Clemson University TigerPrints All Theses Theses 8-2017 Octavia Minor and the Transition from Republic to Empire Katrina Moore Clemson University,
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses Recommended Citation Moore, Katrina, "Octavia Minor and the Transition from Republic to Empire" (2017). All Theses. 2738. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses/2738 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses at TigerPrints. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Theses by an authorized administrator of TigerPrints. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. OCTAVIA MINOR AND THE TRANSITION FROM REPUBLIC TO EMPIRE A Thesis Presented to the Graduate School of Clemson University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts History by Katrina Moore August 2017 Accepted by: Dr. Elizabeth Carney, Committee Chair Dr. Stephanie Barczewski Dr. Caroline Dunn Dr. Thomas Kuehn ABSTRACT As a “good girl,” Octavia Minor, older sister to Octavian née Augustus, has been understudied as a historical figure of the Late Roman Republic. Her portrayal as a “good” exempla in the written classical sources obscures Octavia’s agency. This thesis seeks to divest Octavia of her “good girl” reputation, as has been done by other scholars for many “bad girls” of antiquity, such as Cleopatra and Livia. Removing this “good” stereotype will allow for an examination of Octavia’s role in transforming the moral example of a Roman woman from the Republic to the Empire. Through attentive handling of androcentric classical sources, this study will carefully seek to rehabilitate Octavia as an astute, rather than “good” woman.