Naulochus
Naulochus is a historical anchorage located in northeastern Sicily, near the region of Venetico Marina, and is notable for its strategic significance during the Roman Civil War. In 36 BC, it was the site of a pivotal naval battle in which Octavian's fleet, commanded by Admiral Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, achieved a decisive victory over Sextus Pompeius, the son of Pompey the Great. The battle involved approximately three hundred ships, although the actual number for Sextus' fleet may have been inflated. Agrippa's innovative use of the harpax, a grapnel shot launched from a catapult, played a crucial role in the defeat of Sextus, resulting in the sinking of twenty-eight ships and the capture or destruction of most others. This defeat was a significant turning point in the Civil War, influencing the eventual rise of Octavian as Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Following the battle, the remnants of Sextus' fleet fled, and he ultimately met his end in Asia Minor the following year. Naulochus remains an important historical site reflecting the military strategies and naval warfare of ancient Rome.
Naulochus
Naulochoi
An anchorage or small harbor in northeastern Sicily, east of Mylae (Milazzo)—perhaps in the region of Venetico Marina. It was in these waters in 36 BC that the fleet of Octavian (the future Augustus), led by his admiral Agrippa, won the decisive naval battle in the Civil War against Sextus Pompeius, the son of Pompey the Great. Both sides were reported by Appian to have mustered three hundred ships (though Sextus at least is unlikely to have possessed such a large number), while the troops of the two armies watched from the shore. Thanks, for the most part, to Agrippa's invention of the harpax (grapnel shot from a catapult), Sextus was crushingly defeated. Twenty-eight of his ships were sunk, most of the rest ran aground or were captured or burned. Only seventeen escaped to Messana. From there he fled to Asia Minor, where he was put to death in the following year at Miletus in Ionia.