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There are several issues with this theory, according to modern Egyptologists. For something, cobras were generally a minimum of 5 feet long, and could grow up to 8 feet; much too big to smuggle into Cleopatra's mausoleum in a basket of figs, as the story goes. In addition, not all snake bites are deadly, and those that are eliminate their victims slowly and painfully, making it tough to think a snake was able to eliminate Cleopatra and her two maids in the short time it considered Octavian to receive her note and send his guards.<br><br>If Cleopatra did poison herself to death, Schiff and others argue, it's most likely she drank a deadly natural mixture, or used a poisonous lotion, as one ancient historian, Strabo, recommended. Either of these would have killed her (and her servants) quicker and effectively than a snake bite. In 2010, the German historian Christoph Schaefer recommended that Cleopatra might have consumed a deadly mix of hemlock, wolfsbane and opium, based upon his research studies of ancient documents and his work with a toxicologist.
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Cleopatra's death appears to have played out as drastically as the life she lived. After the Egyptian queen and her long time enthusiast, the Roman general Mark Antony, saw their combined forces annihilated in the Battle of Actium in 31 B.C., they pulled away to an unpredictable future in Alexandria. Months later on, with the Roman army of Octavian at the city's gates, a desperate Antony fell on his sword. Solid historic proof connecting to Cleopatra's death, as with much of her bio, is thin. Those who assembled the most thorough accounts of her life, especially the Roman author Plutarch, lived generations after her death. Poets, playwrights and filmmakers later on drew on these sources to construct Cleopatra into a nearly legendary figure, defined mostly by her powers of seduction and her relationships with 2 Roman leaders, Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. Such fictionalized accounts of her life, and her untimely demise, developed the popular picture of Cleopatra as the gorgeous, doomed lead character in one of history's most popular romantic dramas. Behind that image, however, was a real-life queen, who, no matter her looks, was certainly a powerful leader-- and among the most powerful members of a Greek dynasty that controlled Egypt for more than 3 centuries. What We Understand About Cleopatra's Death After Roman forces squashed the Egyptian army in the Fight of Actium, Antony and Cleopatra pulled back to Alexandria, where they saw as their previous allies and supporters defected to Octavian's side. As Stacy Schiff composed in her 2010 biography of Cleopatra, the couple liquified their debaucherous "Society of Inimitable Livers" and founded a brand-new one, "Buddies to the Death." Cleopatra had a two-story mausoleum rapidly constructed on her palace grounds, beside a temple devoted to her alter ego, the goddess Isis. By the end of July in 30 B.C., Octavian's forces had reached Alexandria, and Cleopatra pulled back to her mausoleum. Hearing a report that she had actually passed away, Antony stabbed himself with his own sword. His males brought him to Cleopatra, and he passed away in her arms. According to Plutarch, a member of Octavian's staff covertly alerted Cleopatra on August 9 that the general was planning to leave for Rome in a couple of days, and take Cleopatra and her children with him. The following day, Cleopatra shut herself away in the mausoleum with 2 maidservants, Iras and Charmion, and sent a note to Octavian, who was already remaining in Alexandria, likely in the queen's palace. Upon opening Cleopatra's note, which asked that she be buried at Antony's side, Octavian immediately sent his guys to examine. When they broke down the mausoleum door, they discovered Cleopatra lying lifeless on a golden couch, her two servants dead and dying next to her. She was 39 years of ages at the time she passed away, and had actually ruled Egypt for more than 20 years. The Snake Bite Theory According to the most widely repeated theory of Cleopatra's death, she passed away from a poisonous snake bite, inflicted either by an asp (a small viper) or an Egyptian cobra. Hers would have been an especially poetic suicide: The asp was a sign of royalty to the Egyptians, while the cobra was related to Cleopatra's favorite goddess, Isis. There are numerous problems with this theory, according to modern Egyptologists. For one thing, cobras were usually at least 5 feet long, and might grow up to 8 feet; much too large to smuggle into Cleopatra's mausoleum in a basket of figs, as the story goes. In addition, not all snake bites are fatal, and those that are kill their victims gradually and painfully, making it difficult to think a Cleopatra vii snake was able to eliminate Cleopatra and her 2 housemaids in the short time it took for Octavian to get her note and send his guards. If Cleopatra did toxin herself to death, Schiff and others argue, it's most likely she drank a lethal organic mixture,
or used a poisonous ointment, as one ancient historian, Strabo, recommended. Either of these would have eliminated her (and her servants) quicker and effectively than a snake bite. In 2010, the German historian Christoph Schaefer suggested that Cleopatra might have consumed a deadly mix of hemlock, wolfsbane and opium, based upon his studies of ancient files and his deal with a toxicologist.
