Antonio is a sea pirate (although he refutes that label) who rescued Sebastian from the Shipwreck that saw Viola washed up on Illyria. After three months at sea, they too arrive on Illyria’s shore. During their three months together, alone, on a boat, they developed a very close bond. Whether they are simply close friends or lovers though (although both could be true) is up for debate, as it is never made explicate. Either way, their relationship is significant in the way that it dramatises male connection. It is interesting that neither Antonio nor Sebastian’s love for one another is characterised as madness, as so much love within the play is. It is only when they find themselves in situations where their love (or someone else’s love for them, in Sebastian’s case) is unrequited that they join the chaos, suggesting that only unrequited love is wrong, while love that is shared is good.
