Octavius Caesar

Play

Antony and Cleopatra

Summary

Octavius Caesar — the future Augustus, first Emperor of Rome — is Antony's younger rival and the play's emblem of cold, disciplined political modernity. Where Antony is defined by appetite, generosity, and magnificent waste, Octavius is defined by calculation, self-control, and relentless forward motion. He does not drink, does not love recklessly, and does not forgive. He uses his sister Octavia as a political tool and, though genuinely grieved when Antony becomes his enemy, prosecutes the war with icy efficiency. His victory is total — yet the play arranges its sympathies so that his triumph feels like a diminishment of the world.

Notable Quotations

"The time of universal peace is near." *(4.6)*

"Let determined things to destiny / Hold unbewailed their way." *(3.6)*

"He hath given his empire / Up to a whore." *(3.6 — on Antony)*

Cross-references

• Antony and Cleopatra — the play
• Julius Caesar — he also appears as a younger figure there
• Tragedies
• character_mark_antony — his great rival
• character_cleopatra — the queen whose death cheats his triumph
• character_mark_antony_jc — in Julius Caesar, his alliance with Antony begins