According to Octavian’s account, rather than facing the disgrace of defeat, the queen allowed a venomous asp snake to bite her and quickly succumbed to its poison. Some Roman writers, such as the historian Velleius Paterculus, repeated that story without question.
Live Science spoke with experts, who told us that the queen's death is still shrouded in mystery.
What historians largely agree on is that Cleopatra VII, the last queen of Egypt's Ptolemaic dynasty, took her own life and that she chose a method that left her body composed and dignified.
Divers celebrate as a crane pulls an artifact from the waters at Abu Qir bay in Alexandria, Egypt on Aug. 21, 2025. (Image credit: Khaled Desouki/AFP via Getty Images)
The best witness may have been Olympus, Cleopatra's personal physician. "Unfortunately, nothing survives of Olympus' account," Jones said.
A queen out of options
Following her capture, Cleopatra was held under military guard. By then, she had already tried to end her life twice. Cleopatra had tried to stab herself when Roman soldiers broke into the mausoleum where she had barricaded herself, and she later tried to starve herself, stopping only after Octavian threatened her children.
In the Greco-Roman world, suicide didn't carry the stigma it later acquired under Christianity, she added. "It was a way of wiping the slate clean, removing any shame, any disgrace from yourself." After the defeat of his remaining forces at Alexandria and hearing a false report of Cleopatra's death, Antony was the first of the two lovers to die by suicide.
A statue depicting Cleopatra's suicide by asp, the most famous of several ancient theories. (Image credit: Horacio Villalobos via Getty Images)
Jones has compiled what ancient historians, biographers, geographers and physicians wrote about Cleopatra's death. Every source mentions a snakebite, but several also suggest other possibilities, including a poisonous ointment, poison hidden in a hollow hairpin, and snake venom poured into a wound the queen made by biting herself. Only one of these writers, the geographer Strabo, was alive when Cleopatra died, and the only people in the room with her died, too.
Jones traces the snake version of the story to Octavian, who was in Alexandria when Cleopatra died. Plutarch reported that an image of Cleopatra with an asp clinging to her was carried in Octavian's triumphal procession in Rome. "Octavian, however, was Cleopatra's enemy and for that reason we may not want to accept his account uncritically," Jones said.
Draycott doesn't think one snake could have killed all three women. Jones is less certain. Snakes don't inject the same amount of venom with every bite, and some "dry bites" deliver none at all, Jones said. "On the other hand, I don't think it is impossible, as the body of a cobra contains enough venom to kill multiple people," she added.
A quiet poison
A young Egyptian cobra (Naja haja) strikes a typical defensive pose in scrubland near Sidi Ifni, Morocco. (Image credit: Kristian Bell via Getty Images)Related mysteries
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Still, that claim and other poison stories should be read with caution, Draycott said, because they draw on Roman stereotypes about women. In the Roman view, "manly men will battle with swords," while women, seen as "deceitful and weak" at this time, were thought to kill in secret. "They'll sneak it into your food," Draycott said, summing up the stereotype.
The method may remain a mystery, but for most historians, the motive doesn't change: Cleopatra chose to die on her own terms.
Are you a fan of mummies and hieroglyphs? Find out with our ancient Egypt quiz!
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