Compare and Contrast the Ways in Which the Passage Attempts to Discredit Antony
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Carefully read the following extract several times. Compare and contrast the ways in which the passage below attempts to discredit Antony with the ways this is done in the speech attributed to Octavian by Cassius Dio (in Reading 1.1 of Book 1 Chapter 1).
Both extracts are similar as they are both written by Roman historians although they in very different styles. Plutarch’s extract is informal, almost gossip-like, whereas Cassius Dio’s extract is a strong, proud and formal speech.
Cleopatra’s was well known for her manipulative powers to change situations to benefit herself. In the opening of the passage by Plutarch it states; ‘Cleopatra went out of her way to insult two of Antony’s friends’. (Plutarch, 1965, p 58-59) Upsetting them would lead to them disclosing influential information to Octavian who could use it to his best advantage, so that he could prove to Rome how his chief rival for power was unfit to rule, pushing Antony closer to Cleopatra and further away from Rome. Cleopatra’s seduction of Antony, however, was a great tool for Octavian to discredit Antony as a weak lover instead of a strong fighter and in turn be their fate.
‘If it were a matter of being called upon to cavort in some ridiculous dance or cut some erotic caper, Antony would have no rival.’ (Trevor Fear, 2008, p27)
Not only was Antony abandoning his duties and behaving erratically but he would abandon his own country and traditions to be taken to Egypt after death as Plutarch states:
‘If he were to die in Rome, his body should be carried in state through the Forum and then sent to Cleopatra in Egypt’. (Plutarch, 1965, p 58-59)
Antony has wished not to follow his own tradition but Cleopatra’s, a huge betrayal of his country. This is echoed in Dio’s extract as Octavian states;
‘[He] has abandoned his whole ancestral way of life, has embraced alien and barbaric customs, has ceased to honour us’… (Trevor Fear, 2008, p27)
Cleopatra’s manipulation of Antony continues as he is...
Both extracts are similar as they are both written by Roman historians although they in very different styles. Plutarch’s extract is informal, almost gossip-like, whereas Cassius Dio’s extract is a strong, proud and formal speech.
Cleopatra’s was well known for her manipulative powers to change situations to benefit herself. In the opening of the passage by Plutarch it states; ‘Cleopatra went out of her way to insult two of Antony’s friends’. (Plutarch, 1965, p 58-59) Upsetting them would lead to them disclosing influential information to Octavian who could use it to his best advantage, so that he could prove to Rome how his chief rival for power was unfit to rule, pushing Antony closer to Cleopatra and further away from Rome. Cleopatra’s seduction of Antony, however, was a great tool for Octavian to discredit Antony as a weak lover instead of a strong fighter and in turn be their fate.
‘If it were a matter of being called upon to cavort in some ridiculous dance or cut some erotic caper, Antony would have no rival.’ (Trevor Fear, 2008, p27)
Not only was Antony abandoning his duties and behaving erratically but he would abandon his own country and traditions to be taken to Egypt after death as Plutarch states:
‘If he were to die in Rome, his body should be carried in state through the Forum and then sent to Cleopatra in Egypt’. (Plutarch, 1965, p 58-59)
Antony has wished not to follow his own tradition but Cleopatra’s, a huge betrayal of his country. This is echoed in Dio’s extract as Octavian states;
‘[He] has abandoned his whole ancestral way of life, has embraced alien and barbaric customs, has ceased to honour us’… (Trevor Fear, 2008, p27)
Cleopatra’s manipulation of Antony continues as he is...