Editing Olympias

{{Short description|Mother of Alexander the Great (c. 375–316 BC)}}
{{for|other people and entities known as Olympias}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Olympias
| image        = Coin olympias mus theski.JPG
| caption      = Roman medallion with Olympias, Museum of Thessaloniki
| succession   = Queen of Macedon
| reign        = {{circa}} 357–316 BC
| coronation   = 
| predecessor  = 
| successor    = 
| birth_date   = 375 BC
| birth_place  = Molossia, [[Epirus (ancient state)|Epirus]], [[Ancient Greece]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/magazine/2019/11-12/queen-olympias-ancient-macedonia/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191205053556/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/magazine/2019/11-12/queen-olympias-ancient-macedonia/|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 5, 2019|title=Olympias, the Mighty Mother of Alexander the Great|website=[[National Geographic Society]] |date=3 December 2019}}</ref>
| death_date   = 316 BC (aged 59)
| death_place  = [[Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Macedonia]], [[Ancient Greece]]
| consort      = yes
| spouse       = [[Philip II of Macedon]]
| issue        = [[Alexander the Great]]<br/>[[Cleopatra of Macedon]]
| full name    = 
| father       = [[Neoptolemus I of Epirus]]
| mother       = 
| religion     = [[Ancient Greek religion]]
| native_lang1 = [[Ancient Greek language|Ancient Greek]]
| native_lang1_name1 = Ολυμπιάς
| royal house  = [[Molossians]]
| dynasty      = 
| date of burial = 
| place of burial = 
}}

'''Olympias''' ({{langx|grc|Ὀλυμπιάς}}; c. 375–316 BC)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.american-pictures.com/genealogy/persons/per01294.htm#0 |title=Olympias Queen of Macedonia |publisher=www.american-pictures.com |access-date=2009-07-30}}</ref> was a [[Ancient Greeks|Greek]] princess of the [[Molossians]],<ref name=Carney /> the eldest daughter of king [[Neoptolemus I of Epirus]], the sister of [[Alexander I of Epirus]], the fourth wife of [[Philip of Macedon|Philip II]], the king of [[Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Macedonia]] and the mother of [[Alexander the Great]]. She was extremely influential in Alexander's life and was recognized as ''[[de facto]]'' leader of Macedon during Alexander's conquests.<ref>[[Elizabeth D. Carney|Carney, Elizabeth]] (2006). ''Olympias: Mother of Alexander the Great'', p. 23. Routledge. {{ISBN|0415333172}}.</ref> According to the 1st century AD biographer, [[Plutarch]], she was a devout member of the [[orgia]]stic snake-worshiping [[cult of Dionysus]], and he suggests that she slept with snakes in her bed.<ref>"The nonsense about the snakes" is from [[Plutarch]]'s ''Life of Alexander'' (2.6), according to Robin Lane Fox, ''Alexander the Great'' 1973:26 and note p. 504; Fox suggests that the snake-handling was the ''stuprum'' referred to by Justin9.5.9.</ref>

After her son's death, Olympias fought on behalf of Alexander's son [[Alexander IV of Macedon|Alexander IV]], successfully defeating [[Adea Eurydice]].<ref name="britannica.com" /> After she was finally defeated by [[Cassander]], his armies refused to execute her, and he finally had to summon family members of those Olympias had previously killed to end her life.<ref name="britannica.com" />

==Origin==
Olympias was the eldest daughter of [[Neoptolemus I of Epirus|Neoptolemus I]], king of the [[Molossians]], an [[Ancient Greece|ancient Greek]] tribe in [[Epirus (ancient state)|Epirus]],<ref name=britannica>{{cite encyclopedia|author=Encyclopædia Britannica staff|section=Epirus|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/190156/Epirus|title=Epirus|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]], Inc.|year=2013|access-date=24 December 2023}}</ref> and sister of [[Alexander I of Epirus]]. She also had a sister named Troas, who married their paternal uncle [[Arybbas of Epirus|Arrybas of Epirus]].

