Republican usage was religious (‘venerable’). On 16 January 27 bc Octavian received the title from the senate, and he intended Tiberius also to take it. Tiberius did not formally accept, but it was used in official documents and taken by all later emperors. Denied to other male members of the dynasty, it became the imperial title par excellence, and so was transmitted to military units and cities. The title ‘Augusta’ was conferred on the emperor's wife (Livia Drusilla, in Augustus' will, the first), exceptionally on other relatives (Antonia 2).
Subjects: Classical Studies.