page_title: Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa
section_title: Life in public service
hierarchical_section_title: Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa / Life in public service
caption_attribution_description: English: An image of Pantheon in Rome, Italy. Image taken by Martin Olsson (mnemo on wikipedia and commons, martin@minimum.se), 2nd of May 2005. This image is published on Wikipedia Commons by Martin Olsson under the GFDL license.
context_page_description: Marcus Agrippa was a Roman general, statesman and architect. He was a close friend, son-in-law, and lieutenant to Augustus and was responsible for the construction of some of the most notable buildings in the history of Rome and for important military victories, most notably at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC against the forces of Mark Antony and Cleopatra. As a result of these victories, Octavianus became the first Roman Emperor, adopting the name of Augustus. Agrippa assisted Augustus in making Rome "a city of marble" and renovating aqueducts to give all Romans, from every social class, access to the highest quality public services. He was responsible for the creation of many baths, porticoes and gardens, as well as the original Pantheon. Agrippa was also husband to Julia the Elder, maternal grandfather to Caligula, and maternal great-grandfather to the Emperor Nero.
context_section_description: Agrippa participated in smaller military campaigns in 35 and 34 BC, but by the autumn of 34 he had returned to Rome. He rapidly set out on a campaign of public repairs and improvements, including renovation of the aqueduct known as the Aqua Marcia and an extension of its pipes to cover more of the city. He became the first water commissioner of Rome in 33 BC. Through his actions after being elected in 33 BC as one of the aediles (officials responsible for Rome's buildings and festivals), the streets were repaired and the sewers were cleaned out, while lavish public spectacles were put on. Agrippa signalled his tenure of office by effecting great improvements in the city of Rome, restoring and building aqueducts, enlarging and cleansing the Cloaca Maxima, constructing baths and porticos, and laying out gardens. He also gave a stimulus to the public exhibition of works of art. It was unusual for an ex-consul to hold the lower-ranking position of aedile, but Agrippa's success bore out this break with tradition. As emperor, Augustus would later boast that "he had found the city of brick but left it of marble", thanks in part to the great services provided by Agrippa under his reign.
caption: Hadrian's Pantheon was built to replace the previous temple that had been built during Agrippa's rule. Hadrian retained the legend M·AGRIPPA·L·F·COS·TERTIVM·FECIT, which means Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, Consul for the third time, built this
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