Cleopatra and the Poison Factory

 

Cleopatra and the Poison Factory

Date: c. 41–30 BCE

Story:
Cleopatra maintained a private apothecary and poison laboratory near the royal palace—staffed by herbalists, alchemists, and executioners.
She personally tested various poisons on condemned prisoners to determine the most painless and effective methods of death.
Sources claim she observed convulsions, timing death, and recording symptoms—combining science with royal ruthlessness.
Cleopatra studied venomous snakes, rare herbs, and mineral toxins from the East. She rejected some methods—too slow, too gruesome.
She favored quick-acting solutions that preserved beauty, in case of political suicide.
Some allege she used these poisons to eliminate rivals—like her sister Arsinoë, whose remains show signs of trauma possibly tied to toxins.
Roman spies tried to bribe her poison-makers, but Cleopatra executed any traitors.
The lab was destroyed after Octavian’s conquest—its secrets buried.
Cleopatra’s death, ironically, may have been the result of her own lethal concoctions.

Key Characters:

• Cleopatra VII

• Royal herbalists

• Egyptian prisoners

• Octavian’s spies

Reference:

• Pliny the Elder, Natural History

• Galen, On Poisons

• Appian, Civil Wars