Actium
American Heritage Dictionary:
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Ac·ti·um
A promontory and ancient town of western Greece. In 31 B.C. it was the site of Octavian's naval victory over Mark Antony and Cleopatra. As a result of the battle, Egypt came under Roman control and Octavian (later Augustus) was established as the ruler of Rome.
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Actium, promontory in the south of Epirus, off the west coast of Greece, where Octavian defeated the fleets of Antony and Cleopatra on 2 September 31 BC. This battle marked the end of the Roman republic and introduced the empire.
Columbia Encyclopedia:
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Actium
Actium (ăk'tēəm, -shē-), promontory, NW Acarnania, Greece, at the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf. There are vestiges of several temples and an ancient town. At Actium was fought the naval battle (31 B.C.) in which the forces of Octavian (later Augustus) under Agrippa defeated the sea and land forces of Antony and Cleopatra. The battle established Octavian as ruler of Rome. The Actian games, held at Nicopolis every four years, were established to commemorate the event.
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Actium
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This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2009) |
Actium (Greek: Ἄκτιον) was the ancient name of a promontory of western Greece in northwestern Acarnania, at the mouth of the Sinus Ambracius (Gulf of Arta) opposite Nicopolis, built by Augustus on the north side of the strait.[1]
On the promontory was an ancient temple of Apollo Actius, which was enlarged by Augustus, who, to memorialize the Battle of Actium, instituted or renewed the quinquennial games known as Actia or Ludi Actiaci. Actiaca Aera was a computation of time from the battle. There was on the promontory a small town, or rather village, also called Actium.
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History
Actium belonged originally to the Corinthian colonists of Anactorium, who probably founded the worship of Apollo Actius and the Actia games; in the 3rd century BC it fell to the Acarnanians, who subsequently held their synods there. Actium is chiefly famous as the site of Octavian's decisive victory over Mark Antony (September 2, 31 BC). This battle ended a long series of ineffectual operations. It was the Naval Battle of Actium. The final conflict was provoked by Antony, who is said to have been persuaded by his lover, the queen Cleopatra of Egypt, to retire to her land and give battle to mask his retreat; but lack of provisions and the growing demoralization of his army would eventually account for this decision.[2] An ancient Roman festival, Actia, was named after Actium, in Nicopolis, the new city (today Preveza, Greece). Since 2002, Actium is linked with Preveza on the north shore of the Ambracian Gulf by the Aktio-Preveza Undersea Tunnel, or Aktio-Preveza Immersed Tunnel (traffic labels). Also during Summer of 2009 archaeologists discovered in Actium the ruins of the Temple of Apollo (in Greek Ναός του Ακτίου Απόλλωνος) and founted two statues heads, one of Apollo, one of Artemis (Diana).[3]
See also
Coordinates: 38°57′11″N 20°46′05″E / 38.953°N 20.768°E
References
- ^ http://www.enotes.com/occc-encyclopedia/actium
- ^ http://ehistory.osu.edu/world/articles/ArticleView.cfm?AID=16
- ^ Dr. Harry Gouvas:History of Preveza Prefecture, 2009, ISBN 978-960-87328-2-7
External links
Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Actium". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
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American Heritage Dictionary
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Oxford Companion to Classical Literature
The Concise Oxford Companion to Classical Literature. Copyright © 1993, 2003 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
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Columbia Encyclopedia
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/.
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Mentioned in
Agrippa, Marcus Vipsanius
(Roman soldier and statesman)
Cleopatra
(Egyptian queen)
Nicopolis
(ancient city, ancient Greece)
Mark Antony
(Roman orator)
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