Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa
Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa was a Roman general and statesman who was a close friend, son-in-law and lieutenant to the Roman emperor Augustus. Agrippa is well known for his important military victories, notably the Battle of Actium in 31 BC against the forces of Marcus Antonius and Cleopatra. He was also responsible for the construction of some of the most notable buildings of his era, including the original Pantheon.
Born to a plebeian family, in an uncertain location in Roman Italy, he met the future emperor Augustus, then known as Octavianus, at Apollonia, in Illyria. Following the assassination of Octavianus' great-uncle Julius Caesar in 44 BC, Octavianus returned to Italy. Around this time, Agrippa was elected tribune of the plebs. He served as a military commander, fighting alongside Octavianus and Caesar's former general and right-hand man Marcus Antonius in the Battle of Philippi. In 40 BC, he was praetor urbanus and played a major role in the Perusine war against Lucius Antonius and Fulvia, respectively the brother and wife of Marcus Antonius. In 39 or 38 BC, Agrippa was appointed governor of Transalpine Gaul. In 38 BC, he put down a rising of the Aquitanians and fought the Germanic tribes. He was made consul for 37 BC, despite being well below the usual minimum age of 43, in order to oversee the preparations for war against Sextus Pompeius, who had cut off grain shipments to Rome.
Agrippa defeated Pompey in the battles of Mylae and Naulochus in 36 BC. In 33 BC, he served as curule aedile. Agrippa commanded the victorious Octavianus' fleet at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC. A few years after the victory at Actium, Octavianus became emperor and took the title of Princeps, while Agrippa remained as his close friend and lieutenant. Agrippa assisted Augustus in making Rome "a city of marble". Agrippa renovated aqueducts to provide Roman citizens from every social class access to the highest quality public services, and was responsible for the creation of many baths, porticoes, and gardens. He was also awarded powers almost as great as those of Augustus. He had veto power over the acts of the Senate and the power to present laws for approval by the People. He died in 12 BC at the age of 50–51. Augustus honoured his memory with a magnificent funeral and spent over a month in mourning. His remains were placed in Augustus' own mausoleum.
Agrippa was also known as a writer, especially on geography. Under his supervision, Julius Caesar's design of having a complete survey of the empire made was accomplished. From the materials at hand he constructed a circular chart, which was engraved on marble by Augustus and afterwards placed in the colonnade built by his sister Vipsania Polla. Agrippa was also husband to Julia the Elder, and was the maternal grandfather of Caligula and the maternal great-grandfather of the Emperor Nero.
Early life, family, and early career
Early life and family
Agrippa was born, in an uncertain location. His father was called Lucius Vipsanius. His mother's name is not known and Pliny the Elder claimed that his cognomen "Agrippa" derived from him having been born breech so it is possible that she died in childbirth. Pliny also stated that he suffered from lameness as a child. He had an elder brother whose name was also Lucius Vipsanius, and a sister named Vipsania Polla. His family originated in the Italian countryside, and was of humbler and plebeian origins when compared to the highest families of the Roman aristocracy. They had not been prominent in Roman public life. According to some scholars, including Victor Gardthausen, R. E. A. Palmer, and David Ridgway, Agrippa's family was originally from Pisa in Etruria.Agrippa's family most likely gained Roman citizenship after the Social War in 87 BC and, like many other Italians, immigrated to Rome to take advantage of the social mobility opportunities that arose at the war's end.
Early career
Agrippa was the same age as Octavian, and the two were educated together and became close friends. Despite Agrippa's association with the family of Julius Caesar, his elder brother chose the opposing side in the civil wars of the 40s BC, fighting under Cato against Caesar in Africa. When Cato's forces were defeated, Agrippa's brother was taken prisoner but freed after Octavian interceded on his behalf.It is not known whether Agrippa fought against his brother in Africa, but he probably served in Caesar's campaign of 46 to 45 BC against Gnaeus Pompeius, which culminated in the Battle of Munda. Caesar regarded him highly enough to send him with Octavian in 45 BC to study in Apollonia with the Macedonian legions, while Caesar consolidated his power in Rome. In the fourth month of their stay in Apollonia the news of Julius Caesar's assassination in March 44 BC reached them. Agrippa and another friend, Quintus Salvidienus Rufus, advised Octavian to march on Rome with the troops from Macedonia, but Octavian decided to sail to Italy with a small retinue. After his arrival, he learned that Caesar had adopted him as his legal heir.
Rise to power
Friend to Octavian
After Octavian's return to Rome, he and his supporters realised they needed the support of legions. Agrippa helped Octavian to levy troops in Campania. Once Octavian had his legions, he made a pact with Mark Antony and Lepidus, legally established in 43 BC as the Second Triumvirate. Octavian and his consular colleague Quintus Pedius arranged for Caesar's assassins to be prosecuted in their absence, and Agrippa was entrusted with the case against Gaius Cassius Longinus. It may have been in the same year that Agrippa began his political career, holding the position of tribune of the plebs, which granted him entry to the Senate.In 42 BC, Agrippa probably fought alongside Octavian and Antony in the Battle of Philippi. After their return to Rome, he played a major role in Octavian's war against Lucius Antonius and Fulvia, respectively the brother and wife of Mark Antony, which began in 41 BC and ended in the capture of Perusia in 40 BC. However, Salvidienus remained Octavian's main general at this time. After the Perusine war, Octavian departed for Gaul, leaving Agrippa as urban praetor in Rome with instructions to defend Italy against Sextus Pompeius, an opponent of the Triumvirate who was now occupying Sicily. In July 40 BC, while Agrippa was occupied with the Ludi Apollinares that were the praetor's responsibility, Sextus began a raid in southern Italy. Agrippa advanced on him, forcing him to withdraw. However, the Triumvirate proved unstable, and in August 40 BC both Sextus and Antony invaded Italy. Agrippa's success in retaking Sipontum from Antony helped bring an end to the conflict. Agrippa was among the intermediaries through whom Antony and Octavian agreed once more upon peace. During the discussions Octavian learned that Salvidienus had offered to betray him to Antony, with the result that Salvidienus was prosecuted and either executed or committed suicide. Agrippa was now Octavian's leading general.
Governor of Transalpine Gaul
In 39 or 38 BC, Octavian appointed Agrippa governor of Transalpine Gaul, where in 38 BC he put down a rising of the Aquitanians. He also fought the Germanic tribes, becoming the next Roman general to cross the Rhine after Julius Caesar. He was summoned back to Rome by Octavian to assume the consulship for 37 BC. He was well below the usual minimum age of 43, but Octavian had suffered a humiliating naval defeat against Sextus Pompey and needed his friend to oversee the preparations for further warfare. Agrippa refused the offer of a triumph for his exploits in Gaul – on the grounds, says Dio, that he thought it improper to celebrate during a time of trouble for Octavian.Since Sextus Pompeius had command of the sea on the coasts of Italy, Agrippa's first care was to provide a safe harbour for Octavian's ships. He accomplished this by cutting through the strips of land which separated the Lacus Lucrinus from the sea, thus forming an outer harbour, while joining the lake Avernus to the Lucrinus to serve as an inner harbour. The new harbour complex was named Portus Julius in Octavian's honour. Agrippa was also responsible for technological improvements, including larger ships and an improved form of grappling hook. About this time, he married Caecilia Pomponia Attica, daughter of Cicero's friend Titus Pomponius Atticus.