Some believe Cleopatra was called the ‘Serpent of the Nile’ because she was especially fond of pets belonging to the reptilian breed. An unverified source provides yet another reason: her uneducated subjects somehow got it into their heads that she was descended from a god that looked like a giant anaconda. According to popular lore, which is still the most cogent, Cleo earned her nickname from the way she enticed men into her bed and dumped them afterwards.
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