Vice and Virtue : The Dichotomy of Fact and Fiction in the Romance of Antony and Cleopatra

Abstract

One of the most intriguing romance stories in Rome 1st century BC, Marcus Antonius and Cleopatra VII have prompted the question of whether their romance was based more in the political or in the personal realm. Plutarch (c. 100 CE) is our main source. Based on literary choices, the question is explored through the lens of idiom (personal self) and koinon (communal self).