''Asterix and Cleopatra'' is the sixth book in the

Asterix ''Asterix'' or ''The Adventures of Asterix'' (french: Astérix or , "Asterix the Gaul") is a ''bande dessinée'' comic book series about a village of indomitable Gaulish warriors who adventure around the world and fight the Roman Republic, wi ...

album series An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

René Goscinny René Goscinny (, ; 14 August 1926 – 5 November 1977) was a French comic editor and writer, who created the ''Astérix'' comic book series with illustrator Albert Uderzo. Raised largely in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he attended French schoo ...

and

Albert Uderzo Alberto Aleandro Uderzo (; ; 25 April 1927 – 24 March 2020), better known as Albert Uderzo, was a French comic book artist and scriptwriter. He is best known as the co-creator and illustrator of the ''Astérix'' series in collaboration with Re ...

. It was first published in serial form in ''

Pilote Cover of the first ''Pilote'' issue #0 ''Pilote'' () was a French comic magazine published from 1959 to 1989. Showcasing most of the major French or Belgian comics talents of its day the magazine introduced major series such as ''Astérix'', '' ...

'' magazine, issues 215–257, in 1963.

Synopsis

The book begins with an argument between Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, and

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

. As a triumphant invader, Caesar belittles the

Egyptian people Egyptians ( arz, المَصرِيُون, translit=al-Maṣriyyūn, ; arz, المَصرِيِين, translit=al-Maṣriyyīn, ; cop, ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ, remenkhēmi) are an ethnic group native to the Nile Valley in Egypt. Egyptian iden ...

and suggests that

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

, as a realm, is past its best. Infuriated, Cleopatra makes a wager with Caesar promising to build a new palace in

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

within three months. Cleopatra summons Edifis, who claims to be the best architect in Egypt. She promises Edifis that if he builds the palace on time he will be covered with gold; if he fails, he will be a meal for the sacred crocodiles. Edifis responds to this assignment by enlisting the help of the Gauls,

Obelix Obelix (; french: Obélix) is a cartoon character in the French comic book series ''Asterix''. He works as a menhir sculptor and deliveryman, and is Asterix's best friend. Obelix is noted for his obesity, the menhirs he carries around on his bac ...

Getafix This is a list of characters in the ''Asterix'' comics. Main characters Asterix, Obelix and Dogmatix are the first characters with short descriptions usually listed at the beginning of each of the ''Asterix'' books (after the map of Gaul). They ...

, and

Dogmatix Dogmatix () is a fictional white terrier dog who is a companion to Obelix in the ''Asterix'' comics. Dogmatix is a pun on the words dog and dogmatic. In the original French, his name is ''Idéfix'', itself a pun on the French expression '' idée ...

. Thanks to Getafix and his magic potion, the work goes forward on schedule, despite multiple attempts by Edifis's arch rival, Artifis, to sabotage the construction after Edifis says he doesn't want his help, claiming Artifis works people too hard. Artifis tells the workers to demand less whipping, which would slow construction. However Getafix gives the workers magic potion. Artifis bribes the stone-delivery man to throw his load away, before Obelix beats him up, causing him to reveal the truth, a henchman tries to lock the Gauls inside a pyramid, but Dogmatix helps them find their way out. He subsequently tries to frame the Gauls by sending a poisoned cake to Cleopatra, but Getafix makes an antidote enabling the Gauls to eat it, then cures the taster and claims eating too much rich food was giving him a bad stomach. Edifis is kidnapped and hidden in a sarcophagus in the house of Artifis, but Obelix frees him. Artifis and his henchman are forced to work on the palace, but without magic potion. Just before the palace is due to be completed, Caesar intervenes by sending legions to try to arrest the Gauls, after he realises the three Gauls are in Egypt when a spy disguises himself as a worker, and sees the effects of the magic potion. The Gauls fight off the Roman soldiers, but the commanding officer proceeds to shell the building with his

catapult A catapult is a ballistic device used to launch a projectile a great distance without the aid of gunpowder or other propellants – particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines. A catapult uses the sudden release of stored p ...

s. In desperation, Asterix and Dogmatix deliver the news to Cleopatra. A furious Cleopatra then hurries to the construction site to berate Caesar. Caesar's legions are ordered to fix the damage they caused (without any magic potion to help them) and the palace is successfully completed on time. Cleopatra wins her bet and covers Edifis with gold. Edifis and Artifis reconcile and agree to build pyramids together, and Cleopatra gives Getafix some papyrus manuscripts from the

Library of Alexandria The Great Library of Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt, was one of the largest and most significant libraries of the ancient world. The Library was part of a larger research institution called the Mouseion, which was dedicated to the Muses, th ...

as a gift. The Gauls return, but Vitalstatistix criticises Obelix trying to give an Egyptian style point to menhirs.

