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European asp, Vipera aspis "Asp" is the modern anglicisation of the word "aspis", which in antiquity referred to any one of several venomous snake species found in the Nile region. [1] The specific epithet, aspis, is a Greek word that means "viper". [2] It is believed that aspis referred to what is now known as the Egyptian cobra. [3]
Cleopatra VII, the last ruler of Ptolemaic Egypt, died on either 10 or 12 August, 30 BC, in Alexandria, when she was 39 years old.According to popular belief, Cleopatra killed herself by allowing an asp (Egyptian cobra) to bite her, but according to the Roman-era writers Strabo, Plutarch, and Cassius Dio, Cleopatra poisoned herself using either a toxic ointment or by introducing the poison ...
The popular belief is that she allowed an asp, or Egyptian cobra, [347] to bite and poison her. [348] [349] [310] Plutarch relates this tale, but then suggests an implement (knestis) was used to introduce the toxin by scratching. Cassius Dio says that she injected the poison with a needle (belone), and Strabo argued for an ointment of some kind.
It dwells in underground burrows (hence the name "mole viper" or "burrowing asp"), is found under rocks, and is seen basking on roads on warm nights. Although its main habitat is in the desert, it is found in desert oases, around streams and springs rich in vegetation, and apparently it needs this moisture.
A Roman painting from the House of Giuseppe II in Pompeii, early 1st century AD, most likely depicting Cleopatra, wearing her royal diadem and consuming poison in an act of suicide, while her son Caesarion, also wearing a royal diadem, stands behind her [304] [305] While Octavian occupied Athens, Antony and Cleopatra landed at Paraitonion in Egypt.
The history of poison [1] stretches from before 4500 BCE to the present day. Poisons have been used for many purposes across the span of human existence, most commonly as weapons, anti-venoms, and medicines. Poison has been heavily studied in toxicology, among other sciences, and its use has led to several technological innovations.
Although Egypt was a prosperous kingdom, with the Ptolemies lavishing patronage through religious monuments and public works, the native population enjoyed few benefits; wealth and power remained overwhelmingly in the hands of Greeks. Subsequently, uprising and social unrest were frequent, especially by the early third century BC.
Synonyms [3] [Coluber] vipera Linnaeus, 1758Aspis Cleopatrae Laurenti, 1768; Vipera Aegyptia Latreille In Sonnini & Latreille, 1801; Vipera aegyptiaca Daudin, 1803; Aspis Cleopatra — Gray, 1842