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Actium or Aktion () was a town on a promontory in
Actium belonged originally to the Ancient Corinth, Corinthian colonists of Anactorium, who probably founded the sanctuary of Apollo, Apollo Actius. This temple was of great antiquity. In the 3rd century BC it fell to the Acarnanians, who subsequently held their religious summits there.
There was also an ancient festival named Actia, celebrated here in honour of the god. Augustus after his victory enlarged the temple, and revived the ancient festival, which was henceforth celebrated once in five years (πενταετηρίς, ludi quinquennales), with musical and gymnastic contests, and horse races.
We learn from a Greek inscription found on the site of Actium, and which is probably prior to the time of Augustus, that the chief priest of the temple was called Ἱεραπόλος, and that his name was employed in official documents, like that of the first Archon at Athens, to mark the date. Strabo says that the temple was situated on an eminence, and that below was a plain with a grove of trees, and a dock-yard; and in another passage he describes the harbour as situated outside of the gulf.
On the opposite coast of Epirus, Augustus founded the city of Nicopolis in honour of his victory. After the foundation of Nicopolis, a few buildings sprang up around the temple, and it served as a kind of suburb to Nicopolis.
Actium or Aktion () was a town on a promontory in ancient Acarnania
Acarnania () is a region of west-central Greece that lies along the Ionian Sea, west of Aetolia, with the Achelous River for a boundary, and north of the gulf of Calydon, which is the entrance to the Gulf of Corinth. Today it forms the western part ...
at the entrance of the Ambraciot Gulf
The Ambracian Gulf, also known as the Gulf of Arta or the Gulf of Actium, and in some official documents as the Amvrakikos Gulf (), is a gulf of the Ionian Sea in northwestern Greece. About long and wide, it is one of the largest enclosed gulfs ...
, off which Octavian
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in ...
gained his celebrated victory, the Battle of Actium, over Mark Antony, Antony and Cleopatra, on September 2, 31 BC.
History
Actium belonged originally to the Ancient Corinth, Corinthian colonists of Anactorium, who probably founded the sanctuary of Apollo, Apollo Actius. This temple was of great antiquity. In the 3rd century BC it fell to the Acarnanians, who subsequently held their religious summits there.
There was also an ancient festival named Actia, celebrated here in honour of the god. Augustus after his victory enlarged the temple, and revived the ancient festival, which was henceforth celebrated once in five years (πενταετηρίς, ludi quinquennales), with musical and gymnastic contests, and horse races.
We learn from a Greek inscription found on the site of Actium, and which is probably prior to the time of Augustus, that the chief priest of the temple was called Ἱεραπόλος, and that his name was employed in official documents, like that of the first Archon at Athens, to mark the date. Strabo says that the temple was situated on an eminence, and that below was a plain with a grove of trees, and a dock-yard; and in another passage he describes the harbour as situated outside of the gulf.
On the opposite coast of Epirus, Augustus founded the city of Nicopolis in honour of his victory. After the foundation of Nicopolis, a few buildings sprang up around the temple, and it served as a kind of suburb to Nicopolis.
Archaeology
On October 8, 1980, the Greek Ministry of Transport and Communications reported that shipwrecks from the Battle of Actium had been located at Actium near the entrance to the Ambracan Gulf."Greece Reports Finding Wrecks Of Romans Ships— Buried Vessels Are Linked to the Battle of Actium", by Paul Anastasi, ''The New York Times'', October 8, 1980, pA3 In Summer 2009, archaeologists discovered the ruins of the Temple of Apollo and found two statue heads, one of Apollo, one of Artemis (Diana).See also
*Battle of Actium * List of ancient Greek cities * Preveza, the nearest modern town, connected by a 1.5 km long tunnelReferences
External links
Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Greece Archaeological sites in Western Greece Corinthian colonies Former populated places in Greece Roman towns and cities in Greece {{AncientAcarnania-geo-stub Populated places in ancient Acarnania