Adaptations

''Asterix and Cleopatra'' has been adapted for film twice: first as an animated 1968 film entitled ''

Asterix and Cleopatra ''Asterix and Cleopatra'' is the sixth book in the Asterix album series by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo. It was first published in serial form in ''Pilote'' magazine, issues 215–257, in 1963. Synopsis The book begins with an argument b ...

'', and then as a live-action 2002 film called '' Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra''. An

audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sc ...

of ''Asterix and Cleopatra'' adapted by

Anthea Bell Anthea Bell (10 May 1936 – 18 October 2018) was an English translator of literary works, including children's literature, from French, German and Danish. These include '' The Castle'' by Franz Kafka, ''Austerlitz'' by W. G. Sebald, the '' In ...

and

Derek Hockridge Derek Hockridge (1934 – 8 August 2013) was a British translator, teacher, lecturer, and occasional actor, who was perhaps best known for his translations of the ''Asterix'' comic book series. Born in Wales and brought up in Birmingham, he comp ...

and narrated by

Willie Rushton William George Rushton (18 August 1937 – 11 December 1996) was an English cartoonist, satirist, comedian, actor and performer who co-founded the satirical magazine ''Private Eye''. Early life Rushton was born 18 August 1937 in 3 Wilbraham Plac ...

was released on

Hodder and Stoughton Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette. History Early history The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged 14, with Messrs Jackson and Walford, the official publisher ...

's ''Hodder Children's Audio''.

Relationship to other ''Asterix'' books

In most ''Asterix'' books, Obelix is not permitted to drink the Magic Potion, because he fell into a cauldron of Magic Potion in his childhood, resulting in a permanent effect, and Getafix fears that giving Obelix any more potion would have an unpredictable effect on him. However, in this book Getafix makes an exception due to an extraordinary requirement (the need to force open a solid stone door inside a pyramid which apparently even Obelix's regular level of strength is incapable of doing). Obelix notices no difference, but keeps asking for more potion in subsequent volumes. The recurring pirate characters appear in this book, though on this occasion they sink their own ship rather than endure a fight with the Gauls. The captain's son Erix (seen in the previous book ''

Asterix and the Banquet ''Asterix and the Banquet'' (, "Asterix's Tour of Gaul") is the fifth volume of the Asterix comic book series, by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations). It was first serialized in ''Pilote'' magazine, issues 172–213, in 196 ...

'') is mentioned as having been left as a deposit to pay for the short-lived ship. After he and his crew have been forced to take jobs as galley slaves on Cleopatra's barge, the captain expresses the unusual determination to wreak revenge on the Gauls — in other books, he simply wishes never to encounter them again.

Trivia

Obelix's dog, Dogmatix (Idéfix in the original French), is named for the first time in this story. It is also the first story in which Dogmatix takes a significant role (rescuing the heroes from a maze inside a

Pyramid A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...

). On Page 33, Artifis is reading the Daily Nile newspaper, which shows the comics - PTARZAN and PNUTS. On page 47, Asterix offers help in creating a canal linking the Red Sea with the Mediterranean Sea by telling the Egyptians to call

someone Someone may refer to: Literature * ''Someone'' (Edwards novel), a 2014 novel by A.M. Edwards * ''Someone'' (McDermott novel), a 2013 novel by Alice McDermott Songs * "Someone" (Lee Greenwood song), 1987 * "Someone" (The Rembrandts song), 19 ...

in the future.

Reception

Goodreads Goodreads is an American social cataloging website and a subsidiary of Amazon that allows individuals to search its database of books, annotations, quotes, and reviews. Users can sign up and register books to generate library catalogs and read ...

, it had a score of 4.29 out of 5.

References

External links

Asterix and Cleopatra
Official English Website {{Asterix, Cleopatra, Asterix and, type=book Cleopatra, Asterix and Depictions of Cleopatra in comics Depictions of Julius Caesar in comics Ancient Alexandria in art and culture Comics set in deserts Comics set in ancient Egypt Works originally published in Pilote Literature first published in serial form 1965 graphic novels Works by René Goscinny Comics by Albert Uderzo Comics based on real people