Plutarch’s Account
Plutarch’s The Parallel Lives (Document A), Cassius Dio’s Roman History (Document B), and Retief & Cilliers’ “The Death of Cleopatra” (Document C) provide varying accounts and perspectives on the exact reason for the death of Cleopatra. According to Document A, which describes the historical account of Plutarch, her death resulted from a self-inflicted snake bite using an asp hidden in a basket of figs (Plutarch, 1920). This account insinuates that Cleopatra desired to die together with her lover Antony and, as such, used the snake to commit suicide.
Dio’s History
Document B alleges that a snake bite may have been the cause of her death, but it also refutes this theory by considering other alternative causes of her death (Dio, 1917). In particular, Document B discusses the death of Cleopatra, which occurred after a bite from a cobra snake, but notes that her intention might have been to die quickly.
Retief & Cilliers’ Perspective
In contrast to Documents A and B, Document C criticizes the snakebite theory by exploring the hypothesis that other reasons may have caused Cleopatra’s death. In particular, the journal article severely criticizes the snake bite theory, maintaining that there were no significant bite marks on her body to support the theory (Retief & Cilliers, 2010). In addition, the article suggests that poison concealed in a hollow hairpin might have been the cause of her swift and painless death.
Comparison
Given these contrasting accounts of the death of Cleopatra, it is unclear whether a snake bite or another reason caused her death. Plutarch’s historical account supports that she died of a self-inflicted snake bite, while Cassius Dio is skeptical of this claim. In addition, the journal article refutes any notions of snake bite theory and suggests an entirely different cause of death. Thus, Cleopatra’s cause of death remains a matter of debate, with one side maintaining it was caused by a self-inflicted snake bite, while the other side claims she was poisoned. However, all the perspectives concur that her swift and painless death resulted from the introduction of poison into her bloodline.
References
Dio, C. (1917). Roman History. Loeb Classical Library
Plutarch. (1920). The Parallel Lives. Loeb Classical Library
Retief, F. P., & Cilliers, L. (2010). The death of Cleopatra. Acta Theologica, 26(2).