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- Gaius Octavius[1] (about 100 – 59 BC) was a Roman politician. He was an ancestor to the Roman Emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. He was the father of the Emperor Augustus, step-grandfather of the Emperor Tiberius, great-grandfather of the Emperor Claudius, and great-great grandfather of the Emperors Caligula[2] and Nero.[3] Hailing from Velitrae, he was a descendant of an old and wealthy equestrian branch of the gens Octavia. At Rome his family was part of the wealthy plebeian caste, and not being of senatorial rank, he was a novus homo ("new man"). His grandfather, Gaius Octavius, fought as a military tribune in Sicily during the Second Punic War. His father, Gaius Octavius, was a municipal magistrate who lived to an advanced age.
Octavius' first wife was named Ancharia. The two had a child named Octavia the Elder. It is not known how the marriage ended, although it is possible that Ancharia died during child birth. Octavius later married the niece of Julius Caesar, Atia. How they met is not known, although Atia's family on her father's side (the Atii Balbi) lived close to Velitrae, which was the ancestral home of the Octavii. They had two children: Octavia the Younger (b. 69 BC) and Gaius Octavius (b. 63 BC), who became Roman Emperor Augustus.
Around 70 BC, Octavius was elected quaestor. In 61 BC, he was elected praetor. In 60 BC, after his term as praetor had ended, he was appointed propraetor, and was to serve as governor (praefectus pro praetor) of Macedonia. However, before he left for Macedonia, the senate sent him to put down a slave rebellion in Thurii. These slaves had previously taken part in the rebellions led by Spartacus and Catiline. Octavius' victory over the slaves in Thurii led him to give his son, then a few years old, the cognomen of "Thurinus". He then left for Macedonia and proved to be a capable administrator, governing "courageously and justly". His deeds included leading the Roman forces to victory in an unexpected battle against the Thracian Bessian tribe. Cicero had high regard for Octavius' diplomatic dealings. Because of his successful term as governor of Macedonia, Octavius won the support necessary to stand for election as consul.
In 59 BC, Octavius sailed to Rome, to stand for election as consul for 58 BC. However, he died in Nola, before arriving in Rome. His career is summarized in an inscription erected by his son on the forum he built in Rome:[4]
C(aius) Octavius C(ai) f(ilius) C(ai) n(epos) C(ai) pr[on(epos)]
pater Augusti
tr(ibunus) mil(itum) bis q(uaestor) aed(ilis) pl(ebis) cum
C(aio) Toranio iudex quaestionum
pr(aetor) proco(n)s(ul) imperator appellatus
ex provincia Macedonia
“Gaius Octavius, son, grandson and great-grandson of Gaius,
father of Augustus,
twice military tribune, quaestor, aedile of the plebs together with
Gaius Toranius, judge,
praetor, proconsul, proclaimed imperator
in the province of Macedonia”
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100 BC - 59 BC
[1, 3] 
