Olympias, the mother of Alexander the Great: Master manipulator or political pawn?

Around 375 BCE, Olympias was born in Epirus, a mountainous region located in northwestern Greece.

She belonged to the royal family of the Molossians, who traced their descent from Neoptolemus, son of Achilles.

Some later sources guessed that her birth name was Polyxena, though this remains uncertain.

Regardless, she later adopted the name Olympias, which may have coincided with Philip II’s Olympic victory in 356 BCE.

At approximately 18 years of age, she married Philip II in 357 BCE to strengthened diplomatic ties between Macedon and Epirus.

Olympias brought with her a noble lineage rooted in mythical status, while Philip gained a loyal partner from a politically significant tribe.

In the following summer, she gave birth to Alexander in the Macedonian capital of Pella.

According to later accounts, Olympias practised religious rites linked to the cult of Dionysus and other mystery traditions native to her homeland, including possible associations with Orphic rites and the cult of Sabazios.

Some reports described her use of serpents in religious ceremonies, which shocked the Macedonian elite and contributed to her image as a foreign and dangerous influence.

In later Macedonian court gossip, she was portrayed as wild and unstable, a perception encouraged by those who viewed her ritual practices as unorthodox. 

During the early years of her marriage, Olympias maintained a respected position in Philip’s court.

Over time, that position weakened as Philip entered into additional marriages, each meant to secure alliances with influential noble families.

The most politically threatening was his union with Cleopatra Eurydice, a native Macedonian whose children would possess a more desirable bloodline in the eyes of local elites.

That marriage, conducted in 338 BCE, included a banquet at which Cleopatra's uncle, Attalus, publicly questioned Alexander’s legitimacy by referring to him as a bastard, which contributed to the breakdown in relations between Philip and both Olympias and Alexander. 

In response to this challenge, Olympias withdrew to Epirus. At the same time, Alexander became increasingly distant from his father and more reliant on his mother’s support.

Ancient authors claimed Olympias influenced Alexander’s belief in his divine ancestry, particularly stories involving Zeus and omens surrounding his birth.

Whether these stories reflected historical events or later political myth-making, they shaped the young prince’s conception of his destiny.

At Philip’s assassination in 336 BCE, during a wedding celebration at Aegae, Olympias acted with speed.

Pausanias, the assassin, may have acted for personal reasons, possibly in retaliation for abuse by Attalus and Philip’s failure to grant him justice, but suspicion soon fell on Olympias.

Some later accounts even claimed she placed a golden crown on Pausanias’ corpse, though the reliability of this claim remains disputed.

After Philip’s death, she returned to court and removed Cleopatra Eurydice and her infant daughter in order to eliminate any rival claimants and cleared the path for Alexander to ascend the throne. 

From the beginning of his reign, Alexander benefited from his mother’s strategic foresight.

Olympias ensured the elimination of competing heirs and supported early alliances with key figures such as Parmenion, although she soon entered into conflict with Antipater.

Although she lacked military authority, her ability to act decisively during a moment of political crisis gave Alexander the security he needed to begin his campaigns. 

Throughout his campaigns in Asia, Olympias remained in Macedon and kept in close contact with her son.

She sent letters and gave her views on internal matters. Many of those letters criticised Antipater, who had been left in charge of the kingdom.

Their rivalry intensified during Alexander’s absence, and Antipater in turn complained about Olympias’ interference in administrative affairs.

Plutarch reported that Alexander once declared he would not be ruled by a woman.

In her son’s absence, Olympias understood the importance of preserving her status and her son’s memory at court, especially in a system that granted women no formal power.

At public ceremonies and royal events, she likely was the most prominent female member of the royal household. 

During the thirteen years of Alexander’s campaigns, Olympias wielded informal power in Macedon.

Under Antipater’s regency, appointed in 334 BCE, she remained a significant presence.

She regularly challenged his decisions and gathered support among those disaffected with his leadership. 

Alexander refused to take sides but remained aware of the tension between his mother and regent. 

At public religious festivals and local ceremonies, Olympias projected royal authority on behalf of the Argead family.

On multiple occasions, she used her reputation as Alexander’s mother to influence political decisions, especially those involving succession planning and local appointments.

Her position as head of the royal family gave her considerable soft power, though she could not override military or administrative orders. 

In many respects, Olympias operated as a counterweight to Antipater’s authority.

Although she never held an official title during Alexander’s life, she acted on behalf of the royal family in his absence and maintained the legitimacy of his rule.

Her capacity to act independently grew stronger as Alexander’s power expanded, and she positioned herself to reassert control upon his return. 

Following Alexander’s death in 323 BCE, Olympias faced a dangerous new political environment. Roxana, Alexander’s wife, was pregnant, and his half-brother Arrhidaeus, later Philip III, lacked the mental capacity to govern.

In this uncertain environment, the regency fell to Alexander’s generals, who quickly turned on one another in the struggle to control the empire. 

During the early years of the Successor Wars, Olympias remained in Epirus, where she monitored events closely.

Antipater died in 319 BCE and passed over his son Cassander in favour of Polyperchon as regent.

In 317 BCE, Olympias emerged from seclusion and joined forces with Polyperchon, who had lost control of Macedon to Cassander.

That alliance allowed her to re-enter Macedon with military support and reassert her claim to power as the grandmother of Alexander IV. 

Upon returning to Pella, she captured Philip III and his wife Eurydice, and authorised their execution.

Philip III had long been regarded as mentally impaired and used as a puppet ruler.

Eurydice had taken the unprecedented step of donning armour and addressing troops, an act which shocked Macedonian norms and intensified perceptions of her threat.

In the eyes of Olympias’ supporters, those executions were acts of necessity, as they removed threats to Alexander IV’s rule.

Among Cassander’s allies, however, her actions appeared ruthless and excessive.

As her position became more precarious, she executed other prominent Macedonians who had supported her enemies, provoking widespread hostility. 

In the months that followed, Cassander launched a campaign to crush Olympias’ faction.

She retreated to the city of Pydna, where she endured a prolonged siege through the winter of 317–316 BCE.

As the city’s supplies dwindled, her supporters began to abandon her. Eventually, she surrendered, having reportedly received a guarantee of safety. That promise was not honoured. 

Cassander refused to try Olympias formally, instead convening an assembly of Macedonian nobles who condemned her.

Soldiers were sent to carry out the sentence, but none dared strike her. According to ancient reports, she stood firm and refused to beg for mercy.

In the end, relatives of her victims carried out the execution. She was likely in her late fifties at the time. 

After Olympias’ death in 316 BCE, Cassander ordered the execution of both Roxana and the young Alexander IV.

With their deaths, the Argead dynasty came to an end. Cassander later rebuilt Thebes, which Alexander had destroyed, and married Alexander’s half-sister Thessalonike to strengthen his claim to power.

Olympias, who had defended her son’s interests with unwavering determination, was the last active royal to openly challenge the power of the generals who divided Alexander’s empire. 

Among ancient writers, Olympias appeared in two sharply opposed roles. Some saw her as a dangerous and manipulative woman who sowed discord and used religion to justify violence.

Others viewed her as a mother who did what was necessary in an environment where survival depended on eliminating rivals.

Plutarch, Diodorus Siculus, and Justin all preserved accounts that emphasised different aspects of her life.

Modern historians such as Elizabeth Carney have argued that these portrayals reflect the biases of male authors hostile to powerful women.

Her actions, whatever their motivation, directed the course of Macedonian history and left a powerful impact on the Hellenistic world.