In Ancient Roman religious tradition, Actia (

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: '')'' was a festival of

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...

, celebrated at

Nicopolis Nicopolis ( grc-gre, Νικόπολις, Nikópolis, City of Victory) or Actia Nicopolis was the capital city of the Roman province of Epirus Vetus. It was located in the western part of the modern state of Greece. The city was founded in 29 ...

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinri ...

, with

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

, musical contests, horse racing, and sea battles. It was reestablished by

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

, in commemoration of his

victory The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes ...

over

Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the au ...

off

Actium Actium or Aktion ( grc, Ἄκτιον) was a town on a promontory in ancient Acarnania at the entrance of the Ambraciot Gulf, off which Octavian gained his celebrated victory, the Battle of Actium, over Antony and Cleopatra, on September 2, 31 ...

in 31 BC; that it was probably the revival of an ancient festival is suggested by the celebrated temple of Apollo at Actium, which is mentioned by

Thucydides Thucydides (; grc, , }; BC) was an Athenian historian and general. His '' History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of " scienti ...

, and Strabo, and which was enlarged by Augustus. The games instituted by Augustus were celebrated every five years (', ''

ludi ''Ludi'' (Latin plural) were public games held for the benefit and entertainment of the Roman people (''populus Romanus''). ''Ludi'' were held in conjunction with, or sometimes as the major feature of, Roman religious festivals, and were also ...

quinquennales''); they received the title of a sacred '' agon'' and were also called Olympia.

Stadium of Nikopolis

This ancient stadium was located in the so-called 'Proasteion' (

sacred grove Sacred groves or sacred woods are groves of trees and have special religious importance within a particular culture. Sacred groves feature in various cultures throughout the world. They were important features of the mythological landscape and ...

) of the Graeco-Roman city of Nikopolis. Together with the nearby gymnasium, theatre and hippodrome it was the location of the famous Actian Games. These games, which featured athletic, equestrian and musical events, were first held in 27 BCE to celebrate the victory of the first Roman emperor Augustus over his adversaries, Marc Antony and his Egyptian wife Cleopatra. They were held every four years up to the mid-3rd century CE. Dating from just after the city's foundation, the ancient stadium of Nikopolis has two semicircular ends (''sphendones''), typical of the amphitheatre type that was in use during the first 200 years of the principate. The stadiums of ancient Laodikeia (near Pamukkale, Turkey) and

Aphrodisias Aphrodisias (; grc, Ἀφροδισιάς, Aphrodisiás) was a small ancient Greek Hellenistic city in the historic Caria cultural region of western Anatolia, Turkey. It is located near the modern village of Geyre, about east/inland from the ...

(Geyre, Turkey) have a similar architecture. The north side of the stadium, which must have held a capacity of at least 10,000 spectators, was built on the side of a hill, while artificial deposits were used for the other sides. The walls were made of a rubble core faced with several courses of bricks. On the west side of the stadium were three apsidal entrances leading to the gymnasium, the central one larger than the others. The entrances in the ''sphendone'' at the east led to the theatre nearby. On the ''sphendone'' at the south side there were residential rooms and facilities for athletes and spectators (inns, shops, lodgings etc.) Locals call this stadium ''to karavi'', meaning 'the ship', which of course relates to the structure's shape. Archaeological investigations are still regularly undertaken in and around the stadium today.

Notes

References

* {{Cite DGRA Ancient Roman festivals Roman Epirus Ancient Greek athletic festivals Festivals of Apollo Ancient Roman leisure