The Roman play Octavia has largely been studied under the issue of authenticity, a focus which has come at the detriment of studying the play’s characters themselves. In this paper, we examine key elements of Claudia Octavia’s characterization, the titular character. This focus allows integral inferences regarding both the play and how Romans composed history as a whole. The nature of Octavia is one of a composite, of which key figures are the emperor Claudius, deities such as Juno and Astraea, and Republican heroines Lucretia and Virginia. As daughter of Claudius, Octavia emblemizes a lost age, legitimizes Nero’s reign, and represents the hope of the Julio-Claudian line’s continuation. By characterizing Octavia as Juno, the playwright exonerates her from participation in her incestuous marriage and reminds the audience of her marriage’s despondencies. Octavia’s similarities to Astraea outline both the degradation of the Neronian Era and Octavia’s helplessness in the face of this decay. When illuding to Republican heroines, the playwright emphasizes the casual nature of women, casting Octavia, Lucretia, and Virginia as “points of inflections” that facilitate and cause crucial moments in Roman history.