Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa
(click to enlarge)
Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, marble portrait bust, early 1st century ; in the Louvre, Paris. (credit: Cliché Musées Nationaux, Paris)
(born 63
BC? — died March, 12
BC, Campania) Powerful deputy of
Augustus. He helped Octavian (later Augustus) take power after
Julius Caesar's murder (44
BC), defeating
Sextus Pompeius in 36 and
Mark Antony at the Battle of
Actium in 31. He went on to quell rebellions, found colonies, administer parts of the empire, and give to Rome funds for public works and buildings. In 23 Augustus seemed to make him heir, and Agrippa married Augustus's daughter,
Julia. His administrative and military skills were particularly directed to the eastern empire, where in 15 he met with and made an ally of
Herod of Judaea. Agrippa's writings (now lost) influenced
Strabo and
Pliny the Elder. His daughter Agrippina the Elder (14?
BC –
AD 33) was the wife of
Germanicus Caesar, mother of
Caligula and
Agrippina the Younger, and grandmother of
Nero.
For more information on Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, visit Britannica.com.
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 1994-2012 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.
