia only reflects the interest of the world at large, her popularity in the world at large is what has caused interest in the article at Wikipedia. --Jayron32 19:04, 9 November 2021 (UTC)

If we only knew where she was buried, it would be a big boost for Egyptian tourism. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 19:57, 9 November 2021 (UTC)

No doubt that's why, in part, we're still looking. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 90.205.225.31 (talk) 11:21, 10 November 2021 (UTC)

Plus a quick mention of a couple of needles, two towns in the USA and a crater on Venus. Alansplodge (talk) 13:18, 11 November 2021 (UTC)

FWIW, she's not on the top-100 list and is only sixth on the list of pre-modern people. Matt Deres (talk) 21:04, 9 November 2021 (UTC)

Matt Deres, I think you meant to link Wikipedia:Multiyear_ranking_of_most_viewed_pages#Pre-modern_people. Alansplodge (talk) 12:53, 11 November 2021 (UTC)

The top three people of any category are Donald Trump, Barack Obama and Elizabeth II. I'm not sure if we should be pleased or worried that Adolf Hitler is beaten into 7th place by Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga and Eminem (apparently they are popular beat artistes). Alansplodge (talk) 13:03, 11 November 2021 (UTC)

Possibly! Fixed, thank you... :-) Matt Deres (talk) 14:53, 11 November 2021 (UTC)