Octavian was barely an adult when he arrived in Rome in 44BCE. Two months had passed since his adopted father, Julius Caesar, was murdered by members of the senate who resented his control as dictator. Octavian stood to inherit Caesar’s fortunes, but few could have imagined that he would inherit Caesar’s power.

He would become emperor in 27BCE, reigning as the Augustus and transforming the republic of Rome into an autocratic principate. Under his leadership of forty years Rome would grow in territory, reputation, economy and culture, and change from a city of sun-dried bricks and leave it clothed in marble. How did the young Octavian transform himself into Rome's first emperor?

Sponsored by the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, La Trobe University. Held at the Wheeler Centre in Melbourne on 23 September, 2019.

Guest: Associate Professor Rhiannon Evans (Classics and Ancient History, La Trobe University)