Caius Caesar (grandson of Augustus)

Also known as: Caius · Family: Julio-Claudian · Role: son of Augustus · First appears: Augustus 26

As Augustus’s grandson, Caius was associated with Agrippa and Julia (Augustus's daughter), and was sibling to Lucius, Agrippa (grandson), Julia (granddaughter), and Agrippina the Elder. In Augustus 26, Augustus introduced Caius and Lucius into public life at the forum; he later built the portico and basilica of Lucius and Caius. In Augustus 64, he adopted them through a formal purchase ceremony, instructed them in reading, swimming, and other rudiments, and advanced them to state offices while they were still very young.

By Tiberius 11, Tiberius declared that his retirement was intended to avoid suspicion of rivalry with Caius and Lucius. Caius was appointed governor of the East, where Tiberius visited him; Caius was accompanied and directed by Marcus Lollius, who was first his friend and mentor and later his enemy. Caius consented to Tiberius’s recall, on condition that Tiberius take no part in administration.

In Augustus 67, after Caius’s sickness and death, Augustus punished his tutor and attendants for exploiting the situation in the province Caius had governed. Augustus also commended Caius for refusing to pay religious devotions at Jerusalem. “Caius and Lucius being both carried off in the space of three years,” Caius’s death removed one of Augustus’s heirs, and Augustus later wrote, “Since my ill-fortune has deprived me of my two sons, Caius and Lucius, let Tiberius Caesar be heir to two-thirds of my estate.”