With Antony in Rome, he is seen as a great person and a hero, and also respected by many, including Caesar, and this is due to the historical warfare that Antony took part in, such as the Battle of Philippi. For his actions as a soldier, he was respected, but the Roman commoners and Caesar knew what he was doing in Egypt and referred to Cleopatra as “whore” and a “trull” (prostitute).
Even being the man that Antony has made himself into, highly respected and an important figure in the empire, he is never in control in either land. In Egypt, there is Cleopatra, who is unpredictable and exciting, and this is the general reflecting of Egypt compared to Rome – a more exciting and unpredictable land. This is why Antony and Enobarbus enjoys themselves more in Egypt rather than in Rome, where there is more of a military and commanding atmosphere, set by Caesar. Enobarbus makes this evident when Antony tells him that they must return to Rome, his reply is: “Why, then we kill all our women.” He is saying mockingly that if they leave, all the women will die due to their absence. In Rome however, the relationship between the two characters is different and this is perhaps due to the differences in the atmosphere between Rome and Egypt. In Rome, Antony and Enobarbus speak differently. Instead of the friendly and informal conversation, the conversations are more formal, and at one point Antony says: “Thou art a soldier only. Speak no more.” This shows that even when at times Antony can be friendly and relaxed, he still realises what his position is, whereas Caesar is always formal and is one of two types of characters within the play.
The first type of characters are those believing in “Stoicism” and take it, that whatever happens is due to the gods, and accept this. This includes Caesar and Octavia, and they seem to be the more serious characters in the play. This can be seen when Caesar, Antony, Lepidus, and Pompey are having a drink (Act II, Scene 7), when Antony and Lepidus are clearly enjoying themselves and drinking without limits, whereas Caesar is more relaxed and controlled in his drinking.
The other type of characters in the play, believe in “Epicureanism.” These characters are those who believed that one should enjoy life while they can. An example of such a character would be someone such as Antony or Cleopatra. This can be seen when Cleopatra described to her maid, Charmian what once happened between her and Antony. She says:
“…I drunk him to his bed;
Then put my tires and mantles on him, whilst
I wore his sword Philippan.”
This illustrates to the audience the type of relationship Cleopatra and Antony had. Caesar or Octavia would never do this, and this enforces the idea of the different characters within the play and with these two sets of characters mainly situated in one area, either Egypt or Rome, it shows the contrasts between both lands.
Also, the characters of both Antony and Cleopatra differ. In Act 1 Scene 4, Cleopatra asks Charmian for “some mandragora”, and Charmian replies with, “why madam?” Nevertheless, Cleopatra is not angry at this reply, she simply tells Charmian the reason without being angry and says, “My Antony is away”. However, with Antony, his servants and attendants only listen to him because Antony provokes arguments if his orders are not carried out. When Antony is talking to the soothsayer in act two, scene three, the soothsayer does not inform Antony with the information that he wanted to hear, and instead of taking this information and not believing in it, Antony simply says: “Speak this no more.” This shows how both characters in both lands differ to hearing others question their command. In Egypt, Cleopatra is more relaxed, whereas in Rome, Antony does not feel comfortable. This could be due to the presence of Caesar.
Even though their characters differ, their characters are close together and Cleopatra cannot bear to be alone and without Antony, or shows this to the audience. This is shown when Antony leaves Cleopatra, and she sends messenger after messenger to look at his behaviour without her presence. Whereas in Rome, the triumvirs rule the entire known world, but are not as close as the Roman commoners would like them to be. Lepidus is a very insignificant character in the plot, and Antony and Caesar do not have the brotherly relationship between them, even after the marriage of Octavia with Antony. Instead, Antony refers to Caesar as a “child” many times throughout the play and both characters are insulted by each other as the plot progresses. The direct comparison between Antony and Caesar can be made when the soothsayer early on, says that Caesar will “outshine” Antony when they are together, and this suggest that there will be conflict later on in the play.
In Egypt, the atmosphere is more relaxed and informal compared to that of the Roman courts. Cleopatra’s attendants have a different relationship with the pharaoh compared to relations in Rome with Caesar and his friends and followers. Cleopatra does not feel uncomfortable talking in front of Charmian, who one might say is Cleopatra's closest maids, and the relationship between the two characters is more like a sisterly relationship. Cleopatra does not mind having conversations with Antony with the presence of Charmian or her other maids. This demonstrates how different the Egyptians view matters such as love and relationships, and how they do not mind about matters like these being in the public eye.
This is different to Rome, because here, anything that Caesar does or contributes to in public must be grand and superior to others. This is evident in Act 3 Scene 6, where Octavia, Caesar's loved sister returns after her political marriage to Antony. Her return to Rome is described as the coming of “a market maid to Rome.” This upsets and angers Caesar who knows what Antony is doing and informs Octavia that Antony is with Cleopatra in Egypt.
This incident with the return of Octavia also shows the contrasts between the two main female figures in each land – Octavia in Rome, and Cleopatra in Egypt. The way Cleopatra enters a place differs from that of Octavia and this is presented to the audience when in Act 2 Scene 2, Enobarbus describes how Cleopatra entered the river of Cydnus. She is portrayed to the audience as more of a goddess rather than a pharaoh, and her barge is described:
“Purple were the sails, and so perfuméd that
The winds were lovesick with them.”
This suggests that a great deal of care has been taken with the transportation of Cleopatra, and she wants to show off and present to the world of Cleopatra as a goddess.
Overall, Shakespeare has allowed the audiences to experience and explore both the cultures of Egypt and Rome through the characters and has made this easier by allowing the audience to compare Antony with Caesar, as they are two men, and Octavia with Cleopatra, the two main female characters in the plot, but others assist in making it evident that there is a great deal of contrast between the two lands and the characters who are comfortable in them.