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 and Roman Emperor Augustus.Suetonius, Life of Augustus 4.1

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 (I). They had a son, who was also named Sextus Appuleius, he served as ordinary consul in 29 BC with his half-uncle, Augustus.Inscriptions from Pergamon 2, 419 = Inscriptiones Graecae ad res Romanas pertinentes 4, 323 = Wilhelm Dittenberger, Orientis Graeci inscriptiones selectae 462. It is postulated that they had a second son, Marcus Appuleius, the consul of 20 BC.Syme, Ronald, Augustan Aristocracy (1989), p. 37 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.Syme, R., Augustan Aristocracy (1989), pp. 316f

Research Plutarch was only aware of one daughter of Gaius Octavius and confused Octavia the Elder with Octavia the Younger.Plutarch, Life of Antony 31.1-2 and 87

Octavia's existence as wife of Appuleius was first discovered due to a dedication from when her husband was proconsul of Asia.

It is uncertain if Octavia died before or after her siblings. A dedication by a man named Marcus Ancharius dated after 14 AD to a woman named Octavia who was the sister of a prominent man (the name of whom is lost due to the inscription being damaged) might be for her.

Cultural depictions Octavia and her husband, as well as their two sons, may be depicted on the Ara Pacis.

See also List of Roman women Women in ancient Rome

Notes

References

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). ,

Further reading