Gaius Octavianus was born on the Palatine in Rome Sep 23, 63 BCE (d. Aug 19, 14 CE), to Gaius Octavius, a homo novus of Velitrae and governor of Macedonia, and Atia, the niece of Julius Caesar (Suet. Aug. 3–4; Tac. An. 1.9–10). Octavian’s father died in 59 BCE, and he was reared by his maternal grandmother, Julia Caesaris, for whom he gave a funeral oration in 51 BCE (Suet. Aug. 8). His stepfather, Lucius Marcius Philippus, introduced him …