Her family has powerful political pull and a great origin story. Too bad she didn’t poison someone important! She grows up with a sister, Troas, a brother, Alexander, and a meddlesome uncle who we’ll meet momentarily. We have no idea who her mother was, because sometimes history sucks at preserving women’s stories. Her dad is Neoptolemus, the king of Molossia, a region in Epirus southwest of Macedonia. Later she’ll become Olympias, and even later Stratonice, which means something like “victory in military matters.” A new name for every new stage in her life.įor now, we’ll call her Polyxena. At some point she’ll take on the name Myrtale, a name she probably chooses herself as part of a religious ritual. Elizabeth Carney, author of Olympias: Mother of Alexander the Great, thinks she’s born as Polyxena, a Trojan name that fits right in with the rest of her family. Like a proper diva, she’s going to take four different monikers during her lifetime, and we’re not exactly sure which one she’s born with. Before she becomes the dynamic queen known as Olympias, she’s born sometime around 375 BCE under a different name entirely. We’ll start, of course, with Olympias: she’ll be our main player, as she’s the one we know the most about.
IT’S VERY LIKELY THERE ARE TYPOS, too - I DO MY BEST, BUT when it comes to getting an episode up something has to give, ya know? also, the quotes in bold are ones I’ve made up for the drama, so please don’t quote them in your high school history paper as fact! GROWING UP POLYXENA Transcript I CHOP AND CHANGE AS I RECORD, SO THE audio WON’T BE A PERFECT MATCH FOR THE TEXT BELOW. “ The Surprising History of Men in Heels.” The ArtList, Google Arts & Culture. “ Men in Heels: a His (and Her) Story.” Dressed: The History of Fashion podcast, May 2019. “ Behind Tomb Connected to Alexander the Great, Intrigue Worthy of Game of Thrones.” By Heather Pringle, National Geographic, Nov. “ Cleopatra of Macedonia.” By Jona Lendering,. Now We May Know Why,” by Sarah Pruitt,, Jan. “ Alexander the Great Died Mysteriously at 32. “ When Alexander Met Thalestris.” By Adrienne Mayor, History Today Magazine, Jan. Elizabeth Carney, University of Oklahoma Press, 2000.Įncyclopedia of Women in the Ancient World. Her book is the only contemporary and thoughtful biography I could find on this dynamic woman, and I found it incredibly helpful. From the Women of the Ancient World series, Routledge, 2006. Without this book, this episode wouldn’t be possible. Olympias: Mother of Alexander the Great. Elizabeth Carney. Ian Worthington, Oxford University Press, 2014. Let’s go traveling.īy The Spear: Philip II, Alexander the Great, and the Rise and Fall of the Macedonian Empire. Grab your dagger, a little poison, a silver tongue, and your best poker face. We’ll face assassinations, intrigue, a little snake worship, warrior women, and an epic battle for an empire that would put Game of Thrones to shame. In this episode, let’s dive into the lives and times of the women who helped shape Alexander’s Greatness, and accomplished a whole lot of their own along the way. There were others: a sister who broke hearts and helped ruled a kingdom a half-sister and her daughter, who led armies and killed queens even an Amazon who traveled quite a long way to demand some connubial communion with him in his tent. But she wasn’t the only strong-willed woman in Alex’s orbit. She was the ultimate momager, shaping his view of himself and the world, maneuvering through the complexities of a cutthroat court to ensure her son became a conqueror, becoming one of the most powerful women in the ancient Greek world. Despite what some people believed about women being meek and quiet, Olympias was one of the most influential people in his life. Alexander accomplished a lot all on his own, but there’s no doubt he got a lot of help from his momma. In doing so, she helped make him worthy of his title: Alexander the Great. Strategic, passionate, ruthless and determined, this ancient Greek queen went to epic lengths to ensure her son Alex ended up on the throne. But how far will you go to ensure his future greatness? Would you do anything it takes, even if that means violence? Would you lie, would you steal…would you kill? You know already that you would do anything to protect him.
You look down at the newborn baby in your arms: the child you just brought into the world, despite the dangers. It’s the wee hours of the morning, the light painting the walls of your bedroom pink and golden.
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