Editing Olympias (section)

==Queen of Macedonia==
When [[Neoptolemus I of Epirus|Neoptolemus I]] died in 360 BC, his brother [[Arymbas|Arybbas]] succeeded him on the Molossian throne. In 358 BC, Arybbas made a treaty with the new king of [[Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Macedonia]], [[Philip II of Macedon|Philip II]], and the [[Molossians]] became allies of the [[Ancient Macedonians|Macedonians]]. The alliance was cemented with a diplomatic marriage between Arybbas' niece, Olympias, and Philip in 357 BC. It made Olympias the [[queen consort]] of Macedonia, and Philip the king. Philip had allegedly fallen in love with Olympias when both were initiated into the mysteries of [[Cabeiri]] at the [[Samothrace temple complex|Sanctuary of the Great Gods]], on the island of [[Samothrace]],<ref>Plutarch, ''Alexander'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?layout=;doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0243;query=chapter%3D%232;loc=2 2.1]</ref> though their marriage was largely political in nature in order to seal the alliance between Macedonia and Epirus.<ref>[[Justin (historian)|Justin]] 7, 6, 10</ref>

One year later, in 356 BC, Philip's race horse won in the [[Ancient Olympic Games|Olympic Games]]; for this victory, his wife, who was known then as Myrtale,<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Olympias|title=Olympias {{!}} Macedonian leader|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=2018-01-29|language=en}}</ref> received the name ''Olympias''. In the summer of the same year, Olympias gave birth to her first child, [[Alexander the Great|Alexander]]. In [[ancient Greece]] people believed that the birth of a great man was accompanied by portents. As [[Plutarch]] describes, the night before the consummation of their marriage, Olympias dreamed that a thunderbolt fell upon her womb and a great fire was kindled, its flames dispersed all about and then were extinguished. After the marriage Philip dreamed that he put a seal upon his wife's womb, the device of which was the figure of a lion. [[Aristander]]'s interpretation was that Olympias was pregnant of a son whose nature would be bold and lion-like.<ref>Plutarch, ''Alexander'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?layout=;doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0243;query=chapter%3D%232;loc=2 2.2–2.3]</ref> Philip and Olympias also had a daughter, [[Cleopatra of Macedon|Cleopatra]], who later married her uncle, [[Alexander I of Epirus]], to further diplomatic ties between [[Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Macedonia]] and [[Epirus (ancient state)|Epirus]].
[[File:Olympias presenting the young Alexander the Great to Aristotle by Gerard Hoet before 1733 MH.jpg|thumb|Olympias presenting the young Alexander the Great to Aristotle by [[Gerard Hoet]], 1733.]]

According to primary sources, their marriage was very stormy due to Philip's volatility and Olympias' ambition and jealousy, which led to their growing estrangement.<ref name=":0" /> Things got more tumultuous in 337 BC when Philip married a noble Macedonian woman, [[Cleopatra Eurydice of Macedon|Cleopatra]], the niece of [[Attalus (general)|Attalus]], who was given the name Eurydice by Philip. At a gathering after the marriage, Philip failed to defend Alexander's claim to the Macedonian throne when Attalus threatened his legitimacy, causing great tensions between Philip, Olympias, and Alexander.<ref name=":0" /> Olympias went into voluntary exile in [[Epirus]] along with Alexander, staying at the Molossian court of her brother [[Alexander I of Epirus|Alexander I]], who was the king at the time.

In 336 BC, Philip cemented his ties to Alexander I of Epirus by offering him the hand of his and Olympias' daughter [[Cleopatra of Macedon|Cleopatra]] in marriage, a fact that led Olympias to further isolation as she could no longer count on her brother's support. However, Philip was murdered by [[Pausanias of Orestis|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.<ref>Justinus, ''Historia'' ''9, 5-7''</ref><ref name=":0">Plutarch, ''Alexander,'' 9.3 & 10.4.

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