OLYMPIAS OF EPIRUS
While her birth name was Polyxena, she is widely known by her later name, Olympias. Wife of Philip II, mother of Alexander the Great, Olympias exercised unprecedented power who defied the ancient world’s rules for women, and charted her and her son’s rise to power through wits, ambition, and might. She was perhaps the first woman to play a major role in ancient Greek political history.
She was born around 375 BCE, the daughter of Neoptolemus I of Epirus, a Greek king, and an unknown mother. Her family was a powerful one in ancient Greece. They claimed to be descended from the Greek hero Achilles, the main character in Homer’s “Iliad.”
Olympias was also known by several other names: Polyxena (her Original Name), Myrtale, and Stratonice. Historians believe she chose the name Olympias to celebrate her husband’s victory in the Olympic Games.
Olympias made it her life’s main mission to ensure that Alexander would one day be King. She was a devoted mother to her young son and constantly reminded him of his ancestral lineage to Achilles, which would have a powerful impact on Alexander.