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Asp (reptile)

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Insects, Reptiles and
Fish

   Vipera aspis
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   Vipera aspis

   Asp is the modern/anglicized form of aspis. In antiquity the name
   refers to a venomous snake of Egypt from the Nile delta region and
   generally assumed to refer to the Egyptian cobra, but a wide array of
   other snakes were called asps. Today the European asp, Vipera aspis, is
   the only snake correctly referred to as an asp.

   The asp was a symbol of royalty in dynastic and Roman Egypt. Extremely
   poisonous, the asp was often used as a means of execution for criminals
   who had attained a favoured status and were thought deserving of a
   death more dignified than typical executions. The Greeks also used them
   for executions.

   According to Plutarch (quoted by Ussher), Cleopatra tested various
   deadly poisons on condemned persons and animals for daily
   entertainment. She concluded that the bite of the asp was the best way
   to die. It brought a sleepiness and heaviness without spasms of pain.
   Later she may have used this method to kill herself. Yet some people
   think that Cleopatra was bitten by a horned viper.

   In Shakespeare's play, Cleopatra kills herself by the bite of an asp
   after the death of her lover, Mark Antony.

     With thy sharp teeth this knot intrinsicate
     Of life at once untie: poor venomous fool
     Be angry, and dispatch.

          —Cleopatra, Act V, scene II, Antony and Cleopatra by William
          Shakespeare

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   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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