They Put a Snake or a Fly in His Cup: Midrashic Narratives on the Assassination Attempt of King Aḥasuerus by Bigthan and Teresh

The episode that relates the assassination attempt on King Ahasuerus by Bigthan and Teresh (Esther 2:21–23) received many and varied expansions over time. Aramaic translations and exegetists assumed there was a discrepancy between the text and the actual events and filled it with new details. The enrichment of the plot with data that do not appear in the text was based on ancient traditions and contemporary stories by the rabbis about life in royal palaces, intrigues, plots, and liquidation attempts of rulers. The current study discusses several assassination methods attributed to Bigthan and Teresh: 1. osseous injury using a sharp object; 2. strangulation; 3. intentional poisoning, such as serving the king a drink that contains a “deadly poison” or “venom”; hiding a snake in the king’s drinking cup; inserting a poisonous fly (Spanish fly?) into the king’s drink.