Alexander the Great poisoned by the Styx River

Alexander the Great (336-323 BC)

Scientists from the US Stanford University believe that Alexander the Great, the King of Macedonia, was poisoned by the water from the River Styx in Greece.

The river was believed to be the mythical entrance to Hell.

It was based on a real steam now known as the Mavroneri, or Black Water, which springs from mountains on the Peloponnesian peninsula.

The researchers have found correlation between the symptoms suffered by Alexander before his death, and the effects of the highly toxic bacterium found in the river.

The King of Macedonia fell ill during a party at the palace of Nebuchadnezzar II in Babylon, and after a 12-day agony died aged 33.

For many centuries historians believed he had died of typhoid or malaria.