Who is Gaius Octavian Caesar?
Gaius Octavian is a character in the HBO/BBC2 original television series Rome, played by Max Pirkis as a child in season one and the beginning of season two, and in the second season he is played by Simon Woods. He is portrayed as a shrewd, if somewhat cold, young man, with an understanding of the world, people, philosophy, and politics that go well beyond his years. The basis for this character is the early life of Augustus, the first Roman Emperor. Comparison to the historical Octavian The future Augustus was born Gaius Octavius in 63 BC, son of the elder Gaius Octavius, a Senator of obscure provincial origins, and Atia, niece of Julius Caesar. In 44 BC he learned that Caesar had named him in his will as his adopted son and heir, at which point he took the name Gaius Julius Caesar. He would have been expected to add the surname Octavianus to indicate his family of origin, although there is no evidence he himself ever used this name; but from this he is conventionally known as “Octavi
