Editing Lepidus (section)

==Fictional depictions==
Despite his role as "a slight, unmeritable man" in Shakespeare's ''Julius Caesar'' and as a rambling drunk in ''Antony and Cleopatra'', other Renaissance-era writers portrayed Lepidus in a more positive way. [[Caspar Brülow]]'s Latin play ''Caius Julius Caesar'' depicts Lepidus as Caesar's loyal ally, warning him against conspiracies and later planning revenge on his killers. [[Georges de Scudéry]]'s ''La Mort de César'' portrays him in a similar light, warning Caesar, and later working closely with Antony, who refers to him as "sage et prudent Lépide". In [[Pierre Corneille]]'s ''Mort de Pompée'' his is a non-speaking role, simply presented as one of Caesar's entourage of officers.<ref>Weigel, ''Lepidus: the Tarnished Triumvir'', p.112.</ref>

Lepidus appears in several 18th century French plays, such as [[Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon]]'s ''Le Triumvirat, ou la mort de Cicéron'', in which he attempts to save Cicero's life, and is portrayed as a conflicted figure, who respects traditional Roman values, but is unable to resist the will of his colleagues. Cicero rejects compromise, but Lepidus is too weak to do so. [[Voltaire]]'s ''Le Triumvirat'' refers to Lepidus as a pawn, merely used by Antony and Octavian.

Lepidus appears in a number of novels. He is the principal character of [[Alfred Duggan]]'s 1958 historical novel ''Three's Company''. As the novel's title implies, it is centered on the second triumvirate, but relates the period through the lens of Lepidus' life and experiences. According to Weigel, he becomes a kind of "a Don Quixote in a toga". The novel follows the standard portrayal of him as "cowardly, stupid, shying away from combat, dominated by women, and longing for someone to give him orders".<ref name = "lep"/> A reviewer at the time of publication referred to Duggan's Lepidus as "the eternal conservative stuffed shirt without the moral strength to live by the traditional virtues he admires and pretends to possess."<ref>Orville Prescott, ''New York Times'', 13 August 13, 1958, p.25.</ref> He is portrayed as a more competent figure in [[W. G. Hardy]]'s ''The Scarlet Mantle'' and ''The Bloodied Toga''. In [[Allan Massie]]'s ''Let the Emperor Speak'', he is a weasely politician.<ref>Weigel, ''Lepidus: the Tarnished Triumvir'', p.133.</ref> He is also mentioned in [[Robert Harris (novelist)|Robert Harris]]' ''[[Dictator (Harris novel)|Dictator]]'', told from the perspective of [[Cicero]]'s secretary [[Marcus Tullius Tiro|Tiro]].

In the BBC/HBO TV series ''[[Rome (TV series)|Rome]]'', [[Lepidus (Rome character)|Lepidus]] ([[Ronan Vibert]]) is portrayed in the familiar way, as an inadequate rival for the powerhouses of Octavian and Antony. Much of his involvement in the second Triumvirate is barely mentioned in the series. No mention is made of his alliance with Antony and Caesar before the assassination. He is depicted as a general sent to defeat the weakened Antony after Mutina. His whole army immediately defects to his enemy. He appears sporadically as a barely-noticed participant in later discussions about future plans.