In one of my major history classes our professor mentioned that Cleopatra (whom everyone is familiar with from all the films) was actually Greek and that she had to be tutored to learn the ancient Egyptian language. How true is this and does anyone have any books I can read on?
Not to forestall further answers, but AskHistorians mod /u/cleopatra_philopater has written a lot about Cleopatra and Hellenistic Egypt in general and how Cleopatra negotiated her identities as Greek and Egyptian - see the FAQ page on that topic, and if you want more, see /u/cleopatra_philopater's excellent, well-updated Flaired User Profile for oodles of relevant info on the topic you're asking about!