Livia Drusilla stood at the center of Rome's first imperial dynasty. Her marriage to Octavian, the future Augustus, in 38 BCE linked important aristocratic families during the last struggles of the Republic. As his wife she received exceptional honors and legal privileges, but held no magistracy or formal share of his constitutional powers. Her authority depended on access, property, patronage, and her position within the ruling family.

The public image of Livia emphasized respectable marriage, domestic discipline, and religious observance, complementing Augustus's presentation of restored Roman morality. Portraits represented her in an idealized form, associating the imperial family with order and continuity. Her household connections and benefactions also gave her opportunities to assist individuals and communities seeking support at court.

The succession made her family especially important. Her sons by her first marriage, Tiberius and Drusus, held major military commands. After the deaths of other possible successors, Augustus adopted Tiberius in 4 CE. On Augustus's death in 14, Tiberius became emperor, while the will adopted Livia into the Julian family and gave her the name Julia Augusta. She retained wealth and prestige and participated in the honors surrounding the deified Augustus, although her relationship with Tiberius was sometimes strained.

Ancient historians also made her a focus of suspicion. Tacitus and others repeated allegations that she had removed rivals to advance Tiberius; such stories are evidence of hostile traditions, not proof that she poisoned members of the family. Their accounts require particular care because they used the figure of a powerful imperial woman to criticize government through a ruling household. Livia died in 29 CE. Claudius, her grandson, later deified her in 42. Her recorded honors, portraits, and dynastic position provide firmer evidence of her prominence than the sensational crimes attributed to her.