Olympias was a Greek princess of the Molossians, and the eldest daughter of king Neoptolemus I of Epirus, the sister of Alexander I of Epirus, the fourth wife of Philip II, the king of Macedonia and the mother of Alexander the Great.
13 Facts About Olympias
2.
Olympias was extremely influential in Alexander's life and was recognized as de facto leader of Macedon during Alexander's conquests.
3.
Olympias was the eldest daughter of Neoptolemus I, king of the Molossians, an ancient Greek tribe in Epirus, and sister of Alexander I of Epirus.
4.
Olympias's family belonged to the Aeacidae, a well-respected family of Epirus, which claimed descent from Neoptolemus, son of Achilles.
5.
The name Olympias was the third of four names by which she was known.
6.
Olympias was finally named Stratonice, which was probably an epithet attached to Olympias following her victory over Eurydice in 317 BC.
7.
Aristander's interpretation was that Olympias was pregnant of a son whose nature would be bold and lion-like.
8.
Philip and Olympias had a daughter, Cleopatra, who later married her uncle, Alexander I of Epirus, to further diplomatic ties between Macedonia and Epirus.
9.
Olympias went into voluntary exile in Epirus along with Alexander, staying at the Molossian court of her brother Alexander I, who was the king at the time.
10.
However, Philip was murdered by Pausanias, a member of Philip's somatophylakes, his personal bodyguard, while attending the wedding, and Olympias, who returned to Macedonia, was suspected of having countenanced his assassination.
11.
Olympias fled to Epirus, taking Roxana and her son Alexander IV with him, who had previously been left in the care of Olympias.
12.
At the beginning, Olympias had not been involved in this conflict, but she soon realized that in the case of Cassander's rule, her grandson would lose the crown, so she allied with Polyperchon in 317 BC.
13.
Olympias captured Cassander's brother and a hundred of his partisans.