From Gaius Octavius to Augustus

Via dei Fori Imperiali

Statue of Emperor Augustus, Via dei Fori Imperiali

---

On September 23rd 63 BCE, the future emperor Augustus was born. According to one account Gaius Octavius was born in Rome on the Palatine Hill, according to another he was born in Velitrae (modern-day Velletri), a small town twenty miles to the south east of Rome. 

A bronze statue of Augustus, who was Imperial Rome's first and longest-reigning emperor (r. 27 BCE - 14CE), stands outside the Forum of Augustus. The statue is a 20th century bronze copy of a marble statue of the emperor, now on display in the Vatican Museums. 

---

The 'Prima Porta' Statue of Augustus, Vatican Museums