October–November 42 BC · Macedonia (northern Greece, near modern Kavala) Theater
October–November 42 BC
The final reckoning for Caesar's assassination came at Philippi in Macedonia, where the Liberatores — Brutus and Cassius with 19 legions — faced the Second Triumvirate's 22 legions under Antony and Octavian. Two battles were fought three weeks apart. In the first, on October 3, Antony broke Cassius's wing and overran his camp; simultaneously, Brutus broke Octavian's wing and overran his camp. The symmetrical result left both sides roughly intact, but Cassius — unable to see what was happening on Brutus's side through the dust — believed the entire battle lost and committed suicide. In the second battle, November 23, Brutus was pressured into attacking prematurely when desertions eroded his position. His army was broken; Brutus escaped with a small force but killed himself that night. His last reported words were a line from Euripides: 'O wretched virtue, thou wert but a name, and yet I worshipped thee as real indeed.' Octavian reportedly had Brutus's head cut off to lay at the feet of Caesar's statue.
Commanders