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Octavian's fleet beats Antony and Cleopatra at Actium

31 BCE, Actium. An event.

Where and when

31 BCEActium

2,056 years ago

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, Actium

Off the west coast of Greece, Octavian's navy under Agrippa defeats Antony and Cleopatra, who escape to Egypt.

But at Actium his fleet held out for a long time against Caesar, and only after it had been most severely damaged by the high sea which rose against it did it reluctantly, and at the tenth hour, give up the struggle.

Plutarch, Life of Antony 68.1Translated by Bernadotte Perrin (1920)Read the full passage (Plutarch, Life of Antony 68.1, opens scaife.perseus.org)

Background: Battle of Actium, Wikipedia (opens en.wikipedia.org)

Why it matters

The victory let Octavian consolidate his power over Rome and its lands. Historians generally see that consolidation and his new titles as the end of the Republic and the beginning of the Empire.

Based on Wikipedia: Battle of Actium

Octavian's victory enabled him to consolidate his power over Rome and its dominions.

historians generally view his consolidation of power and the adoption of these honorifics as the end of the Roman Republic and the beginning of the Roman Empire

Wikipedia, Battle of Actium (opens en.wikipedia.org), as of 2026-10-03. Text CC BY-SA 4.0. Our line is checked against these sentences only.

Related moments

In time order, with this one in its place. Each says why it is here.

  1. 47 BCE16 years earlier Caesar's three words, as Plutarch tells it Also about war and empire
  2. 42 BCE11 years earlier Antony and Octavian defeat Caesar's killers at Philippi Also about war and empire
  3. 31 BCEThis momentOctavian's fleet beats Antony and Cleopatra at Actium
  4. 31 BCESame year Antony after Actium, as Plutarch tells it Rests on this eventAlso in Actium
  5. c. 31–30 BCEBegins this year The Partners in Death, as Plutarch tells it Rests on this event
  6. 30 BCE1 year later Antony's last words, as Plutarch tells it Rests on this event
  7. 30 BCE1 year later Antony on his courage, per Plutarch Rests on this event
  8. 30 BCE1 year later Antony and Cleopatra take their own lives Same years
  9. 27 BCE4 years later Octavian takes the name Augustus Same years

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