# Mark Antony — Julius Caesar character guide

> Mark Antony in Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Antony, Mark Antony, noble Antony, most noble Antony, Antonius

**First appearance:** 0001-act-i

## Snapshot

Caesar's devoted lieutenant, a runner and reveler who shakes the conspirators' bloody hands by day and calls them butchers over the corpse by night.

## Who they are

Antony opens the play as the athletic favorite who obeys Caesar's lightest word, then pivots into the most dangerous man in Rome by mourning Caesar publicly while privately vowing woe to the hand that shed his blood. He asks only to speak at the funeral, and Brutus grants it against Cassius's warning, believing a controlled oration will do no harm. Antony's genius is patience: he flatters the conspirators to their faces, then turns Caesar's wounds into a weapon the crowd cannot resist.

## Relationships

### [Marcus Brutus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/julius_caesar_se/characters/marcus_brutus)

_rivalry_

After Caesar's assassination, Brutus and Antony become bitter enemies, with Antony seeking revenge and power.

### [Julius Caesar](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/julius_caesar_se/characters/julius_caesar)

_friendship_

Antony is Caesar's loyal friend and ally, supporting him politically and personally.

### [Marcus Brutus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/julius_caesar_se/characters/marcus_brutus)

_rivalry_

After Caesar's assassination, Brutus and Antony become bitter enemies, with Antony seeking revenge and power.

### [Marcus Brutus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/julius_caesar_se/characters/marcus_brutus)

_rivalry_

After Caesar's assassination, Brutus and Antony become bitter enemies, with Antony seeking revenge and power.

### [Julius Caesar](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/julius_caesar_se/characters/julius_caesar)

_friendship_

Antony is Caesar's loyal friend and ally, supporting him politically and personally.

## In the story

### [Scene II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/julius_caesar_se/chapters/act-i-scene-ii)

Antony offers the crown to Caesar at the Lupercal and later defends Cassius to Caesar as a noble Roman.

### [Scene II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/julius_caesar_se/chapters/act-ii-scene-ii)

Arrives to escort Caesar, greeted by Caesar.

### [Scene I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/julius_caesar_se/chapters/act-iii-scene-i)

Returns to the conspirators, shakes their hands, and secretly plans revenge.

### [Scene II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/julius_caesar_se/chapters/act-iii-scene-ii)

Delivers a masterful, emotionally manipulative funeral oration that turns the crowd against the conspirators.

### [Scene I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/julius_caesar_se/chapters/act-iv-scene-i)

Leads the proscription, dismisses Lepidus as a mere property, and strategizes against Brutus and Cassius.

### [Scene I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/julius_caesar_se/chapters/act-v-scene-i)

Leads his army, taunts Brutus and Cassius about Caesar's murder.

### [Scene IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/julius_caesar_se/chapters/act-v-scene-iv)

Arrives after Lucilius's capture, sees through the deception, and orders Lucilius to be kept safe.

### [Scene V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/julius_caesar_se/chapters/act-v-scene-v)

Antony eulogizes Brutus as 'the noblest Roman of them all,' distinguishing him from the other conspirators.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/julius_caesar_se/characters/mark_antony
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/julius_caesar_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/julius_caesar_se/characters