What do you think?
Rate this book
Women of the Ancient World
Olympias: Mother of Alexander the Great
The definitive guide to the life of the first woman to play a major role in Greek political history, this is the first modern biography of Olympias. Presenting a critical assessment of a fascinating and wholly misunderstood figure, Elizabeth Carney penetrates myth, fiction and sexual politics and conducts a close examination of Olympias through historical and literary sources, and brings her to life as she places the figure in the context of her own ancient, brutal political world. Individual examinations look An absolutely compelling read for students, scholars, and anyone with an interest in Greek, Classical, or women’s history.
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
9 people are currently reading
1498 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 11, 2016
I think I was rather disappointed by this but I would say it was probably a good overview of her life for those not familiar with her story.In my case though I was looking for something more detailed as I have read many things about her in the past.I was however surprised to find an entire bio on her alone so it was worth reading for me even though there wasn't much new information.I liked that the author didn't portray her as evil as some authors do but gave her a more rounded personality by including details of her life before her marriage,family relations and her religious beliefs.Worth reading for an Alexander the Great fan.
December 31, 2020
This is a woman to be reckoned with
I heard about this book on a Dan Carlin Hardcore History: addendum podcast and knew I wanted to read it or at least try. Imagine my shock when I found out that I could RENT the book for $9/ month or buy it for $45! I rented it and although it is a scholarly work and full of footnotes, it was a whole lot of fun to read. Highly recommended
I heard about this book on a Dan Carlin Hardcore History: addendum podcast and knew I wanted to read it or at least try. Imagine my shock when I found out that I could RENT the book for $9/ month or buy it for $45! I rented it and although it is a scholarly work and full of footnotes, it was a whole lot of fun to read. Highly recommended
January 26, 2025
An excellent book on a great and intriguing woman: Olympias. Known for being the mother of Alexander the Great (a cool fact great enough on its own), but worthy to study and read about for so much more. Living in an extremely patriarchal society, she managed to gain a powerful position at court and after her son's death at a young age, she even got to participate in the conflicts with his generals. She was a strong and calculating woman, who knew how to navigate the political landscape and to increase her position by getting rid of potential rivals. However, it's this fact, her active role in power politics and involvement in war that made her get a very negative and hostile treatment by ancient historians, who could not fathom that a woman would do something like that. They made up strange stories about her or simply copied propaganda from her enemies, all somewhat influenced on negative gender stereotypes. Elizabeth Carney however does a great job at balancing the image of Olympias and rightfully critiques the negative perception that has been conjured up by the ancients and sometimes even taken over by some modern historians.
Unfortunately we do not have that many sources on Olympias, as she was often neglected by historians or simply overshadowed by her more famous son. This makes the book way shorter than I had hoped, but it is still a great book to have as one of the only complete biographies I could find of her. Carney's balanced image is backup up by her sources and her arguments make sense. I really enjoyed reading the book, but due to its highly academic nature I cannot recommend it to your average reader. Unless you are a huge fan of Alexander of course! Olympias' life and career are really interesting and fascinating to read about, especially since she as a woman in the Greek world always was some sort of underdog. She sought power and for a time she was quite successful, apparently even fighting the very first war between two women in history according to Duris (and winning!).
A highly fascinating woman that should be written about more often, and without all that negative bias! Carney did a great job, 4.5 stars!
Unfortunately we do not have that many sources on Olympias, as she was often neglected by historians or simply overshadowed by her more famous son. This makes the book way shorter than I had hoped, but it is still a great book to have as one of the only complete biographies I could find of her. Carney's balanced image is backup up by her sources and her arguments make sense. I really enjoyed reading the book, but due to its highly academic nature I cannot recommend it to your average reader. Unless you are a huge fan of Alexander of course! Olympias' life and career are really interesting and fascinating to read about, especially since she as a woman in the Greek world always was some sort of underdog. She sought power and for a time she was quite successful, apparently even fighting the very first war between two women in history according to Duris (and winning!).
A highly fascinating woman that should be written about more often, and without all that negative bias! Carney did a great job, 4.5 stars!
January 1, 2023
I became interested in Olympias, the mother of Alexander the Great, through a lecture I heard a few months ago, and decided to learn more about her. A classmate suggested this book by Elizabeth Carney, and I decided to give it a try. I’ve definitely learned a lot about Olympias, and also about her husband Philip and the entire royal court of Macedonia. I’ve also learned what a biased portrait ancient writers developed of Olympias, attributing her actions to emotions and irrationality, as the author writes, “thanks to sexual stereotyping and contemporary political propaganda.” (loc 2463).
During the early going I found the book hard to put down, but later on – after Alexander’s death – I found the it much slower. Still, I liked it and could recommend it to someone who wants to learn more about the period in general, and Olympias in particular.
I especially liked the insights into royal women’s role in religion at the time, documenting their travel to religious shrines. I also appreciated how Carney referenced many of the stories (and clearly most are stories) and criticisms of Olympias made by ancient “historians” and other authors, and then questioned them with facts.
