Olympias, born with the name Myrtle, was the daughter of Neoptolemus, the king of Epirus, which was a Greek kingdom southwest of Macedonia and became the second wife of Philip II of Macedon, and is probably best known as the mother of Alexander the Great. The young Olympias was both beautiful and had a fiery nature. Plutarch says that although Olympias was young, and an orphan, Philip fell in love with her and betrothed himself to her.
Once Alexander was born, Olympias’ primary goal in life was to make him king, and so she doted on him, and told him of his lineage which connected him with the Trojan hero Achilles. She made sure he was educated well with her relative Leonidas of Epirus tutoring and mentoring the young Alexander, before bringing in the Athenian philosopher Aristotle to finish his education.
Before Alexander the Great embarked on his arduous campaigns of conquest, Olympias told him that his father was not Philip, but the god of the sky and king of the Greek pantheon, Zeus, and that he should act courageously according to his divine birth. This was the last time Alexander saw his mother but they were in constant correspondence, often with Olympias offering Alexander advice, and Alexander ignoring it.
— CHAPTERS — 0:00 Introduction 0:55 The Early Life of Olympias 2:14 Olympias, Wife of Philip II of Macedon 4:19 Alexander the Great Takes the Throne 6:08 Later Life and Death of Olympias 7:38 Outro
Did you know that Alexander the Great's mother claimed he was the son of a god?
Hello and welcome to World History Encyclopedia. My name is Kelly and today's video is all about
Olympias, second wife to Philip II of Macedon and mother of Alexander the Great. Don't forget
the easiest way to support us is by giving this video a thumbs up, subscribing to our channel and
hitting that bell icon for notifications so you don't miss out on any new uploads.
World History Encyclopedia is a non-profit organization and we're on Patreon,
a brilliant site where you can support our work and receive exclusive benefits in return.
Your support helps us create videos twice a week so make sure to check it out by
the link in the top corner of the screen or by the Patreon link down below.
Olympias, born with the name Myrtle, was the daughter of Neoptolemus,
the king of Epirus, which was a Greek kingdom southwest of Macedonia. It is widely believed
Olympias met Philip II of Macedon on Samothrace, an island in the Aegean Sea between Troy and
Macedonia. Philip was on the island to promote an alliance and when he saw the young Olympias,
who was both beautiful and had a fiery nature, Plutarch says that although Olympias was young
and an orphan, Philip fell in love with her and betrothed himself to her. It was not uncommon
for kings to marry multiple times, especially since they were often for diplomatic alliances,
and in 357 BCE, the 18-year-old Olympias became Philip's second wife. He was about 28 at the time.
Once again, it is Plutarch who writes that the night before their wedding night,
Olympias had a dream that her womb was struck by a thunderbolt, which started a fire and then
burst into flames and spread everywhere before dying down. Pair this omen with Philip's dream
that he was pressing a seal on his wife's womb, and that the emblem on the seal was the figure
of a lion, and the great future of their son was foretold. Olympias and Philip had two children,
a son who would become Alexander the Great, and a daughter, Cleopatra. But after Philip saw
Olympias sleeping with snakes, he no longer visited her bedchamber. The practice of handling
snakes may have been because of Olympias' long devotion to the cult of Dionysus,
which many of the Macedonian people were unimpressed with. On the 20th of July, 356 BCE,
Olympias gave birth to her son Alexander, who would be the heir to Philip's throne.
There was another potential heir to the throne, Philip Aradaeus, who was born to a commoner named
Philina, and there is evidence that Olympias was always jealous and she didn't want Philip Aradaeus
to be a threat to Alexander. So, according to Plutarch, Philip Aradaeus' mind became ruined
when he was poisoned by Olympias. Once Alexander was born, Olympias' primary goal in life was to
make him king, and so she doted on him and told him of his lineage, which connected him with the
well with her relative Leonidas of Epirus, tutoring and mentoring the young Alexander
before bringing in the Athenian philosopher Aristotle to finish his education. Olympias'
goal to get Alexander on the throne, though, was threatened by Philip's marriage to Cleopatra
Eurydice, the daughter of Attalus, one of Philip's commanders. Potentially fuelled by the talk that
Alexander was only half Macedonian and the people wanted the king to marry a Macedonian woman,
Philip divorced Olympias and went so far as to claim that Alexander wasn't his son, and his
marriage to Cleopatra Eurydice not only had the potential to kick Alexander out of top spot for
the throne, but since Olympias' brother, also named Alexander, was put on the throne of Epirus
and betrothed to Philip and Olympias' daughter, and his niece, Cleopatra, Olympias wouldn't even
be needed as a diplomatic tie to Epirus. Things were not looking good for Olympias.
During the marriage banquet of Philip and Cleopatra Eurydice, Attalus called upon the
people of Macedonia to pray to the gods for a legitimate heir. So he basically called Alexander
a bastard, and suffice to say, Alexander was unimpressed. Alexander rose in anger and Philip
tried to attack Alexander, but he was a bit drunk and he stumbled and fell. Alexander took Olympias
back to Epirus, both to get her away from the wrath of Philip, and also potentially to coax
her brother into declaring war on Philip. In 336 BCE, at the wedding of Olympias' brother Alexander
and her daughter Cleopatra, Philip II of Macedon was assassinated by Pausanias of Orestes,
and suspicion immediately fell on Olympias, who many believed had encouraged Pausanias to kill
Philip. After Philip's death, Alexander became king of Macedon, and on Olympias' orders, Cleopatra
Eurydice and her young daughter, and potentially young son, were put to death. Olympias was securely
the mother of the king. Before Alexander embarked on his arduous campaigns of conquest, Olympias
told him that his father was not Philip, but the god of the sky and king of the Greek pantheon,
Zeus, and that he should act courageously according to his divine birth. This was the last
time Alexander saw his mother, but they were in constant correspondence, often with Olympias
offering Alexander advice and Alexander ignoring it. Alexander left Antipater behind to rule Greece
and Macedonia in his absence, and letters from Antipater to Alexander were full of complaints
and accusations. And while Antipater called Olympias a shrew, Olympias claimed that Antipater
was acting far more like a king than a governor. After the death of Alexander in 323 BCE, Olympias
summoned his wife Roxanne and their child Alexander to Pella in order to keep them safe. When Antipater
died in 319, Polyperchon became the new regent, and then was forced out by Cassander, the son
of Antipater. Olympias realized that under the governor Cassander, her grandson Alexander IV
would never become king, so she joined forces with her cousin Aesides, who was the king of
Epirus at the time, and the remainder of Polyperchon's army, and they invaded Macedonia.
At Olympias's orders, Philip Aridaeus, who was actually king but only in name, his wife Eurydice,
and hundreds of Macedonians loyal to Cassander were executed in 317 BCE. Olympias's invasion
of Macedonia failed though, and she was captured by Cassander, who initially promised to spare her
life but changed his mind and put her to death in 316 BCE. Her grandson and Roxanne suffered the
same fate six years later in 310 BCE. Was Olympias a scheming snake as she has been portrayed by later
writers, or did she simply do everything in her power to support her son? Let us know what you
think in the comments below. If you enjoyed this video, make sure to give it a thumbs up
and subscribe to our channel so you don't miss out on our new videos every Tuesday and Friday.
This video was brought to you by World History Encyclopedia. For more great articles and
interactive content, head to our website via the link below. If you like my shirt,
you can find this design and a bunch more at apricosclothing.ca, or you can find the link for
down below. Thank you so much for watching and we will see you soon with another video.
