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Why did Mark Antony choose to fight Octavian's forces at sea near Actium?
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Mark Antony
Mark Antony, detail of a marble bust; in the Vatican Museum.
Mark Antony chose to engage Octavian’s forces at sea near Actium primarily due to the dire strategic situation he faced on land. By 31 BCE, Octavian and his admiral Marcus Agrippa had successfully blockaded Antony’s fleet within the Gulf of Ambracia and cut off his southward communication lines to Egypt via the Peloponnese.12
Facing a critical lack of provisions and suffering from the desertion of several allies, Antony found himself outmaneuvered on land. Consequently, he opted to employ his fleet—following the advice of Cleopatra—either in the hope of securing a decisive victory at sea or simply as a desperate attempt to break the blockade and extricate his forces to continue the conflict elsewhere.123