Agrippa Maecus Vipsaxius

Agrippa, Maecus Vipsaxius, born in 64 B.C. He became the devoted friend of Augustus, and urged that prince after Caasar's murder to put himself at the head of the State. We do not hear of him in the civil war that ensued, but he fought successfully in Persia and Gaul. Subsequently devoting himself to naval affairs, he created the Pontus Julius, trained a fleet, defeated Pompey in 36 B.C. (Virgil, AEn. viii. 682), and contributed largely to the later victory at Actium. After the Illyrian war he became AEdile, and raised magnificent public works, including the Pantheon. On the death of Marcellus he married his widow, Julia, the daughter of Augustus, who adopted his two sons Caius and Lucius. He visited Syria in 14 B.C., and died in Campania two years later. He prepared and published a valuable statistical survey of the Empire.