Life of Antony

by Plutarch, C.B.R. Pelling

Pelling presents the Greek text of Plutarch's Life of Antony, a work remarkable for its colorful narrative and vivid characterization of Antony and Cleopatra. Although mostly concerned with the literary merit of the Life, the text is accompanied by an extensive introduction that sets the work in its historical perspective and by detailed commentary that explains points of linguistic difficulty. Especially interesting is Pelling's discussion of the influence of the Life on Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, whose conception of the character and destiny of its protagonist is almost wholly shaped by Plutarch's work.

Genres: History, Classics, Biography, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir, School

356 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Plutarch (later named, upon becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus; AD 46–AD 120) was a Greek historian, biographer, and essayist, known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia. He is classified as a Middle Platonist. Plutarch's surviving works were written in Greek, but intended for both Greek and Roman readers.

Reviews

[David Sarkies · Rating 5 out of 5]

Friends, Romans, Countrymen, Lend Me Your Ears!8 June 2020

Well, I am certainly getting to the end of this book, and I have been reading thing for something like two and a half years now. Then again, half the reason that it has taken so long is that I have been reading the lives one at a time between reading other things, considering that it is a pretty chunky book. My version is actually two volumes, and while I have read the first volume previously, this is the first time I have read this volume.

So, we are well and truly into the time of the civil war now. In fact, I’d probably say that we are well and truly at the point where the republic collapses to be replaced with the empire. One interesting thing that I have noted as I was reading this life is that Plutarch makes mention of his grandfather a couple of times, and his involvement in the events as they were unfolding, though he also mentions that he lived in Athens and while the events in this life occur in Athens a couple of times, the main focus is really on the events in Alexandria.

Well, Plutarch certainly didn’t seem to like Antony all that much, if his comments at the end of the works are anything to go by. It is also interesting to see how Shakespeare actually changed the events to be able to fit into his play. Then again, the main focus of the play is the relationship between Antony and Cleopatra, though what I did find interesting is that Cleopatra died sometime after Antony, in that he was well and truly buried by the time Cleopatra took her own life. Of course, while the snake is mentioned, Plutarch does cast some doubt as to whether that was actually how Cleopatra died, particularly since the only two witnesses to the events died as well, and everything occurred in a locked room.

There is also mention of Ceasarion, the son of Julius Caeser by Cleopatra, and there has been speculation for time immemorial as to whether he was actually put to death by Augustus or not. Plutarch seems to believe that he was in that while he was initially sent out of Alexandria to a place of safety, the person whom he was entrusted to turn back and handed the child over to Augustus, who put him to death. Personally, I’m not all that familiar with the story, other than what was mentioned in Plutarch, and that there are rumours floating around that he survived, not that it really seemed to have much of an impact upon history as it turned out.

Another thing that I picked up as I read this was that after the battle of Phillipi, where the forces of Antony and Octavian (Augustus) defeated the forces of Brutus, Antony didn’t return to Rome, but rather headed east into Greece and then Anatolia. No doubt this was to put down any potential rebellions that might arise. Yet, I get the impression that after the battle he never really returned to Rome, except for a short while. For instance, he took an army into Pathia in an attempt to conquer the territory, though once again demonstrated that the deserts to the east of Palestine proved to be the limits of Roman power. Yeah, they were conquered at one stage, but that didn’t last all that long, and it certainly wasn’t by the hand of Mark Antony, who was well and truly defeated and sent hurrying back to Alexandria to the bosom of Cleopatra.

Yeah, that whole Cleopatra episode doesn’t go down all that well, particularly since Plutarch seems to blame her, in part, for Antony’s downfall. For instance, during the naval battle where Antony was finally defeated, there is mention of Cleopatra launching her ships, not to provide support for Antony, but rather to send them to Greece so they wouldn’t be destroyed. Also, Plutarch suggests that she was the one to convince Antony to fight at sea, which of course he well and truly lost.

