Greece Presents Major Scholarly Work Of Nicopolis Victory Monument

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Greece will present a landmark three-volume study of Emperor Octavian Augustus’ Victory Monument at Nicopolis on 12 October 2026, bringing together the findings of years of interdisciplinary research by Greek and international scholars.

The publication, The Victory Monument of Augustus at Nicopolis. The Tropaeum of the Sea Battle of Actium, will be unveiled at 7 pm in the Dimitris Mitropoulos Hall at the Athens Concert Hall as part of the Megaron Plus events programme.

The three-volume work marks the scholarly culmination of a long-running research project and makes the findings from the study of the monument and its archaeological discoveries available to the international academic community. High-quality photographs and drawings complement the research, offering a detailed visual record of the monument and its historical context.

At the presentation, four experts will examine the monument’s significance and the research findings from different but complementary perspectives: Andrew Wallace-Hadrill, Emeritus Professor at the University of Cambridge; Manolis Korres, Emeritus Professor at the National Technical University of Athens; Pavlina Karanastasi, Emeritus Professor at the University of Crete; and Chara Kappa, an archaeologist with the Ephorate of Antiquities of Ioannina.

Stavros Benos, president of the DIAZOMA Association; Dr Anthi Angeli, head of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Preveza; Giorgos Agouridis, a member of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation’s (SNF) board; and Rachel Misdrachi-Capon, who oversaw the publication’s production, will deliver opening remarks.

Dr Konstantinos Zachos, honorary ephor of antiquities, excavator of the monument and editor of the publication, will moderate the discussion.

According to the Athens Concert Hall, the event will appeal not only to archaeologists and historians but also to anyone interested in understanding how archaeological discoveries become historical knowledge through years of excavation, conservation, documentation and research.

The study demonstrates how researchers can reconstruct an ancient monument and the world that created it from stone blocks, thousands of sculptural fragments, traces of lost bronze rams and an inscription. It also shows how a monument that survives today in Epirus can lead us back to 31 BC, when the Battle of Actium determined the fate of Mark Antony and Cleopatra and helped shape the emerging world of Augustus.

Professor Tonio Hölscher, one of the leading international scholars of ancient art and Roman political imagery, has described the Nicopolis monument as “one of the most important archaeological discoveries of the 20th century”.

Andrew Wallace-Hadrill, a leading international scholar of the Roman world, has also highlighted the importance of the painstaking study and reconstruction of the archaeological finds, which now allow researchers to place the monument within a much broader historical and artistic context.

The extensive post-excavation and research project encompassed conservation, documentation, systematic study of the finds and publication of the results in the three-volume scholarly work. The Stavros Niarchos Foundation funded the entire undertaking through an exclusive grant.

The Nicopolis Research Association and the DIAZOMA Association are jointly organising the presentation.

Admission is free, with online reservations available through the Athens Concert Hall website.

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