Asp (snake)

Vipera aspis

Asp is the modern - supposedly chosen by W. Shakespeare - 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 venomous, 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. This is unlikely because the venom is not very toxic. Envenomation usually causes swelling, hemorrhage, necrosis, nausea, vomiting and hematuria. A high phospholipase A2 content may cause cardiotoxicity and myotoxicity. Studies of venom from both C. cerastes and C. vipera list a total of eight venom fractions, the most powerful of which has hemorrhagic activity. Venom yields vary, with anything from 19-27 mg dried venom to 100 mg being reported. An estimated lethal dose for humans is 40-50 mg.

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