Wiki Wednesday ~ Greece

Time to learn something!

1. Go to Wikipedia.
2. Click on "Random article" in the left-hand sidebar box.
3. Post it!

Here's what I got:






This photo shows the Ambracian Gulf, as seen from the Space Shuttle in November 1994.





The Ambracian Gulf or Gulf of Arta, is a gulf of the Ionian Sea in northwestern Greece. It is one of the largest enclosed gulfs in Greece. The entrance to the gulf is through a channel between Aktio (ancient Actium, where the famous Battle of Actium was fought in 31 B.C) on the south and Preveza on the north; a recent road tunnel connects the two. The gulf is quite shallow, and its shore is broken by numerous marshes, large parts of which form an estuary system. The Louros and Arachthos (or Arta) rivers drain into it; for this reason it is warmer and less salty than the Ionian Sea, and a current flows from the gulf into the sea.

Actually, this was fun! I love geography and was unfamiliar with the Ambracian Gulf, and I love history. The history lesson in this article is the Battle of Actium, the main conflict in the Roman civil war between the forces supporting Octavian and those supporting Mark Antony. You've heard of those guys, haven't you? Here's more:

Octavian's fleet was commanded by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, and Antony's fleet was supported by the fleet of his lover, Cleopatra VII, queen of Ptolemaic Egypt. The victory of Octavian's fleet enabled him to consolidate his power over Rome and its domains, leading to his adoption of the title of Princeps ("first citizen") and accepting the title of Augustus from the Senate. As Augustus Caesar, he would preserve the trappings of a restored Republic, but historians generally mark his consolidation of power and the adoption of his honorifics flowing from his victory at Actium as the end of the Roman Republic and the beginning of the Roman Empire.

When Caesar was killed ("Et tu, Brute?") on the Ides of March (the 15th) in 44 BC, Octavius was in Apollonia, Illyria, studying and undergoing military training. Rejecting the advice of some army officers to take refuge with the troops in Macedonia, he sailed to Italia. After landing, he learnt of the contents of Caesar's will ... having no legitimate children alive, Caesar had adopted his great-nephew Octavius as his son and main heir. Owing to his adoption, Octavius assumed the name Gaius Julius Caesar.

Okay, I won't bore you with more, but I'm having fun with this. Thanks, Karen, I got something good after all ... and on the very first click. Click here to see Karen's Wiki Wednesday.