PUB - Publikationen an der Universität Bielefeld

The case of Octavian and Octavia allows us to analyse both general anthropological and specifically Roman aspects of the brother-sister relationship. The Romans saw this relationship as crucial to the establishment and maintenance of kinship. During the triumvirate period, marriage and the brother–sister–brother-in-law axis were seen as the most promising political means of guaranteeing peace. For a long time, Octavia succeeded in playing her role of mediator between her brother and husband; yet in due time, Octavian was able to exploit his concern for his sister to propagate military action against Mark Antony. The way in which this relationship was instrumentalised in a particular political situation thus illustrates the political change in the first century BCE.