Friday, August 25, 2006
This Day in Ancient History
On this day in 30 BC, (or on one very like it that year) Cleopatra VII, last of the Ptolemaic queens of Egypt (whose ancestors came from Macedonia which used to be part of Yugoslavia), commits suicide with an unknown poison. This is just four weeks after her beloved Marcus Antonius fell on his sword (compare the Shakespeare scene which has her doing it mere minutes after him).
Later in history the idea that she snuffed it with an asp becomes popular. What they back then called an asp is believed now to be the Egyptian Cobra (now called the Snouted Cobra-naja haje annulifera) which is the narrow, yellow fellow to the left--nearly ten times more poisonous than Indian Cobra and a real killer in the snake world.
# posted by Roger Fraley @ 6:26 AM 
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Let us now praise that off beat cartoonist, teh late B. Kliban. Before there was Gary Larson, there was B. Kliban (1935-1990) who left us all too soon.
This post reminds of one of my favorite B. Kliban cartoons. Entilted"The Death of Cleopatra,"
It depicts the Egyptian Queen, butt naked, bending forward and clutching a beast to her ass.
This post reminds of one of my favorite B. Kliban cartoons. Entilted"The Death of Cleopatra,"
It depicts the Egyptian Queen, butt naked, bending forward and clutching a beast to her ass.
# posted by 
: 8:58 AM
: 8:58 AM
Have to disagree with your geography. Ancient Macedon is in northern Greece. There is, or was, a Yugoslavian Macedonia but the real deal is in Greece.
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