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1Such was the naval battle in which they engaged on the second of September. I do not mention this date without a particular reason, nor am I, in fact, accustomed to do so; but Caesar now for the first time held all the power alone, 2and consequently the years of his reign are properly reckoned from that day. In honour of the day he dedicated to Apollo of Actium from the total number of the captured vessels a trireme, a quadrireme, and the other ships in order up to one of ten banks of oars; and he built a larger temple. He also instituted a quadrennial musical and gymnastic contest, including horse-racing,—a “sacred” festival, as they call those in connexion with which there is a distribution of food,—and entitled it Actia. 3Furthermore, he founded a city on the site of his camp by gathering together some of the neighbouring peoples and dispossessing others, and he named it Nicopolis. On the spot where he had had his tent, he laid a foundation of square stones, adorned it with the captured beaks, and erected on it, open to the sky, a shrine of Apollo.
4But these things were done later. At the time he sent a part of the fleet in pursuit of Antony and Cleopatra; these ships, accordingly, followed after the fugitives, but when it became clear that they were not going to overtake them, they returned. With his remaining vessels he captured the enemy’s entrenchments, meeting with no opposition because of their small numbers, and then overtook and without a battle won over the rest of the army, which was retreating into Macedonia. 5There were various important contingents that had already escaped; of these the Romans fled to Antony and the allies to their homes. The latter, however, no longer fought against Caesar, but both they and all the peoples which had long been subject to Rome remained quiet and made terms, some at once and others later.
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