Octavia Minor was one of the most prominent women in Roman history, Octavia was respected and admired by contemporaries for her loyalty, nobility and humanity, and for maintaining traditional Roman feminine virtues.

Octavia spent much of her childhood travelling with her parents. Her stepfather arranged for her to marry Gaius Claudius Marcellus Minor. In 54 BC, her great uncle Caesar is said to have been anxious for her to divorce her husband so that she could marry Pompey who had just lost his wife Julia (Julius Caesar's daughter, and thus Octavia's cousin once removed). However, Pompey declined the proposal and married Cornelia Metella instead.

So Octavia's husband continued to oppose Julius Caesar including in the crucial year of his consulship 50 BC. Octavia continued to live with her husband from the time of their marriage to her husband's Death.

By a Senatorial decree, Octavia married Mark Antony in October 40 BC, as his fourth wife (his third wife Fulvia having died shortly before). This marriage had to be approved by the Senate, as she was pregnant with her first husband's child, and was a politically motivated attempt to cement the uneasy alliance between her brother Octavian and Mark Antony; however, Octavia does appear to have been a loyal and faithful wife to Antony.

Between 40 and 36 BC, she travelled with Antony to various provinces and lived with him in his Athenian mansion] There she raised her children by Marcellus as well as Antony's two sons and the two daughters of her marriage to Antony.

The alliance was severely tested by Antony's abandonment of Octavia and their children in favor of his former lover Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt (Antony and Cleopatra had met in 41 BC, an interaction that resulted in Cleopatra bearing twins, a boy and a girl).

After 36 BC, Octavia returned to Rome with the daughters of her second marriage. On several occasions she acted as a political adviser and negotiator between her husband and brother. Mark Antony divorced Octavia in 32 BC, after she had supplied him with men and troops, in 35 BC, to be used in his eastern campaigns.

Following Antony's rejection of her, their divorce, and his eventual suicide in 30 BC, Octavia became sole caretaker of their children as well as guardian of Antony's children from his unions with both Fulvia and Cleopatra:

When Marcellus died of illness in 23 BC unexpectedly, Augustus was thunderstruck, Octavia disconsolate almost beyond recovery. Octavia opened the Library of Marcellus, dedicated in his memory, while her brother completed the Marcellus's theatre in his honor. Undoubtedly Octavia attended both ceremonies. She never fully recovered from the death of her son and retired from public life, except on important occasions. She attended the Ara Pacis ceremony to welcome her brother's return in 13 from the provinces. She was also consulted in regard to, and in some versions advised, that Julia marry Agrippa after her mourning for Marcellus ended.

Agrippa had to divorce Octavia's daughter Claudia Marcella (Major) in order to marry Julia, so Augustus wanted Octavia's endorsement very much.

Octavia died of natural causes. Suetonius says she died in Augustus' 54th year, thus 10 BC with Roman inclusive counting. Her funeral was a public one, with her sons-in-law (Drusus, Ahenobarbus, Iullus Antony, and possibly Paullus Aemillius Lepidus) carrying her to the grave in the Mausoleum of Augustus. Drusus delivered one funeral oration from the rostra; Augustus the other and gave her the highest posthumous honors (e.g. building the Gate of Octavia and Porticus Octaviae in her memory). Augustus declined some other honors decreed to her by the senate, for reasons unknown.

She was one of the first Roman women to have coins minted bearing her image; only Antony's previous wife Fulvia pre-empted her.

Spouses and children

Married in -54 to Gaius Marcellus av CLAUDII -88--40 with
M Marcellus av CLAUDII -42--23
F Marcella Major av CLAUDII -41-0
F Marcella Minor av CLAUDII -40-25

Married in October -40 to Marcus Antonius av ANTONII -83--30 with
F Antonia Major av ANTONII -39-18
F Antonia Minor av ANTONII -36-37

Gift med
Gaius Marcellus av Claudii, född -88 i Roma, Lazio, Italien, död -40 i Roma, Lazio, Italien. Consul of the Roman Empire in 50 BC.

Barn:
Marcella Minor av Claudii, född -40, död 25

Gift med
Marcus Antonius av Antonii, född -83 i Roma, Lazio, Italien, död -30 i Alexandria, Egypten. Romersk politiker och fältherre. Buried - Ptolemaic, Alexandria, Egypten.

Barn:
Antonia Minor av Antonii, född -36, död 37