The experience of women in John Williams's historical novel, Augustus

Following up on yesterday's post on John Williams's Augustus (1972) as I begin reading Part 2 (essentially it's a 2-part novel, with a 3rd part much shorter than the first two sections), it seems clear that Augustus himself will be a bit of an enigma in this historical novel in that all or virtually all of the information we glean about him and his actions and his thinking comes from the observations and recollections of other characters, some obviously historical figures (e.g., Marc Antony), others Williams's creations - though I' not sure how many of these there are or whether any are really composite characters; I'm sure the intro to the Vintage edition I'm reading will shed light on that so I'll read that intro after I finish reading the novel. At the outset of Part 2 we see some people whom history has pushed aside, notably Augustus' mother (Atia?),  sister (Julia? - not sure I'm remembering the names correctly, and the servant woman (i.e., slave, for all intents and purposes) who more or less raised him. The most powerful emotional scene in the novel, so far, is this woman's appearance at a ceremony in which A is marching toward the Forum in a procession; he comes over to her for moment - they had not seen each other since his childhood - and we see a glimpse of warmth in his personality and the sadness that pulls him toward a destiny and responsibility that he'd never anticipated and perhaps does not really want; she is moved deeply by his recognition of her, as would be any reader. Oddly, this reminded me of a scene in Alex Haley's Roots (OK, the TV v thereof) in which the plantation daughter and her childhood friend, a slave, cross paths late in life - and in this instance the wealthy, elderly white woman pretends she does not know that slave woman (who then spits in her requested cup of water) - also an incredibly powerful moment w/ a different outcome. This second section of the novel also seems to be focusing on the experiences and memories of women characters (and historical figures), in particular A's sister who was much smarter and more promising than he was but who's gender kept her from becoming a philosopher or political leader; lest we be too judgmental, however, there's the counter example of Cleopatra who became a powerful world ruler (who died for love - at least in Sh's version if not in Williams's).