What impression of Antony do we form in act 1"

At the opening of the play, Antony is described in a critical speech in terms which contrast what he once was with what he has become. The brave general and great leader, who subsequently became widely respected as a pillar of military might and brave leadership in the empire, is now a figure in decline, a man who has been tempted astray by the easy Egyptian life style and his passion for Cleopatra. Antony is presented to the audience as a character set in a political, military and emotional context. But his feelings for Cleopatra do not fully override his political and military intelligence for soon he returns to Rome and agrees to marry Octavia, Caesar´s sister, as a way of sealing the peace treaty between the two men.

Also at the beginning of the play, Philo and...