Gaius Octavius | |
|---|---|
&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:Gaius_Octavius,_father_of_Augustus.jpg) Head of statue, thought to be Gaius Octavius | |
| Born | c. 100 BC |
| Died | 59 BC |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Spouse(s) | Ancharia Atia |
| Children | Octavia the Elder Octavia the Younger Octavian |
Gaius Octavius[1] (c. 100 – 59 BC) was a Roman politician. He was an ancestor to the Roman emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. He was the biological father of the Emperor Augustus, step-grandfather of the Emperor Tiberius, great-grandfather of the Emperor Claudius, and great-great grandfather of the Emperors Caligula[2] and Nero.[3] Hailing from Velitrae, he was a descendant of an old and wealthy equestrian branch of the plebeian gens Octavia. Not being of senatorial rank, he was a novus homo ("new man") at Rome. His grandfather, Gaius Octavius, fought as a military tribune in Sicily during the Second Punic War. His father, Gaius Octavius, was a municipal magistrate who lived to an advanced age.
- ^ No ancient source uses a cognomen (surname). The surname Rufus had belonged to his ancestor, Gnaeus Octavius, quaestor c. 230 BC. It was occasionally used (but more often ignored) by his descendants.
- ^ Caligula was a son of Agrippina the Elder, daughter of Julia the Elder, daughter of Augustus, son of Gaius Octavius (proconsul)
- ^ Nero was a son of Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus (consul 32), son of Antonia the Elder, daughter of Octavia the Younger, daughter of Gaius Ovtavius (proconsul)