MARCUS AGRIPPA - The Man who made Augustus Roman Emperor

marcus vipsanius agrippa was born poor

undistinguished and plebeian. he went on to live a life exercito

surrounded by wars and deaths even at risk of their harmful intrusion

but anyone who's been to rome even today can see his name carved into immortality above the

pillars of the mighty panther marcus agrippa son of lucius three times console built this without

a gripper there would have been no augustus and possibly no empire so who was this man he was

a man who rose from nearly nothing to become one of rome's most powerful and enduring politicians

a man who dominated battles on land and sea who raised the standard of living for even the poorest

roman citizens and a man who became the direct ancestor of multiple roman emperors agrippa was

second only to augustus in his time and without him history could have been very different indeed

marcus agrippa was born to obscurity in the italian countryside

his father a generally unremarkable plebeian with just enough wealth to be of equestrian rank

who we know to be called lucius from the pantheon inscription agrippa had

two siblings a brother also called lucius vipsanius and a sister called lipsania paula

there isn't much on record about agrippa's childhood but we know that he and his

brother lucius entered military service on opposing sides of caesar's civil war

his brother went to fight with the optimatis under cato the younger while agrippa joined julius

caesar's populares campaign where he was likely present at his final victory over pompey the great

in southern spain agrippa's military achievements and intellectual potential during this time

caught caesar's eye most wolf feet in itself and the soon-to-be dictator in perpetual sent him away

for a prestigious education so it was that agrippa came to apollonia a greek trade center under roman

rule in illyria modern-day albania he was tutored by the prestigious stoic philosopher athenodorus

cananitas a personal friend of strawber the geographer and successor to posse donios

the most learned man of his era and teacher to cicero and who do you think a group has studied

with none other than young gaius octavius the future caesar augustus and first emperor

of rome there the historian appian claims that agrippa became octavius's filthatos his friend

suetonius also honors agrippa's legacy at this point saying that when octavius and agrippa went

to the astrologer theogonies in apollonia the man said of a gripper that's magnus incredible

great and almost incredible things were predicted for him so much so that octavius was almost

reluctant to be compared to him agrippa's fate was all but set in stone then by the year 44 bce

on the ides of march when news of julius caesar's death reached octavian his nephew in apollonia

agrippa accompanied the young aristocrat back to rome and when they landed upon the shores

of lupii in southern italy octavian learned that he had been named julius caesar's heir

and so agrippa's fortunes turned suddenly from humble origins

to the very heart of a power struggle for dominance in the roman republic

agrippa thereon became octavian's lieutenant confidante and right-hand man in opposition to

them were mark anthony and lepidus so octavian needed an army agrippa helped him raise one in

campania giving octavian the power to form a pact the secondary empire octavian anthony and nebulous

it was around this time that agrippa entered politics himself