At Caesar’s funeral, the angry crowd demands answers. Brutus speaks first, saying that he loved Rome more than Caesar. Asking the crowd if they would rather be free with Caesar dead or slaves with Caesar alive, the crowd sides with Brutus. But when Antony enters with Caesar’s body, things begin to change. He reminds the crowd of Caesar’s good qualities and shows them the wounds on Caesar’s body where each knife pierced his skin. Then he reads Caesar’s will, revealing that Caesar has bequeathed to every citizen his dream of equality. Antony doesn’t just win the crowd over to his side, he whips them into an angry mob intent on revenge. As the crowd rages, Antony’s guard tells him that Octavius and Lepidus have arrived in Rome and that the conspirators have fled the city. Out in the streets, the mob confronts Cinna the Poet, who they mistake for Cinna the conspirator. She tries to reason with them but they rip her to pieces with their bare hands. Later, Antony meets Octavius and Lepidus to form the new triumvirate of Rome. Together, they choose which conspirators are to die. Once alone with Octavius, Antony questions Lepidus’s integrity. Octavius defends him but Antony persists in his critique before turning their attention to preparations for the ensuing Civil War against Cassius and Brutus.

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