Early life of Augustus
| Gaius Octavius Thurinus | |
|---|---|
An idealized Roman sculpted portrait of young Octavius as a teenager, possibly produced posthumously or when he was much older, now located in the Vatican Museums | |
| Emperor of the Roman Empire | |
| Reign | 16 January 27 BC – 19 August AD 14 |
| Successor | Tiberius, stepson by third wife, son-in-law, and adoptive son |
| Born | 23 September 63 BC Rome, Roman Republic |
| Died | 19 August 14 AD Nola, Italy, Roman Empire |
| Burial | |
| Spouse | 1) Claudia ?–40 BC 2) Scribonia 40 BC–38 BC 3) Livia Drusilla 25 BC to AD 14 |
| Issue |
|
| House | Julio-Claudian |
| Father | Gaius Octavius; adopted by Julius Caesar |
| Mother | Atia |
Augustus, the first Roman emperor, was born in Rome on 23 September 63 BC as Gaius Octavius. In his early childhood he was raised by his parents, Gaius Octavius and Atia, but after the elder Octavius's death he was raised in part by his stepfather Lucius Marcius Philippus and his grandmother Julia. In his youth he was provided an education in Greek and Latin rhetoric, mathematics, and philosophy.
Dictator Julius Caesar, Octavius's great-uncle, helped foster his early career after Octavius donned the toga virilis at age 15 to mark his coming of age as an adult citizen. Caesar had Octavius elected to the College of Pontiffs, ride in his chariot during a triumph, and accompany him on a military campaign in Hispania. Caesar named Octavius as his primary heir in his will, but was assassinated on the Ides of March in 44 BC while Octavius was studying and undergoing military training at Apollonia in Illyria. Afterwards, Octavius sailed back to Italy to claim his inheritance as the rightful heir to Caesar, and is labeled by historians at this stage with the name Octavian. Ultimately victorious after a series of civil wars, he would eventually be named Augustus by the Roman Senate in 27 BC, an event that traditionally marks the end of the Roman Republic and beginning of the Roman Empire.