Augustus was the cousin of Julius Caesar.

The story behind the answer

False. Augustus (born Gaius Octavius) was Julius Caesar’s great-nephew, not his cousin. His mother, Atia, was Caesar’s niece; in his will, Caesar adopted Octavian as his son and heir, making him Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus. So he was Caesar’s heir, not his peer.

After Caesar’s assassination in 44 BCE, the 18-year-old Octavian used the prestige of Caesar’s name and his legal adoption to gain support, form the Second Triumvirate, and ultimately defeat Antony and Cleopatra at Actium (31 BCE). In 27 BCE the Senate granted him the title “Augustus,” marking the start of the Roman Empire. Memory tip: “Heir, not peer”—Augustus rose from great-nephew to adopted son, not cousin.