Octavia the Elder
Octavia the Elder[lower-alpha 1] (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 and Roman Emperor Augustus.[1]
Octavia the Elder | |
|---|---|
| Spouse | Sextus Appuleius |
| Children | Sextus Appuleius Marcus Appuleius |
| Parents |
|
Biography
Early life
Octavia was born to Ancharia and Octavius likely some time before 69 BC.[2]
Marriage and issue
Octavia the Elder was married to Sextus Appuleius (I). They had a son, who was also named Sextus Appuleius, he served as ordinary consul in 29 BC with his half-uncle, Augustus.[3] It is postulated that they had a second son, Marcus Appuleius, the consul of 20 BC.[4] Through Sextus Appuleius, the consul, she had a grandson named Sextus Appuleius, consul in AD 14, and a granddaughter Appuleia Varilla. Octavia the Elder's last known descendants were her great-grandson, also named Sextus Appuleius, through her grandson and Fabia Numantina.[5]
Research
Plutarch was only aware of one daughter of Gaius Octavius and confused Octavia the Elder with Octavia the Younger.[6]
Octavia's existence as wife of Appuleius was first discovered due to a dedication from when her husband was proconsul of Asia.[7]
Cultural depictions
Octavia and her husband, as well as their two sons, may be depicted on the Ara Pacis.[8]
See also
Notes
- Also known as Octavia Major or Octavia Maior.
References
- Suetonius, Life of Augustus 4.1
- Syme, Ronald (1978). History in Ovid. University of Michigan: Clarendon Press. p. 152.
- Inscriptions from Pergamon 2, 419 = Inscriptiones Graecae ad res Romanas pertinentes 4, 323 = Wilhelm Dittenberger, Orientis Graeci inscriptiones selectae 462.
- Syme, Ronald, Augustan Aristocracy (1989), p. 37
- Syme, R., Augustan Aristocracy (1989), pp. 316f
- Plutarch, Life of Antony 31.1-2 and 87
- Syme, Ronald (1989). The Augustan Aristocracy (illustrated and revised ed.). Clarendon Press. p. 316. ISBN 9780198147312.
- Pollini, John (October 1986). "Ahenobarbi, Appuleii and Some Others on the Ara Pacis". American Journal of Archaeology. Archaeological Institute of America. 90 (4): 453–460. doi:10.2307/506032. JSTOR 506032.
Sources
- Herzog-Hauser, Gertrud: (Octavia 95). In: Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft, vol. XVII 2, col. 1858–1859.
- Suetonius; Life of Augustus
- Syme, Ronald; Augustan Aristocracy (Oxford University Press, 1989). ISBN 0-19-814731-7, ISBN 978-0-19-814731-2
Further reading
- Mary White, Singer (1948). "The Problem of Octavia Minor and Octavia Maior". Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association. The Johns Hopkins University Press. 79: 268–274. doi:10.2307/283365. JSTOR 283365.