Alexander III of Macedon

(the Great)
Birth to Invasion of Persia
 The Main Characters
• Philip II – King of Macedonia, his father
• Olympias – 4th wife of Philip II, mother, Dionysian, Epirote
princess
• Parmenion -- ~64 when Alexander becomes King, trusted
general of Philip II and Alexander; son Philotas in the army with
him.
• Cleitus – (the Black) Macedonian officer, 39 when Alexander
becomes King
• Hephaestion – “by far the dearest of all the king’s friends” a
boyhood friend, fellow soldier; compared with Patroclus to
Alexander/Achilles
• Ptolemy – slightly older boyhood friend of Alexander, one of his
most trusted generals, future Egyptian pharaoh (Ptolemy I
Soter ‘Savior’)of Ptolemaic Dynasty
 Main Characters, Page 2
• Memnon of Rhodes – husband to Barsine (dead brother’s wife/lover
of Alexander; child Heracles) and Greek mercenary general in Asia
Minor; loyal and intelligent, but not trusted by Darius III
• Roxanne of Bactria – future wife of Alexander (327), protected by
Olympias after Alexander’s death; one child, Alexander IV
• Stateira II – daughter of Darius III, captured at the Battle of Issus in
333, wife of Alexander (324); she and her sister murdered by
Roxanne in 323, and had their bodies thrown into a well.
• Stateira I – wife of Darius III, “most beautiful woman on Earth”;
captured at Issus, dies 332 in childbirth/ father (?)
• Sisygambis – mother of Darius III, captured at Issus, refuses to
return to her son at Gaugamela, dies sealed in her own room from
grief and starvation upon hearing of Alexander’s death.
 Alexander, Early Life
• Born July 20, 356 BC
– 900 years after the Trojan War
– 130 years after the Persian Wars
– 48 years after the Peloponnesian War
– 34 years since the sack of Rome by the Gauls
• Portents
– Philip dreams of a lions seal over Olympias womb
– She dreams of flames which come out of her womb.
• The lion is interpreted as kingship, and fire as war.
– Temple of Artemis in Ephesus burns down
• Arson by Herostratus
• Gods to busy watching over Alexander’s birth, so were not
protecting the temple.
Temple of Artemis @
Ephesus
 Olympias
• Bloodline to Molossos of EpirusAndromache (consort of
Neoptolemus (Pyrrhus)/former wife of HectorAchilles
• Domineering mother, cult of Dionysius
• 4th wife of Philip, married in 359 BC, originally named Myrtale;
name changed as recognition of Philip’s victory in Olympic
Games of 356 BC.
• Brother, Alexander I, ruled Epirus
 Tutors
• Early tutor, Leonidas
– Chastised Alexander for throwing too
much spice on the altar.
– 332 BC, Alexander takes Gaza
– 15 tons of myrrh sent to Leonidas
• Aristole
– Studied in Plato’s Academy in Athens
at age 18
– Paid by Philip, tutored Alexander and
other pupils (was ~38 at the time)
– Taught Alexander rhetoric, literature,
sciences, medicine, ethics,
government, music, poetry, logic.
– Established the Lyceum in Athens in
335 BC
– Great nephew, Callisthenes,
accompanies the invasion into Persia
as official Historian
 Bucephalus

• Alexander’s personal horse

• Name means ‘ox-head’
• Afraid of his own shadow until Alexander tames
him (age 10) by turning him into the Sun.
• Dies in 326 BC, around 28-30 yrs of age
• City founded nearby, named Bucephala
Of Buchephalas and Alexander, Arrian
wrote:
In former days, he had shared with Alexander
many a danger and many a weary march. No one
ever rode him but his master, for he would never
permit anyone else to mount him. He was a big
horse, high-spirited—a noble creature. He was
branded with the figure of an ox-head, whence his
name—though some have said that the name
came from a white mark on his head, shaped like
an ox. This was the only bit of white on his body,
all the rest being black. In Uxia, once, Alexander
lost him, and issued an edict that he would kill
every man in the country unless he was brought
back, as he promptly was. The story is evidence
both of the fear which Alexander inspired and of
his devotion to Bucephalas.
 Battle of Chaeronea
• 338 BC, in central Greece; Philip vs. Athens and Thebes
• Alexander put in charge of right wing/Companion Cavalry
• Alexander rushes into the gap between them; Macedonian victory
 Trouble in Paradise
• Philip marries Macedonian princess, Kleopatra in 337, wife #8
– Niece of Attalus, officer and nobleman in army
• Dinner toast incident/Olympias left for Epirus, Alexander to
Illyria
• Spring 336, Attalus and Parmenio lead advance force across the
Hellespont
• Philip to Delphi
– “Wreathed in the bull, all is done.”
• Summer 336, Philip arranges marriage; daughter Kleopatra (with
Olympias) to King Alexander of Epirus (bride’s uncle)
– Celebration in theatre in Aegae, October 336
– Philip is escorted on one side by Alexander III, and Alexander I of Epirus
– Captain of Royal Guard, Pausanias, stabs him when Philip is alone
• Pausanias runs to prepared horses, but trips, falls, and is killed by Philip’s
bodyguards
 Suspects
• Persian assassin (official)
• Olympias (believable)
– She pays tribute to Pausanias’ tomb
– Consecrates the dagger to Apollo
– Has Kleopatra, wife #8, hang herself
• Infant daughter killed at her breast
• Pausanias (offended)
– Raped by Philip’s attendants for making advances on him
• Alexander (not likely)
– Travels to Corinth to be named Captain-General of Greece
– Finds the philosopher Diogenes of Sinope
– Recalls exiled friends; Ptolemy + 5 others
– Goes to Illyria to quell rebellion
• Thebes rebels in his absence; returns in 13 days
• City stormed and razed, 6000 killed, 30,000 sold into public slavery