The early life of Augustus, the first Roman Emperor, began at his birth in Rome on September 23, 63 BC, and is considered to have ended around the assassination of Dictator Julius Caesar, Augustus' great-uncle and adoptive father, on 15 March 44 BC.
Childhood (63 BC – 48 BC)
Augustus was born Gaius Octavius in Rome on 23 September 63 BC. He was a member of the respectable, but undistinguished, Octavii family through his father, also named Gaius Octavius, and was the great-nephew of Julius Caesar through his mother Atia. The young Octavius had two older siblings: a half sister, Octavia Major, from his father's first marriage, and a full sister, Octavia Minor. The Octavii were wealthy through their banking business in Velletri (in the Alban Hills), where the family was part of the local aristocracy. However, the family entered into the senatorial ranks with the elder Octavius as its novus homo. The elder Octavius' entrance into the Senate came when he was appointed quaestor in 69 BC. Shortly after the younger Octavius was born, his father gained a victory at Thurii over a rebellious band of slaves, and thus the son was bestowed the cognomen "Thurinus".
In 61 BC, the elder Octavius was elected praetor. Following his praetorship, he would serve for two years as governor of Macedonia. There, he proved himself a capable administrator. Upon returning to Italy in 59 BC, before he could stand for the consulship, he suddenly died in Nola. This left the young Octavius, then four years old, without a father.
Octavius' mother Atia took over his education in the absence of his father. He was taught as the average Roman aristocratic boy was, learning both Latin and Greek while being trained as an orator. When Octavius was six years old Atia remarried to Lucius Marcius Philippus, a supporter of Julius Caesar and a former governor of Syria. Philippus didn't care much for his new stepchildren and they were raised primarily by their grandmother Julia. He was consul of 56 BC with Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus.
At this time, the First Triumvirate between Julius Caesar, Pompey the Great, and Marcus Licinius Crassus was starting to collapse. By the time Octavius was ten in 53 BC, the alliance completely broke down with the death of Crassus in Parthia. Soon thereafter, Octavius made his first public appearance in 52 BC when he delivered the funeral oration for his grandmother Julia Minor, sister of Caesar. It was at this time that the young Octavius captured the attention of his great-uncle.
With Crassus dead, Caesar and Pompey began to fight each other for supremacy and power. In 50 BC, the Senate, led by Pompey, ordered Caesar to return to Rome from Gaul and to disband his army. The Senate had forbidden Caesar to stand for a second consulship in absentia. Without the consulship, Caesar would be without legal immunity and without the power of his army. Left with no other options, on 10 January 49 BC, Caesar crossed the Rubicon (the frontier boundary of Italy) with only one legion and ignited civil war.
The Senate and Pompey fled to Greece. Despite outnumbering Caesar, who only had his Thirteenth Legion with him, Pompey had no intention of fighting in Italy. Leaving Marcus Lepidus as prefect of Rome, and the rest of Italy under Mark Antony as tribune, Caesar made an astonishing 27-day route-march to Hispania, rejoining two of his Gallic legions, where he defeated Pompey's lieutenants. He then returned east, to challenge Pompey in Greece where, on 10 July 48 BC at the Battle of Dyrrhachium, Caesar barely avoided a catastrophic defeat when the line of fortification was broken. He decisively defeated Pompey, despite Pompey's numerical advantage (nearly twice the number of infantry and considerably more cavalry), at the Battle of Pharsalus in an exceedingly short engagement in 48 BC.
Family tree of the Octavii Rufi
Early career (48 BC – 44 BC)
The same year as Caesar’s ultimate victory against Pompey, Octavius turned 15 and donned the toga virillis on 18 October. Shortly after, Octavius began his first official business upon being elected a pontiff in the College of Pontiffs. It was Caesar who had nominated Octavius for this position, the first of many to come from Caesar. While it is unknown if Caesar took the time to explain the current military or political situation, he did take an interest in Octavius. While celebrating the Festival of the Latins, Caesar appointed Octavius the praefectus urbi until his return. While the position was solely honorary and possessed no authority, it allowed Octavius a place in the public eye.