Worse still, Antony draws back his navy and flees, following hers.
The naval battle goes badly for Antony, and at a critical moment Cleopatra inexplicably recalls her ships. Cleopatra has provided sixty of her own Egyptian warships. His pride is such that he believes he can win any contest. SCENE 5 (The Battle of Actium): Despite the fact that his navy is cobbled together from inexperienced sailors and inadequate vessels, Antony is exuberant, savoring the return of his long-lost military prowess. Insulted now two-fold, Caesar declares war against Antony. Caesar is interrupted by the surprise appearance of his pregnant sister Octavia, who has fled back to Rome. Perhaps she already senses Antony will abandon her.Īn infuriated Caesar receives the news that Antony and Cleopatra are back together again and behaving in flagrant disregard of Rome, Antony “bestowing” Cyprus, Lydia, Syria to her as if he had the power to do so. She must choose between her husband and her brother. Now officially Antony’s wife, Octavia voices her frustration in being caught in the middle of the two men she loves. SCENE 4: Antony, humiliated by Caesar and forced to move to Athens in order to isolate him and minimize his influence, resolves to make preparations for war against him. Unwilling to hear the truth she continues to ask the same question, “Is he married?” Eros arrives with news of Antony’s marriage to Octavia. SCENE 3: Back in Alexandria Cleopatra lounges by the pool, pining away theatrically for Antony. To everyone’s astonishment Antony agrees.Įnobarbus describes the fantastic scene when Antony first met Cleopatra in Cydnus, her glamorous arrival, dressed as Aphrodite, on her barge with its perfumed, purple sails, and her irresistible magnetism (“Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale her infinite variety.”) Agrippa makes a surprise proposal: that Antony marry Octavia, Caesar’s sister, who has recently become a widow. Antony arrives, greeted by a chilly, annoyed Caesar. SCENE 2: In Rome Caesar voices his disgust for Antony’s shirking of duties in Egypt while he, Caesar, has to deal with a mounting insurrection. She taunts him about his Roman wife Fulvia and needles him repeatedly about “the scarce-bearded Caesar.” Realizing he must temporarily return to Rome, Antony affirms his love for her, to which she responds with scorn and self-pity. Antony is barely recovered from the previous night’s festivities. SCENE 1: Cleopatra’s bedroom in Alexandria.
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