General Notes

Octavia (69?-11 bc), Roman matron, daughter of the Roman general Gaius Octavius, grandniece of Julius Caesar, and sister of Octavian, who became emperor as Augustus. Octavia was distinguished for her beauty and her virtue. In 40 bc on the death of her first husband, the consul Gaius Claudius Marcellus, she consented to marry Octavian's rival Mark Antony to make secure the reconciliation between him and her brother. When Antony deserted her for the Egyptian queen Cleopatra, Octavia remained loyal to her husband, even providing him with reinforcements on occasion. Octavian was indignant at the treatment she received and wished her to leave her husband's house. When war broke out between Octavian and Antony in 32 bc, Antony crowned his insults by sending Octavia a notice of divorce. When he died in Egypt after being defeated by Octavian in 30, Octavia brought up not only her own children but also Antony's children by his first wife, Fulvia, and by Cleopatra. Octavia herself had five children: two daughters by Antony, and a son and two daughters by her first husband. Her son, Marcus Claudius Marcellus, was adopted by Augustus and apparently intended to succeed the latter as emperor, but died at the age of 19. Among the descendants of two of Octavia's daughters, Antonia Major and Antonia Minor, were three rulers of the Roman Empire: the emperors Claudius I, Nero, and Caligula.



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