We can explore the nature of power and authority through many characters in
             Shakespeare's , Antony and Cleopatra . First we look to the Triumvirate as a whole .
             Although they do not appear as a whole many times in the play, they create a feeling of
             authority and power just by the speech used to describe them . The three bear the world
             on their shoulders and seem to hold all of the power and prestige of kings and emperors .
             The concept of power becomes alittle less defined when Pompey enters the picture . The
             Triumvirate is threatened by Pompey's power on the sea . He has more power than they
             do as one man . This is because he has more ships and a stronger fleet . Time collapses
             this truth when the three men go to visit Pompey, in all of their glorious authority, and
             form a truce . Pompey relents easily because he knows he cannot beat this union of three
             men, the superpowers of the world . (Act III.)
             The most important example of power and authority comes when the Triumvirate
             is broken up into three individuals working independently . Mark Antony and Octavious
             Caesar are the two strong legs of the Triumvirate, while Lepidus is the weak man who
             follows the lead of the most powerful and authoritative of the two . Ocatvius Caesar is
             the most authoritative man in this play . I believe this to be because he is the most
             intelligent of the three, thinking of conquest rather than love . Caesar is never likened to a
             God, but rather, is a master of speech and marks his words and actions carefully so as to
             conquer the world, alone . Mark Antony, on the other side, shows us love and physical
             power . He is likened to a God by everyone who crosses his path . By Cleopatra
             especially , "demi-Atlas" (I.v.23.); "Mars" (I.v.18.) . Antony is revered in this grace,
             physical presence and deft ability on the battle field . As a whole, the two form a terrific
             alliance...