Apemantus () is a character in the play ''

Timon of Athens ''The Life of Tymon of Athens'', often shortened to ''Timon of Athens'', is a play written by William Shakespeare and likely also Thomas Middleton in about 1606. It was published in the ''First Folio'' in 1623. Timon of Athens (person), Timon ...

'' by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

. He is a

cynical Cynicism is an attitude characterized by a general distrust of the motives of others. A cynic may have a general lack of faith or hope in people motivated by ambition, desire, greed, gratification, materialism, goals, and opinions that a cynic p ...

and

misanthropic Misanthropy is the general hatred, dislike, or distrust of the human species, human behavior, or human nature. A misanthrope or misanthropist is someone who holds such views or feelings. Misanthropy involves a negative evaluative attitude tow ...

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

. His name means "feeling no pain".

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 recent Apemantus was portrayed by the Irish actor Norman Rodway, 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.

References

External links

Apemantus' lines in Timon of Athens
Male Shakespearean characters Fictional philosophers Timon of Athens {{lit-char-stub