A Woman to Know: Olympias
Most of the blame attached itself to Olympias, on the grounds that she had encouraged the young man in his anger … — Plutarch
Most of the blame attached itself to Olympias, on the grounds that she had encouraged the young man in his anger … — Plutarch
(image via Wikimedia Commons)
Olympias claimed that even while pregnant, she knew her son, Alexander (one day known as “Alexander the Great”) was destined for greatness. As Plutarch wrote:
On the night before they were to be locked into the bridal chamber together, the bride had a dream in which, following a clap of thunder, her womb was struck by a thunderbolt, this started a vigorous fire which then burst into flames and spread all over the place before dying down …
But even before her son became famous for expanding its borders, Olympias herself was very well-versed in the politics of her homeland. In 357 BCE, she became the second wife to Philip II, then ruler of Macedonia. The marriage was more advantageous to Olympias, then just a forgotten orphaned daughter of the king of Epirus, than to Philip. But he was entranced by her quick wit, passionate temper and fiery red hair.
As familiar as Olympias was with the politics of battle, however, negotiating the politics of the court posed its own challenges for the “arrogant, headstrong and meddlesome” young woman. Olympias hated Philip II’s other wives. Rumors claimed she even sought to destroy the other wives’ children, feeding one a poison that “ruined his mind.”
Philip II started to fear his once-intoxicating wife. Olympias followed the cult of Dionysos, the god of wine and bacchanalian pleasure. She started carrying snakes, one of the symbols of the cult, and wore them as ornaments when she appeared in court. When Philip II saw she even slept with snakes in her bed, he refused to visit her again — until their son was born in 356 BC.
Once Alexander was born, Olympias set her sights higher. She told her son that his real father was Zeus, not Philip. She asked Leonidas and Aristotle to tutor him, angering Philip even more. He divorced Olympias and sent the young mother and her son back to Epirus, where they stayed until 336 BCE, when Philip was (conveniently for Olympias) assassinated at a wedding banquet.
With Philip out of the way, Alexander ascended to the throne. He brought his mother along with him, treating her as a right-hand woman and adviser on all things royal. As Alexander led his military campaigns throughout Europe, his mother mailed letters offering guidance and consulting on battle tactics and political negotiations.
When Alexander died in 323 BCE (under mysterious circumstances still debated today), Olympias sent her daughter-in-law and her grandson into hiding, desperate to protect any claim to the throne. She formed an alliance with connections in Epirus and attempted to stage a coup. She wanted to place Alexander’s heir on the throne, but enemy forces captured her and her family. She spent a year in prison, negotiating for her release and that of her grandson.
In 316 BCE, Olympias’s powers of persuasion finally failed her. The new king ordered her put to death. He ordered the same for Olympias’s daughter-in-law and her grandson, finally extinguishing Alexander the Great’s (and Olympias’s) claims to the throne.
Add to your library list:
Olympias: Mother of Alexander the Great (Elizabeth Carney)
Alexander the Great: His Life and His Mysterious Death (Anthony Everitt)
Read more:
Olympias (Encyclopedia Britannica)
The mighty mother of Alexander the Great (National Geographic)
The Tomb of Olympias (JSTOR)
Alexander the Great’s Legacy Stirred up By Tomb (The New York Times)
Alexander the Great: God of Youth and Ambition? (Ancient Origins)
Queen of the Underworld Sheds New Light on Greek Tomb (National Geographic)
Hear more:
Alexander’s Women (The Exploress Podcast)
Watch more:
Alexander the God King (BBC)
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