Jacob Winters

Steven L. Berg, PhD

HIST 134

4 Mar. 2019

M7 Assignment: The Life of Olympias

Olympias, the mother of Alexander the Great, was a very important woman in her time,

but is quite often overshadowed by her more famous son as well as her famous husband. She was

married to Philip II who was the father and ruler before Alexander the Great. She was one of

many wives of Philip II and she bore him his heir, but that does not mean there was no trouble in

the family. There is not enough time or space to go into every detail of Olympias’s life, but I will

look at three parts of her life. I will be explaining Olympias’s birthplace and how she came to

Macedonia, her relationship with Phillip II, and her actions after both Philip II and Alexander the

Great had died.

Olympias was not originally from Macedonia, and only moved there for her marriage to

Philip II. She was born and raised in Molossia and she was the daughter of the king, King

Neoptolemus. Olympias did not marry Philip II for love or Eros as Plutarch might have us

believe, but it was for a treaty between Molossia and Macedonia. Her father married her off to

the ruler of Macedonia as a part of a peace treaty between the two. This is thought to be one of

the most important peace treaties that Philip made as well.1

We next look at Olympias’s relationship with Philip II. This marriage was not a marriage

like we think of it today. This was very much so a polygamous relationship. Philip had many

wives that he used to hold together peace treaties, as well as many other lovers both male and

female. This was normal for the time, and was a very common occurrence especially for kings.

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Olympias was never any special wife either as she was just one of many. She ended up being the

wife that bore Philip’s heir, but his heir was not even chosen until Alexander was old enough for

his father to judge his abilities to lead. Finally, at this point Olympias may have found extra

favor in this king’s eyes, but this did not last for many years as he died. Olympias lived in fear of

her only son dying and losing her place within Philip’s good graces. She was also most likely

afraid that one of the other wives would produce a son that found better favor in Philip’s eyes.

So, she did everything that she could in order to keep Alexander in the lead for the throne.2 At

one point this almost happens. There was a party that both Alexander and his father, Philip II,

were at. Alexander was gravely insulted and Philip did nothing to stand up for him, or to prove

the insult wrong. Olympias and Alexander then left the kingdom for a while. They went on a

self-imposed exile, but it did not last forever. Philip had to stabilize his succession before he left

for war, and so went about mending bridges. He did enough that both Olympias and Alexander

came back to the kingdom and resumed their roles.3 But from all of this we see that everything

was not well within the family. There was a lot of conflict, jealousy, and working against each

other. Olympias was not in a loving relationship with her husband, and her main focus was on

helping her son get the throne.

Finally, I want to look at Olympias as she was after both her son and her husband had

died. Prior to this, she spent much of her time in a more passive role in society. She was not out

doing much, or actively doing anything for her son or husband. She was more so in the

background. However, once Philip and Alexander both died, she became quite active in the life

of her grandson, Alexander IV. When she realized that her grandson had no protector, she

stepped into the role. She fought for her grandson to become that ruler that was within his

birthright. She made treaties, she gathered armies, and she actively worked for this goal of

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getting her grandson on the throne. But in the end, it was all for nothing. Alexander IV did not

end up ruling the entirety of his father’s kingdom. He was not even able to rule the small piece

that Olympias had tried to get for him. Their armies were swept away and both Olympias and

Alexander IV were killed.4

We have seen a lot of Olympias throughout her days. She held many different roles, and

did many different things. But we have seen how she grew up in Molossia and moved to

Macedonia as a part of a treaty, that her relationship with Philip II was not a very good

relationship, and that she actively fought for the crown to go to her grandson when Alexander the

Great died.

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 Notes

1. See Carney “Olympias: Mother of Alexander the Great” pp. 1-7.

2. See Carney “The Politics of Polygamy: Olympias, Alexander and the Murder of Philip”

pp. 169-189.

3. See Carney “OLYMPIAS” pp. 35-62.

4. See O’Neil “Olympias: ‘The Macedonians will never let themselves be ruled by a

woman’” pp. 1-14.

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 Works Cited

Carney, Elizabeth D. OLYMPIAS. Ancient Society, vol. 18, 1987, pp. 35–62. JSTOR,

www.jstor.org/stable/44034970.

This source talks about Olympias and her relationship with Philip II. It shows how she

had to fight for attention and for her son to be made heir. It comes from a reputable

Journal found through a research database which helps me know that it is a reputable

source to use. It works well with my topic as I can use it to talk about Olympias’s

relationship with Philip II.

Carney, Elizabeth D. Olympias: Mother of Alexander the Great. New York, Routledge, 2006, pp.

1-7.

This source helps me know more about the origin of Olympias, where she came from,

and how she came to be married to Philip II. This is a reputable source because it comes

from a printed book. It works well with helping me write about the birthplace of

Olympias and how she came to Macedonia.

Carney, Elizabeth. The Politics of Polygamy: Olympias, Alexander and the Murder of

Philip. Historia: Zeitschrift Für Alte Geschichte, vol. 41, no. 2, 1992, pp. 169–

189. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/4436236.

This article focuses very much so on the relationships of the time in Macedonia. We see

that these are polygamous relationships and that each wife constantly has to be on guard

toward other wives. This comes from a journal pulled from a reputable research database.

It works very well with my writing on the relationship structure between Philip and

Olympias.

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O'Neil, James L. Olympias: ‘The Macedonians will never let themselves be ruled by a woman’.

Prudentia, 1999, pp. 1-14.

This article is focused on the societal structures of Macedonia and how they would never

let a woman rule. Olympias had more power than any other woman in Macedonia and

this was extremely unusual. It also talks about how she actively pursued putting her

grandson on the throne after the death of Alexander the Great. This comes from a

reputable book so I know that it is a good source to use. It works very well into my

section on Olympias after the death of her husband and son.