Her family belonged to the [[Aeacidae]], a well-respected family of [[Epirus]], which claimed descent from [[Neoptolemus]], son of [[Achilles]]. They took their name from the mythical king [[Aeacus]], who ruled in the island of [[Aegina]] in the [[Saronic Gulf]].<ref>{{cite book|chapter=Aeacides |chapter-url=https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/moa/acl3129.0001.001/37?page=root;rgn=full+text;size=100;view=image |editor-last1=Smith |editor-first1=William |editor-link1=William Smith (lexicographer) |title=A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology |title-link=Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology |page=22 |volume=1 |location=Boston |publisher=Little, Brown, and Company |year=1867}}</ref> The Aeacidae were perhaps the only Epirotes who were universally recognised as Greek.<ref name=britannica /> Although unknown, some scholars have theorized that Olympias' mother may have been a [[Chaonians|Chaonian]] princess, based on the rumour that Olympias used to say that she was also a descendant of the Trojan prince, [[Helenus of Troy|Helenus]] son of [[Priam]] (the last king of Troy) and [[Andromache]], wife of [[Hector]].<ref>[[Theopompus]], ''[[Fragmente der griechischen Historiker]]'' (FGrH) 115 F355</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Carney |first=Elizabeth |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xxmAAgAAQBAJ&dq=olympias+father&pg=PT26 |title=Olympias: Mother of Alexander the Great |date=2006-09-27 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-31818-6 |language=en}}</ref>

Apparently, she was originally named Polyxena, as [[Plutarch]] mentions in his work ''[[Moralia]]'', and changed her name to Myrtale prior to her marriage to [[Philip II of Macedon]] as part of her initiation into an unknown mystery cult.<ref name="Carney">{{cite web |url=https://cj.camws.org/Dixon%20on%20Carney.pdf |title=Review of Elizabeth Carney's ''Olympias, Mother of Alexander the Great'' by Michael D. Dixon |publisher=Classical Journal |access-date=2022-07-05 }}</ref> The name ''Olympias'' was the third of four names by which she was known. She probably took it as a recognition of Philip's victory in the [[Ancient Olympic Games|Olympic Games]] of 356 BC, the news of which coincided with Alexander's birth (Plut. Alexander 3.8).<ref>{{harvnb|Heckel|2006|p=181}}</ref> She was finally named Stratonice, which was probably an epithet attached to Olympias following her victory over [[Eurydice II of Macedon|Eurydice]] in 317 BC.<ref name=Carney/>

==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.

</ref>

==Alexander's reign and the Wars of the Diadochi==
After the death of Philip II, which Olympias was believed to have either ordered or been an accessory to according to some ancient historical accounts, Olympias was allegedly also involved in overseeing the execution of [[Cleopatra Eurydice of Macedon|Eurydice]] and her child in order to secure Alexander's position as the rightful king of Macedonia.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Green|first=Peter|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zlFXc9N19yUC&q=%22Cleopatra+Eurydice%22&pg=PA161|title=Classical Bearings: Interpreting Ancient History and Culture|date=1998-06-25|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-20811-7|language=en}}</ref> During Alexander's campaigns, she regularly corresponded with him and may have confirmed her son's claim in [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]] that his father was not Philip but [[Zeus]]. The relationship between Olympias and Alexander was cordial, but her son tried to keep her away from politics. However, she wielded great influence in Macedonia and caused troubles to [[Antipater]], the regent of the kingdom. In 330 BC, she returned to Epirus and served as a regent to her cousin [[Aeacides of Epirus|Aeacides]] in the [[Epirus (ancient state)|Epirote state]], as her brother Alexander I had died during a campaign in [[southern Italy]].
[[File:Alexander und Olympias-IMG 5209.JPG|thumb|281x281px|Statue of Alexander and Olympias at [[Schönbrunn Palace]]]]
After Alexander the Great's death in [[Babylon]] in 323 BC, his wife [[Roxana]] gave birth to their son named [[Alexander IV of Macedon|Alexander IV]]. Alexander IV and his uncle [[Philip III of Macedon|Philip III]] Arrhidaeus, the half brother of Alexander the Great who may have been disabled, were subject to the regency of [[Perdiccas]], who tried to strengthen his position through a marriage with Antipater's daughter [[Nicaea of Macedon|Nicaea]]. At the same time, Olympias offered Perdiccas the hand of her and Philip's daughter, Cleopatra. Perdiccas chose Cleopatra, which angered Antipater, who allied himself with several other [[Diadochi]], deposed Perdiccas, and was declared regent, only to die within the year.

