Civitas vs. Virtus

In lecture Professor Little highlighted the importance of the terms civitas and virtus as they related to Antony and Cleopatra.
Virtus was related to the masculine ideals of manliness/war and courage which Antony is idealized for. This is also a reflection upon Rome itself.
The philosphy of civitas relateds to peaceful civility (behaving civilized) and is associated with Egypt and also Cleopatra.



Cesar believes that Antony originally had too much Virtus to be beneficial for Rome, but after going to Egypt he believes that he has developed too much civitas.

In lecture Prof. Little said that these differences lead to 2 problems
1. A problem develops for Cesar and Philo. because Egypt has too much civitas. He is hoping to overtake the Egyptians but this is complicated if his culture is one of virtus and the other is the civilized, peaceful state.

2. There are two Romes depicted one Rome, as represented by Antony and the other represented by Cesar. Cesar believes that Rome wants to exist in one extreme of virtus or civitas, but he believes that the best nation will develop as a balance of these two characteristics. As such Antony and Cleopatra both represent a threat to the nation he hopes to create.