A Marvel of Womankind

Author’s note: This is the first of what may be a series, looking at the lives of remarkable women in history.

Some people achieve fame by great discoveries, some by creating great works of art, some by winning battles and forging empires.

But sometimes, someone makes a large impact in a quiet way, and such is the case for the woman we will focus on today.

To set the scene, the place is Rome, and the time is a few years after the death of Julius Caesar.

Two men became the main contenders for being his successor - his top general Mark Anthony and his grand nephew Octavius.

Things got tense between the two, and so eventually they realized nobody wanted a civil war, and made peace.

As part of that peace, Octavius had his sister Octavia marry Mark Anthony;

And it's what happened afterwards that is the focus of this story.

The first couple of years went by fairly quietly, but then Mark Anthony went to Egypt to muster an army for an attack on Parthia and unfortunately for Octavia, continued a public affair with Egypt’s queen, Cleopatra.

We don’t know for sure how Octavia felt about that, but whatever shame she may have felt didn’t last long, as soon after both Mark Anthony and Cleopatra were dead.

This is the moment she made history, as she took in the children her husband’s mistress had born him, and raised them as her own.

This apparently impressed her brother enough that he afterward consulted with her often on matters of state. He also commissioned a coin with her face on it, which made her one of extremely few women to receive such an honor.

So she helped shape history, by showing compassion to two orphans, and Agustus never stopped praising her for it.

He gave her the title, “A marvel of womankind”.