[[Polyperchon]] succeeded Antipater in 319 BC as regent, but Antipater's son [[Cassander]] established Philip II's son Philip III (Arrhidaeus) as king and forced Polyperchon out of Macedonia.<ref name="britannica.com">{{Cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/427989/Olympias|title=Olympias &#124; Macedonian leader}}</ref> He fled to Epirus, taking [[Roxana]] and her son Alexander IV with him, who had previously been left in the care of Olympias. 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. The Macedonian soldiers supported her return and the united armies of Polyperchon and Olympias, with the house of [[Aeacides]], invaded Macedonia to drive Cassander out from power.

After winning in battle by convincing the army of [[Eurydice II of Macedon|Adea Eurydice]], the wife of [[Philip III of Macedon|Philip III]], to side with her own, Olympias captured and executed the two in October 317 BC. She also captured Cassander's brother and a hundred of his partisans.<ref name="britannica.com"/> Cassander soon blockaded and besieged Olympias in [[Ancient Pydna|Pydna]] and one of the terms of the capitulation had been that Olympias's life would be saved, but Cassander had decided to execute her, sparing only temporarily the lives of Roxana and Alexander IV (they were executed a few years later in 309 BC). When the fortress of Pydna fell, Cassander ordered Olympias killed, but the soldiers refused to harm the mother of Alexander the Great. There are differing stories about her death. Pausanias states that she was stoned to death by the families of her many victims. Justinus says she went out to meet her enemies in royal attire with two maids and forced them to stab her publicly, "so that you could see Alexander even in his dying mother." Cassander is also said to have denied to her body the rites of burial.<ref>[[Elizabeth D. Carney|Carney, Elizabeth]] (2006). ''Olympias: Mother of Alexander the Great'', p. 82. Routledge. {{ISBN|0415333172}}.</ref> 
[[File:Cassandre et Olympia-Jean Joseph Taillasson mg 8223.jpg|thumb|Cassander ordering the death of Olympias by [[Jean-Joseph Taillasson]], ca. 1799.]]

==Iconography==
A medal bearing the name "Olympias" was found in 1902 at [[Abu Qir]], [[Egypt]] that dates back to AD 225–250,<ref name=walters>{{cite web|title=Medallion with Olympias · The Walters Art Museum · Works of Art|url=http://art.thewalters.org/detail/35838|work=Part of three browsing collections. Creator: Roman. Medium: Coins & Medals. Location: Ancient Treasury|access-date=20 August 2012|author=Thewalters.org|author-link=Walters Art Museum|location=Baltimore, Maryland, USA|quote=Together with 59.1 and 59.3, this piece is part of a series of large gold medallions that was commissioned to honor Emperor Caracalla, representing him as the descendant of Alexander the Great. These medallions, found at Aboukir in Upper Egypt, demonstrate the artistry and technical prowess achieved by an imperial mint, perhaps that of Ephesus or Perinthus (both cities in western Asia Minor). Olympias, mother of Alexander the Great, is depicted here in profile. The back shows a "nereid" (sea nymph), perhaps Thetis, the mother of Achilles, riding on a hippocamp, a mythical sea-creature. Thus, the medallion forms part of a double comparison: Caracalla is compared to Alexander, the conqueror of the East; Alexander is compared to Achilles, a hero of the Trojan War.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131125085848/http://art.thewalters.org/detail/35838|archive-date=25 November 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> and belongs to the Archaeological Museum of [[Thessaloniki]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.amth.gr/en/exhibitions/permanent-exhibitions/gold-macedon|title=The Gold of Macedon {{!}} ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM OF THESSALONIKI|website=www.amth.gr|date=14 September 2015 |language=en|access-date=2018-01-29}}</ref> The reverse shows a [[Nereid]] mounted on a fantastic sea creature. It had been suggested that the Olympias depicted on the medal was Queen Olympias, but this theory has been challenged. The name ΟΛΥΜΠΙΑΔΟΣ is thought to refer to the [[Olympiad]]s instead.<ref>[[Jean Gagé]], ''Alexandre le Grand en Macédoine dans la Ière moitié du IIIe siècle ap. J.-C.'', Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte, Vol. 24, No. 1 (1st Qtr., 1975), pp. 1-16</ref>

