> As a tribute to Cleopatra, whose glorious destiny ended in tragic snake circumstances
but according to Wikipedia this is not true:
> When Cleopatra learned that Octavian planned to bring her to his Roman triumphal procession, she killed herself by poisoning, contrary to the popular belief that she was bitten by an asp.
Yes, that seems to be a myth, but exact circumstances seem rather uncertain according to the Wikipedia article [1]:
> [A]ccording to the Roman-era writers Strabo, Plutarch, and Cassius Dio, Cleopatra poisoned herself using either a toxic ointment or by introducing the poison with a sharp implement such as a hairpin. Modern scholars debate the validity of ancient reports involving snakebites as the cause of death and whether she was murdered. Some academics hypothesize that her Roman political rival Octavian forced her to kill herself in a manner of her choosing. The location of Cleopatra's tomb is unknown. It was recorded that Octavian allowed for her and her husband, the Roman politician and general Mark Antony, who stabbed himself with a sword, to be buried together properly.
I think this rounds to “nobody really knows.”
The “glorious destiny” seems kind of shaky, too. It’s just a throwaway line anyway.
> As a tribute to Cleopatra, whose glorious destiny ended in tragic snake circumstances
but according to Wikipedia this is not true:
> When Cleopatra learned that Octavian planned to bring her to his Roman triumphal procession, she killed herself by poisoning, contrary to the popular belief that she was bitten by an asp.