Agrippa, Marcus Vipsanius [key], c.63 b.c.–12 b.c., Roman general. A close friend of Octavian (later Emperor Augustus), he won a name in the wars in Gaul before becoming consul in 37 b.c. He organized Octavian's fleet and is generally given much credit for the defeat (36 b.c.) of Sextus Pompeius in the naval battles at Mylae and Naulochus (N Sicily). Agrippa took part in the war against Antony, and his naval operations were the basis of Octavian's decisive victory at Actium in 31 b.c. He was perhaps the most trusted of all Augustus' lieutenants and rendered many services, notably in putting down disorders in both the East and West; ultimately he was effectively coruler with Augustus. His third wife was Augustus' daughter Julia.
See biography by M. Reinhold (1933).
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