Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa: Rome’s greatest #2.
Without Agrippa, Octavian would never have become Augustus.
He was a general, statesman, builder, and engineer; Rome's Renaissance Man.
Let’s give Agrippa the attention and appreciation he deserves. 🏛️🧵
Agrippa and Octavian were friends from a young age.
When Julius Caesar adopted Octavian as his heir, Agrippa became his right-hand man.
Where Octavian lacked military genius, Agrippa supplied it in abundance.
In the civil wars, Agrippa was indispensable.
At the naval Battle of Naulochus (36 BC) he crushed Sextus Pompey, securing Rome’s grain supply.
A victory that ensured Rome would not starve.
At the decisive Battle of Actium (31 BC), Agrippa commanded the fleet that defeated Antony and Cleopatra.
The glory went to Augustus, but it was Agrippa’s victory.
Without him, the empire may never have been born.
But was Agrippa much more than a warlord. He was a master builder and engineer.
• Restored Rome’s aqueducts
• Built new baths and public works
• Commissioned the original Pantheon (later rebuilt by Hadrian)
Rome became a city of marble, and Agrippa laid the foundations.
Despite his great accomplishments, Agrippa remained humble.
He refused triumphs, stayed loyal to Augustus, and never tried to seize power for himself; despite having the ability.
He was ambitious, but not power-hungry like so many of his contemporaries.
Agrippa came this close to becoming the second Emperor of Rome.
When Augustus needed a successor, he married his daughter Julia to Agrippa. For a time, it seemed Agrippa might rule after him.
Had he lived longer, history might have known him as Rome’s second emperor.
But Agrippa died young, in 12 BC, at just 51 years old.
His death shook Augustus deeply. He had lost not only his general and successor, but his lifelong friend.
Today, Agrippa is overshadowed by Augustus.
But in truth, Augustus was the politician; Agrippa was the builder, the fighter, the executor.
He was the ultimate number two; Augustus' indispensable right hand man.
Marcus Agrippa doesn’t get the spotlight often.
But without him, there would be no Augustus, no Actium, no Empire as we know it.
Augustus became Rome’s first emperor.
But Agrippa was the man who made it possible.
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