Apemantus is a character in the play Timon of Athens

Timon of Athens

The Life of Timon of Athens is a play by William Shakespeare about the fortunes of an Athenian named Timon , generally regarded as one of his most obscure and difficult works...

by William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...

. He is a cynical

Cynicism

Cynicism , in its original form, refers to the beliefs of an ancient school of Greek philosophers known as the Cynics . Their philosophy was that the purpose of life was to live a life of Virtue in agreement with Nature. This meant rejecting all conventional desires for wealth, power, health, and...

 and misanthropic

Misanthropy

Misanthropy is generalized dislike, distrust, disgust, contempt or hatred of the human species or human nature. A misanthrope, or misanthropist is someone who holds such views or feelings...

 philosopher

Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

.

Role in the play

Early in the play, when Timon is wealthy, Apemantus attends Timon's banquet in order to insult him and his guests. He is the only character at the time who treats Timon badly. The rest of the city highly respects him for his wealth and generosity. Apemantus has several witty exchanges with Timon, in which he argues that mankind is untrustworthy and that they are merely Timon's friends because of his money. Timon eventually loses all of his money and is abandoned by his friends. He turns his back on Athens to live in a cave, and takes the same opinions about mankind which Apemantus had. Apemantus visits him to accuse Timon of copying his ideals. The two of them then proceed to elaborately insult each other.

The best known contemporary Apemantus is Norman Rodway

Norman Rodway

-Early life:Rodway was born in Dublin to English parents, Frank and Lillian Rodway. He studied classics, graduating at Trinity College. He worked as an accountant, teacher, and university lecturer before acting.-Career:...

, who played the role both for BBC television and for The Arkangel Shakespeare audiobook. His performance in these differ significantly, as neither the rest of the cast nor the interpretation is the same.

External links

• Apemantus' lines in Timon of Athens