Compare and Contrast Plutarch and Octavian
Assignment 01
Compare and contrast the ways in which the passage below attempts to discredit Anthony with the ways this is done in the speech attributed to Octavian by cassias die * Before I start to answer the question above, we need to study the background of the individuals involved. * Cleopatra was a very complicated character… she had volatile and tempestuous relationships with both mark Anthony and Julius Caesar , which eventually led to the deaths of Cleopatra and mark Anthony by suicide. * She was a very beautiful woman who possessed a great strength of character. Men were afraid of her but also were seduced by her. Here was a woman who wasn’t afraid of using her sexuality to achieve what she wanted. Egypt under her reign was seen by Rome to be a * Wanton hedonistic society whose people were only interested in the pleasures of the flesh instead of fighting and showing pride in their country... Julius Caesar was disgusted by their lavish displays of wealth and lack of personal control. * He held Cleopatra responsible for her fellow countrymen behaviour. And it was because of his feelings Octavian delivered this speech to his army, before the battle of Actium. * Plutarch on the other hand is the principal source for the events surrounding Anthony, Cleopatra and Octavian, without his written history about Cleopatra, we in our modern world would know very little about her. The Egyptians’ were very bad at recording their history which is in complete contrast to the romans who hired scribes to write everything about them and their history? * It is noted that Plutarch’s work may only be partly true because his knowledge came by word of mouth and probably got messed around with the passing of time .as we will see in the next section of this essay both men had two very different points of view. *
Let us examine Octavian’s speech in more detail. During this period in roman history one’s reputation was very important. Octavian played one
Compare and contrast the ways in which the passage below attempts to discredit Anthony with the ways this is done in the speech attributed to Octavian by cassias die * Before I start to answer the question above, we need to study the background of the individuals involved. * Cleopatra was a very complicated character… she had volatile and tempestuous relationships with both mark Anthony and Julius Caesar , which eventually led to the deaths of Cleopatra and mark Anthony by suicide. * She was a very beautiful woman who possessed a great strength of character. Men were afraid of her but also were seduced by her. Here was a woman who wasn’t afraid of using her sexuality to achieve what she wanted. Egypt under her reign was seen by Rome to be a * Wanton hedonistic society whose people were only interested in the pleasures of the flesh instead of fighting and showing pride in their country... Julius Caesar was disgusted by their lavish displays of wealth and lack of personal control. * He held Cleopatra responsible for her fellow countrymen behaviour. And it was because of his feelings Octavian delivered this speech to his army, before the battle of Actium. * Plutarch on the other hand is the principal source for the events surrounding Anthony, Cleopatra and Octavian, without his written history about Cleopatra, we in our modern world would know very little about her. The Egyptians’ were very bad at recording their history which is in complete contrast to the romans who hired scribes to write everything about them and their history? * It is noted that Plutarch’s work may only be partly true because his knowledge came by word of mouth and probably got messed around with the passing of time .as we will see in the next section of this essay both men had two very different points of view. *
Let us examine Octavian’s speech in more detail. During this period in roman history one’s reputation was very important. Octavian played one