Octavius Caesar

Octavius is the novel’s titular character and protagonist, although he only narrates a very small amount of the story. Born Gaius Octavius, he was adopted by his uncle, Julius Caesar, when he was a young man, after accompanying him on a military campaign in Spain. When Octavius receives news of Julius’s death, he is enraged and vows to seek vengeance upon the conspirators by whatever means possible. It is during this time that Octavius meets his three closest friends: Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, Quintus Salvidienus Rufus, and Gaius Cilnius Maecenas.

Along with his friends, Octavius spends the majority of his young adult life campaigning against those who would befoul Julius’s memory by any means necessary. In this lengthy war, allegiances are constantly swapped and flipped, and Octavius makes both new friends and new enemies along the way. He is married many times over, mostly for...