European asp, Vipera aspis

Asp is the modern Anglicization of the word Aspis, which in Antiquity referred to any one of several venomous snake species found in the Nile region. It is believed that the Aspis referred to in Egyptian mythology is the modern Egyptian cobra. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 663 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (1508 × 1364 pixel, file size: 502 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Toskana, Umgebung von Pienza, 15. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 663 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (1508 × 1364 pixel, file size: 502 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Toskana, Umgebung von Pienza, 15. ... Binomial name Vipera aspis (Linnaeus, 1758) Synonyms [Coluber] Aspis - Linnaeus, 1758 Vipera Mosis Charas - Laurenti, 1768 Vipera vulgaris - Latreille In Sonnini & Latreille, 1801 Vipera ocellata - Latreille In Sonnini & Latreille, 1801 Coluber Charasii - Shaw, 1802 [Vipera (Echidna)] Aspis - Merrem, 1820 C[hersea]. vulgaris - Fleming, 1822 Vipera aspis - Metaxa, 1823 Aspis ocellata... “Ancient” redirects here. ... A venomous snake is a snake that uses modified saliva, venom, delivered through fangs in its mouth, to immobilize or kill its prey. ... NASA satellite photograph of the Nile Delta (shown in false colour) The Nile Delta (Arabic:دلتا النيل) is the delta formed in Northern Egypt where the Nile River spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. ... For other uses, see Mythology (disambiguation). ... Egyptian Cobra, Naga haje This article is about snakes. ...

Throughout dynastic and Roman Egypt, the Asp was a symbol of royalty. Moreover, in both Egypt and Greece, its potent venom made it useful as a means of execution for criminals who were thought deserving of a more dignified death than that of typical executions. Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew from a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula circa the 9th century BC to a massive empire straddling the Mediterranean Sea. ...

According to Plutarch (quoted by Ussher), Cleopatra tested various deadly poisons on condemned persons and animals for daily entertainment and concluded that the bite of the Asp was the least terrible way to die; the venom brought sleepiness and heaviness without spasms of pain. The Asp is perhaps most famous for its role in Cleopatra's suicide (some believe it to have been a horned viper, Cerastes cerastes), as immortalized by both history and legend: Mestrius Plutarchus (Greek: Πλούταρχος; 46 - 127), better known in English as Plutarch, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist. ... Archbishop James Ussher (1581-1656) James Ussher (sometimes spelled Usher) (4 January 1581–21 March 1656) was Anglican Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland between 1625–1656 and a prolific religious scholar who most famously published a chronology which calculated the date of Creation as 4004 BC. // Ussher... Cleopatra was a co-ruler of Egypt with her father (Ptolemy XII Auletes), her brothers/husbands Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV, consummated a liaison with Gaius Julius Caesar that solidified her grip on the throne, and, after Caesars assassination, aligned with Mark Antony, with whom she produced twins. ... Binomial name Cerastes cerastes (Linnaeus, 1758) Synonyms [Coluber] Cerastes - Linnaeus, 1758 Coluber cornutus - Linnaeus In Hasselquist, 1762 Cerastes cornutus - Forskål, 1775 Vipera Cerastes - Sonnini & Latreille, 1801 Cerastes Hasselquistii - Gray, 1842 Cerastes Aegyptiacus - Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854 Echidna atricaudata - Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854 Vipera Avicennae - Jan...

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

Envenomation is usually followed by 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 anywhere from 19–27 mg to 100 mg of dried venom being reported. An estimated lethal dose for humans is 40–50 mg. Anthony and Cleopatra, by Lawrence Alma-Tadema. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... This page is a candidate to be moved to Wiktionary. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Necrosis (in Greek Νεκρός = Dead) is the name given to accidental death of cells and living tissue. ... For other uses, see Nausea (disambiguation). ... Emesis redirects here. ... In medicine, hematuria (or haematuria) is the presence of blood in the urine. ... A phospholipase is an enzyme that converts phospholipids into fatty acids and other lipophilic substances. ... Cardiotoxicity is the occurrence of heart muscle damage. ... Myotoxins are small, basic peptides found in snake venoms, such as in that of certain rattlesnakes. ... Binomial name Cerastes cerastes (Linnaeus, 1758) Synonyms [Coluber] Cerastes - Linnaeus, 1758 Coluber cornutus - Linnaeus In Hasselquist, 1762 Cerastes cornutus - ForskÃ¥l, 1775 Vipera Cerastes - Sonnini & Latreille, 1801 Cerastes Hasselquistii - Gray, 1842 Cerastes Aegyptiacus - Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854 Echidna atricaudata - Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854 Vipera Avicennae - Jan... Binomial name Cerastes vipera (Linnaeus, 1758) Synonyms [Coluber] vipera - Linnaeus, 1758 Aspis Cleopatrae - Laurenti, 1768 Vipera Aegyptia - Latreille In Sonnini & Latreille, 1801 Vipera aegyptiaca - Daudin, 1803 Aspis Cleopatra - Gray, 1842 Cerastes Richiei - Gray, 1842 Echidna atricauda - Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854 Vipera Avicennae - Jan, 1859 V[ipera]. (Echidna) Avicennae...

References

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