Source edition
Plutarch. Plutarch's Lives, Vol. IX. Perrin, Bernadotte, editor. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann Ltd., 1920.
Source data
Perseus Digital Library · CC BY-SA (per Perseus's terms)
Cloned and adapted by Humanitext, with ongoing edits.
Summary
This work is a comparative essay evaluating the achievements and characters of two prominent historical figures: Demetrius I, a Hellenistic monarch, and Mark Antony, a Roman general. The comparison begins by contrasting how they rose to power, noting that while Demetrius inherited his father's foundation, Antony established his vast authority through his own efforts following Caesar's death. It then proceeds to examine their policies of rule, contrasting Demetrius's liberation of Greece with Antony's suppression of Roman liberty. Furthermore, the author compares their attitudes toward pleasure and marriage, highlighting how Antony's infatuation with Cleopatra led to military negligence, while Demetrius's debauchery caused harm to others. Finally, the work concludes by analyzing their downfalls—comparing Demetrius, who was abandoned by his allies, with Antony, who abandoned his own men—and their respective ends, offering a ultimate assessment of their virtues and vices through their contrasting deaths.