Antony and Cleopatra is the first work of Shakespeare that I translated into Greek when I took on its production as part of the Athens Festival in 1979. The time constraints did not allow me then to respect the structure of the tragedy as thoroughly as I later did when I took on the translations of Hamlet and Coriolanus.

Returning to this monumental work without deadlines and pressures, I respected its dramatic architecture - faithful to the spirit, if not to the letter - and I considered that the confrontation of the two texts, with the strict correspondence of the numbered lines, constitutes not only a validation of a laborious task but also a substantial aid to researchers of the Shakespearean world.

(From the presentation on the back cover of the book)

I first tackled the translation of Antony and Cleopatra when I staged it at the Herod Atticus amphitheatre in 1979. Working with a deadline did not allow me to adhere to the structure of the text so thoroughly as I later did with Hamlet and Coriolanus. Returning to this monumental play with time as an ally, I respected its dramatic and poetic form - faithful to the spirit, if not always to the letter - and I feel that the parallel printing of the numbered verses is not only confirmation of the arduous task involved but a useful aid to students of Shakespeare's works.

[Excerpt from a text by the publisher]