Back أوليمبياس Arabic اوليمبياس ARZ Olimpia d'Epiru AST المپیاس AZB Алімпіяда Эпірская Byelorussian Олимпиада Македонска Bulgarian অলিম্পিয়াস Bengali/Bangla Olympias Breton Olímpia de l'Epir Catalan Olympias Czech
| Olympias | |
|---|---|
 Roman medallion with Olympias, Museum of Thessaloniki | |
| Queen of Macedon | |
| Tenure | c. 357–316 BC |
| Born | 375 BC Molossia, Epirus, Ancient Greece[1] |
| Died | 316 BC (aged 59) Macedonia, Ancient Greece |
| Spouse | Philip II of Macedon |
| Issue | Alexander the Great Cleopatra of Macedon |
| Ancient Greek | Ολυμπιάς |
| House | Molossians |
| Father | Neoptolemus I of Epirus |
| Religion | Ancient Greek religion |
Olympias (Greek: Ὀλυμπιάς; c. 375–316 BC)[2] was a Greek princess of the Molossians,[3] 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. She was extremely influential in Alexander's life and was recognized as de facto leader of Macedon during Alexander's conquests.[4] According to the 1st century AD biographer, Plutarch, she was a devout member of the orgiastic snake-worshiping cult of Dionysus, and he suggests that she slept with snakes in her bed.[5]
After her son's death, Olympias fought on behalf of Alexander's son Alexander IV, successfully defeating Adea Eurydice.[6] 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.[6]
- ^ "Olympias, the Mighty Mother of Alexander the Great". National Geographic Society. 3 December 2019. Archived from the original on December 5, 2019.
- ^ "Olympias Queen of Macedonia". www.american-pictures.com. Retrieved 2009-07-30.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Carneywas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Carney, Elizabeth (2006). Olympias: Mother of Alexander the Great, p. 23. Routledge. ISBN 0415333172.
- ^ "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.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
britannica.comwas invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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