Octavia the Elder (before 69 BC – after 29 BC) was the daughter of the Roman governor and senator
Gaius Octavius by his first wife, Ancharia. She was the elder half-sister to
Octavia the Younger
Octavia the Younger (; 69 BC – 11 BC) was the elder sister of the first Roman emperor, Augustus (known also as Octavian), the half-sister of Octavia the Elder, and the fourth wife of Mark Antony. She was also the great-grandmother of the Emp ...
and
Roman Emperor Augustus
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...
.
Biography
Early life
Octavia was born to Ancharia and Octavius likely some time before 69 BC.
Marriage and issue
Octavia the Elder was married to
Sextus Appuleius
Sextus Appuleius is the name of four figures during the 1st century BC and 1st century AD. The first Sextus Appuleius was married to Octavia Major, the elder half-sister of Augustus. The three subsequent figures named Sextus Appuleius are respecti ...
(I). They had a son, who was also named
Sextus Appuleius
Sextus Appuleius is the name of four figures during the 1st century BC and 1st century AD. The first Sextus Appuleius was married to Octavia Major, the elder half-sister of Augustus. The three subsequent figures named Sextus Appuleius are respecti ...
, he served as
ordinary consul in 29 BC with his half-uncle,
Augustus
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...
. It is postulated that they had a second son,
Marcus Appuleius Marcus Appuleius (c. 55 BC – c. 15 BC) was a nephew of the Roman emperor Augustus and Roman consul in 20 BC with Publius Silius Nerva as his colleague.
Biography
Marcus Appuleius is postulated to have been the son of Sextus Appuleius and Octavia ...
, the consul of 20 BC. Through Sextus Appuleius, the consul, she had a grandson named
Sextus Appuleius
Sextus Appuleius is the name of four figures during the 1st century BC and 1st century AD. The first Sextus Appuleius was married to Octavia Major, the elder half-sister of Augustus. The three subsequent figures named Sextus Appuleius are respecti ...
, consul in AD 14, and a granddaughter
Appuleia Varilla
Appuleia Varilla (flourished 1st century AD) was a Roman noblewoman and the daughter of Quinctilla Varilla and Sextus Appuleius. She was a grand-niece of the emperor Augustus as her father was the son of Octavia Major.
Biography Early life
Tacit ...
. Octavia the Elder's last known descendants were her great-grandson, also named
Sextus Appuleius
Sextus Appuleius is the name of four figures during the 1st century BC and 1st century AD. The first Sextus Appuleius was married to Octavia Major, the elder half-sister of Augustus. The three subsequent figures named Sextus Appuleius are respecti ...
, through her grandson and
Fabia Numantina Fabia Numantina was a member of the patrician Fabia gens. Precisely how she fits into this family is not certain; while she is generally believed to be the daughter of Paullus Fabius Maximus and Marcia, a maternal first cousin of Augustus, it is ...
.
Research
Plutarch
Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...
was only aware of one daughter of Gaius Octavius and confused Octavia the Elder with Octavia the Younger.
Octavia's existence as wife of Appuleius was first discovered due to a dedication from when her husband was proconsul of Asia.
Cultural depictions
Octavia and her husband, as well as their two sons, may be depicted on the ''
Ara Pacis
The (Latin, "Altar of Augustan Peace"; commonly shortened to ) is an altar in Rome dedicated to the Pax Romana. The monument was commissioned by the Roman Senate on July 4, 13 BC to honour the return of Augustus to Rome after three years in Hisp ...
''.
See also
*
List of Roman women
The list below includes Women in Ancient Rome, Roman women who were notable for their family connections, or their sons or husbands, or their own actions. In the earlier periods, women came to the attention of (later) historians either as poisone ...
*
Women in ancient Rome
Freeborn (Ancient Rome), Freeborn women in ancient Rome were Roman citizenship, citizens (''cives''), but could not vote or hold Roman magistrate, political office. Because of their limited public role, women are named less frequently than men by ...
Notes
References
Sources
* Herzog-Hauser, Gertrud: ''(Octavia 95)''. In: ''
Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft
The Pauly encyclopedias or the Pauly-Wissowa family of encyclopedias, are a set of related encyclopedias on Greco-Roman world, Greco-Roman classical studies, topics and scholarship. The first of these, or (1839–1852), was begun by compiler A ...
'', vol. XVII 2, col. 1858–1859.
* Suetonius; ''Life of Augustus''
* Syme, Ronald; ''Augustan Aristocracy'' (Oxford University Press, 1989). ,
Further reading
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Octavia The Elder
1st-century BC births
Year of death unknown
1st-century BC Roman women
1st-century BC Romans
Octavii Rufi
Family of Augustus