It is interesting to see the comparisons between Pompey and Antony. Both were a part of a Triumvirate, and both ended up sheltering in Egypt. In a way it was pretty far from Rome, literally being at the edge of the Empire, but was developed enough that they would have the same luxuries that they would back home. Sure, they certainly wouldn’t be able to engage in the politicking that would occur in Rome, but they were far enough away from the centre of power that they could at least maintain some of their own power, and sort of escape the clutches of those who ruled Rome. Mind you, that didn’t work out all that well for either of them, namely because Pompey was assassinated by one of his confidants, while Octavian sent an army to pretty much defeat Antony.

It was quite an interesting read though, especially since we find out so much more about Antony from the life than we ever do from reading Shakespeare. Mind you, the lines that Antony speaks are purely Shakespeare since Plutarch certainly doesn’t mention any of the things that Antony said, only the gist of what he said, particularly during the rousing speech that he gave at Caeser’s funeral. It also gives us a good understanding of why some people really don’t like Antony, and why the TV series Rome portrayed him as being such a thug.

[soulady__ · Rating 4 out of 5]

read for class

[James Foster · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an intermediate Greek text with extensive footnotes and commentary. The notes were most valuable when highlighting Plutarch's stylistic devices. But they were sometimes frustratingly unhelpful with strange vocabulary or complex grammar. The notes were particularly insightful when comparing Plutarch's text to Shakespeare's "Anthony and Cleopatra", which it inspired.

[Kadir Kılıç · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marcus Antonius, Rome dizisini izlediğimden beri çok sevdiğim bir tarihi şahsiyettir. Uzun zamandır biyografisini okumak istiyordum ama nasip olmamıştı. Bu kitap dışında dilimize çevrilmiş başka Marcus Antonius biyografisi var mı bilmiyorum ama bu biyografi çok iyiydi. Zaten Plutarkhos adını bir kitapta görüyorsanız o kitabın kötü olma olasılığı çok düşüktür.

Bu kitapta anlatılanlara dayanarak William Shakespeare'nin Antonius ve Kleopatra adlı bir oyunu var. Onu da okumanızı tavsiye ederim.

[ksenophon · Rating 5 out of 5]

marcus antoniusun hayatını anlatan enfes bir eser
plutarkhosun zekasına ve anlatım tarzına hayran olmamak elde değil

[lil afghani]

The gossip is so juicy in these

[Sema Dural · Rating 5 out of 5]

“İskender çok az maddi kaynağı olmasına karşın yine de askerlerine çok cömert davranıyordu. Kimilerine toprak, kimilerine bir köy bağışladı. Bazılarınaysa bir kasabanın ya da limanın gelirlerini bıraktı. Hemen hemen bütün krallık gelirlerini harcamış veya dağıtmıştı. Komutanlarından Perdikkas sana ne kaldı kralım diye sorunca , İskender de şu karşılığı verdi: "Umut!" Bunun üzerine Perdikkas da "Öyleyse, seninle sefere çıkan bizler de umudunda sana yardımcı olacağız.”dedi.”

[Venus O'Neill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pissed at Plutarch. The dramatic class of historians are my enemy. STOP being mean to Antony, and STOP citing your uncle for shit. I get that the Curio/Cleopatra parallel is useful to characterize Antony in the way you want to, but it just makes me sad when you talk about him as if he's an irredeemable Hercules with shifting Omphales. Plutarch, I hope you can hear me, SHUT UP!!!

Very enjoyable! Loved it.

[Francis H. R.]

plutarch gay af for this one "noble dignity of form, a shapely beard, broad forehead, and an aquiline nose were thought to show the virile qualities peculiar to the portraits and statues of Hercules... he always wore his tunic girt up to his thigh, a large sword hung at his side, and a heavy cloak enveloped him" ....... good for antony

[Eleanor Sullivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why was this the most insane thing I’ve ever read???

Will be reading more Plutarch in the future

[Barış büyük · Rating 3 out of 5]

Türkçe çevirisinin kötülüğü dışında beğendim. Kleopatra’nın gerçek hayatına dair en fazla bilgiye bu kitap sayesinde ulaşıldığını öğrendim