==In popular culture==
* Olympias was portrayed by French actress [[Danielle Darrieux]] in the 1956 film ''[[Alexander the Great (1956 film)|Alexander the Great]]'', a historical epic which starred [[Richard Burton]] as Alexander and [[Fredric March]] as his father.
* Olympias appears in [[Maurice Druon]]'s 1960 novel ''Alexander the God''.
* Olympias is a character in ''The Young Alexander the Great'' (1960) by [[Naomi Mitchison]]. 
* Olympias appears in ''The Conqueror'' (1962) by [[Edison Marshall]].
* Olympias is a character in [[Aubrey Menen]]'s ''A Conspiracy of Women'' (1965).
* Olympias is a major character in two of the three [[historical fiction|novels]] of [[Mary Renault]]'s acclaimed Alexander Trilogy, ''[[Fire from Heaven]]'' (1969) and ''[[Funeral Games (novel)|Funeral Games]]'' (1981). Olympias is frequently referenced in the second novel of the [[trilogy]], ''[[The Persian Boy]]'' (1972).
* Olympias is the subject of Michael A. Dimitri's 1993 novel ''The Daughter of Neoptolemus''.
* Olympias is a character in [[Valerio Massimo Manfredi]]'s 2001 novel ''Alexander: Child of a Dream''.
* [[Angelina Jolie]] starred as Olympias in [[Oliver Stone]]'s 2004 film ''[[Alexander (2004 film)|Alexander]]'', which co-starred [[Colin Farrell]] as Alexander and [[Val Kilmer]] as [[Philip II of Macedon|Philip]].
* Olympias appears in ''Empire of Ashes: A Novel of Alexander the Great'' (2004) by [[Nicholas Nicastro]] 
* Olympias is a character in ''The Virtues of War: A Novel of Alexander the Great'' (2005), by [[Steven Pressfield]], told in the first person by Alexander.
* Olympias is the subject of [[Judith Tarr]]'s 2008 novel ''Bring Down the Sun (Alexander the Great #2)''.
* Olympias appears in the fictional biography of Alexander ''God of War'' (2012) by [[Christian Cameron]].
* Olympias also appears in the Indian series ''[[Porus (TV series)|Porus]]'', portrayed by [[Sameksha]].
* Olympias (called Myrtale, her earlier name) appears in Jeanne Reames's duology ''Dancing with the Lion'' (2019).
* Olympias is also the name of the queen of Macedonia in the manga "[[Historie]]" by [[Hitoshi Iwaaki]].
* Olympias appears a character in [[Horrible Histories (2015 TV series)|Horrible Histories]] in a skit named "Made in Macedonia".

==See also==
*[[Alkimachos of Pydna]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
'''Primary sources'''
*[[Plutarch]], ''Alexander'', ''[[Parallel Lives]]'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0243&query=head%3D%231 online] at [[Perseus Project]].

'''Secondary sources'''
*{{cite book|last=Heckel|first=Waldemar|title=Who's who in the age of Alexander the Great: prosopography of Alexander's empire|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JJ4K1wFZkrsC|publisher=Wiley-Blackwell|year=2006|isbn=1-4051-1210-7}}
*{{cite book | author=Waterfield, Robin |title=Dividing the Spoils: The War for Alexander the Great's Empire | location=New York | publisher= Oxford University Press| year=2011 | isbn=  9780199647002 | pages = 273 pages}}

== External links ==
{{commons category}}
*{{cite encyclopedia | title = Olympias (Macedonian leader)
 | encyclopedia = [[Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition]]
 | url = http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/427989/Olympias
 | access-date = July 31, 2006
}}
*{{cite web
 | title = Olympias
 | work = Livius. Articles on Ancient History
 | url = https://www.livius.org/oa-om/olympias/olympias.htm
 | access-date = July 30, 2006
 | archive-date = July 18, 2006
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060718045607/http://www.livius.org/oa-om/olympias/olympias.htm
 | url-status = dead
 }}
*{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Olympias |short=x}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Family of Alexander the Great]]
[[Category:Executed ancient Greek people]]
[[Category:Ancient Epirotes]]
[[Category:Executed royalty of Macedonia (ancient kingdom)]]
[[Category:People who died under the regency of Cassander]]
[[Category:Wives of Philip II of Macedon]]
[[Category:Women in Hellenistic warfare]]
[[Category:316 BC deaths]]
[[Category:4th-century BC executions]]
[[Category:4th-century BC Greek people]]
[[Category:370s BC births]]
[[Category:4th-century BC women regents]]
[[Category:Ancient Molossians]]
[[Category:Queen mothers]]
[[Category:4th-century BC regents]]
[[Category:Daughters of kings]]