The strongest argument against the poison theory is the fact that twelve days passed between the start of his illness and his death; such long-acting poisons were probably not available.
Sebaliknya, argumen terkuat melawan teori racun adalah fakta bahwa ada dua belas hari antara awal sakitnya dan kematiannya; di dunia kuno, racun yang bereaksi lama seperti itu kemungkinan tidak tersedia.