Prudence J. Jones reflects on how Cleopatra VII (69-30 BC), the last of the Ptolemaic rulers of Egypt, tested poisons on condemned prisoners to determine which agent would produce the least painful death. Cleopatra's most famous foray into chemistry was her pearl cocktail. At a banquet, Cleopatra suggested they dip their crowns of flowers into their wine. Antony agreed and as he was about to drink, Cleopatra knocked the cup from his hands, saying that it was poisoned. When he asked how it could be poisoned, she explained that she had applied poison to the flowers before giving him the crown, thus demonstrating that she had the ability to kill Antony but, obviously, not the desire. Like the poisoned flowers, Cleopatra's pearl cocktail functions as a demonstration that the power she holds over Antony comes not only from her wealth, but also from her superior intellect.
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机译：普鲁登斯·琼斯（Prudence J. Jones）反思了埃及的最后一个托勒密统治者克娄巴特拉七世（Cleopatra VII）（公元前69-30年）如何对被判刑的囚犯进行了毒药测试，以确定哪种药剂能使痛苦最小化。克娄巴特拉最著名的化学尝试是她的珍珠鸡尾酒。在宴会上，埃及艳后建议他们将花冠浸入酒中。安东尼同意了，当他要喝酒时，埃及艳后敲了敲杯子，说杯子已经中毒了。当他问到如何将其中毒时，她解释说，在给他冠冕之前，她已经在花朵上施了毒药，因此表明她有能力杀死安东尼，但显然没有欲望。像毒花一样，埃及艳后的珍珠鸡尾酒也证明了她对安东尼的掌控力不仅来自于她的财富，还来自于她的卓越才智。
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