A brief scene set in Athens, Greece, follows the messenger scene. Some time has passed, and Antony is now living there with his wife Octavia. Upon hearing a message from Rome, Antony becomes angry and tells his wife about it. He is angry with Octavius for three reasons. (1) First, Octavius has started a new war against Pompey. Pompey no longer has the support of Menas and Menecrates. Because he has made a peace treaty with the Triumvirate, he no longer has such a huge army and supporters. Thus, Pompey is an easy target. Octavius will not have any difficulty in defeating him. Antony is angry that Octavius is breaking the treaty that all of them signed, but he is also angry because he knows that with the defeat of Pompey, Octavius will gain more power and land. Octavius will be then more of a threat to Antony as well. (2) Second, Octavius made a will and read it aloud to the public. The reader should remember the will of Julius Caesar that Antony read in the play Julius Caesar. The supposed contents of that will stated that each of the citizens of Rome will receive money and that private land will be turned into a public park. And those promises made the people of Rome angry at the conspirators who were responsible for assassinating Caesar. Octavius, in his will, would be making similar promises. Thus, he would be gaining the respect and praise and support of the Roman people.
This, too, will make him stronger and more powerful.
And (3) third, Octavius did not praise or credit Antony for his success. Antony, being away from Rome, fears the people will forget him or will no longer view him as a valuable leader for Rome. Antony realizes that without the support of Rome, Octavius could take control of the Roman Empire and become its sole leader.
The sorrowful Ocatvia is torn between her affection for her brother and her feelings for her husband. She, of course, wants her brother and her husband to make peace. But Antony tells her that she must pick a side. There will be no peace between them.