Agrippa Vs Julius Caesar - Historum

**Brisieis** · November 6th, 2011, 04:42 AM

Marcus Vispanius Agrippa against Gaius Julius Caesar.

Caesar is in Rome, Agrippa in Southern Italy, both with similar army numbers.

bluesman · November 6th, 2011, 05:03 AM

I like Agrippa more, but Caesar was the better commander. He beat the Gauls, Germans, and Pompey the Great; Agrippa beat Marcus Antonius and Cleopatra in a single battle and who knows what else.

One of the problems here is that Caesar and Octavian were embellishing propagandists who took care of their own reputation first. I'm not sure how many victories Octavian actually secured by himself, and how many were won by his right hand man.

**Brisieis** · November 6th, 2011, 05:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluesman

I like Agrippa more, but Caesar was the better commander. He beat the Gauls, Germans, and Pompey the Great; Agrippa beat Marcus Antonius and Cleopatra in a single battle and who knows what else.

One of the problems here is that Caesar and Octavian were embellishing propagandists who took care of their own reputation first. I'm not sure how many victories Octavian actually secured by himself, and how many were won by his right hand man.

There is the impression that Agrippa was behind Octavian's victories, do you think maybe Octavian deserves more credit in these matters? Or was Agrippa the strong general and Octavian the clever politician?

bluesman · November 6th, 2011, 05:53 AM

I believe Agrippa was a good soldier and loyal to the utmost, for whatever reason, to his friend Octavian. It would not surprise me to learn Agrippa was behind every military victory Octavian achieved, but he simply didn't pursue the recognition. Even for the Battle of Actium, I got the impression he never tried to gain public renown.

So yes, Agrippa was the soldier's soldier, and Octavian was the politician. In my reading.