The book ends with a chapter focused on how the Romans (primarily during the Empire) largely shaped our views of Alexander and Olympias. There were numerous interesting snippets of information about how various emperors made themselves appear to be like Alexander. And then, there's the Alexander Romance, an interesting work of fiction that created a version of Alexander and Olympias that lasted for centuries.
I definitely want to learn more about the period and will probably next jump into a book about Alexander himself.
During the early going I found the book hard to put down, but later on – after Alexander’s death – I found the it much slower. Still, I liked it and could recommend it to someone who wants to learn more about the period in general, and Olympias in particular.
I especially liked the insights into royal women’s role in religion at the time, documenting their travel to religious shrines. I also appreciated how Carney referenced many of the stories (and clearly most are stories) and criticisms of Olympias made by ancient “historians” and other authors, and then questioned them with facts.
The book ends with a chapter focused on how the Romans (primarily during the Empire) largely shaped our views of Alexander and Olympias. There were numerous interesting snippets of information about how various emperors made themselves appear to be like Alexander. And then, there's the Alexander Romance, an interesting work of fiction that created a version of Alexander and Olympias that lasted for centuries.
I definitely want to learn more about the period and will probably next jump into a book about Alexander himself.
February 19, 2018
Olympias is famous for being the mother of Alexander the Great. Unlike her son, she often has a bad reputation. She is mostly known for being involved in witchcraft and sleeping with snakes. While these tales are probably true, Mrs. Carney shows in her biography that there was more to Olympias than the ancient sources claim. In fact, Olympias was the first woman to play a major political role in Greek history. She was a woman of power and influence that very few women in her era could ever wield.
Olympias was the daughter of Neoptolemus, the king of Molossia. Her marriage to Philip II of Macedon was the result of a political alliance rather than love. She became his fourth wife. Because Macedonian kings had polygamous marriages, there was no queen. Olympias’s status was not based on being the wife of Philip II. Instead, it was based solely on being the mother of the future king. When Olympias gave birth to Alexander, she worked hard to make Alexander Philip’s heir. Philip II had another son, but he turned out to be simple-minded. Thus, it was not long before Alexander became the uncontested heir.
It was not until Philip II’s fifth marriage that there was tension between Philip and Olympias. Cleopatra’s uncle insulted Alexander by questioning his legitimacy to the throne, Alexander erupted into fits of outbursts. Philip failed to defend Alexander’s legitimacy and in an angry rage tried to kill his son. This caused Alexander and his mother to flee into exile. They stayed with Olympias’s brother, King Alexander I of Epirus. Philip II still intended to make Alexander his heir. The father and son eventually reconciled. Shortly afterward, Philip II was assassinated. Alexander became king of Macedon and led the military campaign in Asia.
When Alexander was away on campaign, Olympias played a major role in Macedon. She formed an international policy. She exerted public authority as the mother of Alexander. She had a close relationship with her son and kept in correspondence. However, she did not get along with Antipater, whom Alexander chose to rule Macedon in his stead.
The death of Alexander the Great left his empire in turmoil. His generals fought over his territories. It also left Olympias with no protection. The only thing Alexander left was his pregnant wife, Roxanne. Roxanne later gave birth to a son. Olympias decided to fight for her grandson’s inheritance. However, Antipater took advantage of Alexander’s death and stripped her of her influence. Eventually, Antipater was assassinated and a general named Polyperchon became king. Polyperchon and Olympias formed a military alliance. When Antipater’s son, Cassander, became Olympias enemy. Olympias and Cassander met on the battlefield, and Olympias lost. Cassander put her on trial for the murders of King Philip III and his wife Adea Eurydice. Cassander sentenced her to death and ordered her body to remain unburied. Cassander also killed her grandson.
Overall, this biography of Olympias shows a woman who was adept in politics. The author states that Olympias’s only weakness was that she did not have any military experience in battle. She waged a military war and lost. Her ruthless actions were no different than any Greek king of her era. There were a few arguments the author made that I did not necessarily agree with. One example is Mrs. Carney states that Olympias killed her husband’s fifth wife, Cleopatra and her infant daughter as an act of shrewd calculation. I still believe that she murdered them out of jealousy. Mrs. Carney’s novel was also a quick read. She gave a brief overview of her life, and I wish that she would go into more detail about Olympias. Still, it is a light read for the general reader, and it gave me a different perspective on Olympias. Her portrayal of Olympias was much more realistic than anything I have ever read about it. It also shows Olympias to be an ambitious, shrewd, and calculating woman who fought for her son and grandson’s rights to the throne. I greatly recommend this novel for any fan of Ancient Greece and Alexander the Great.
Olympias was the daughter of Neoptolemus, the king of Molossia. Her marriage to Philip II of Macedon was the result of a political alliance rather than love. She became his fourth wife. Because Macedonian kings had polygamous marriages, there was no queen. Olympias’s status was not based on being the wife of Philip II. Instead, it was based solely on being the mother of the future king. When Olympias gave birth to Alexander, she worked hard to make Alexander Philip’s heir. Philip II had another son, but he turned out to be simple-minded. Thus, it was not long before Alexander became the uncontested heir.
It was not until Philip II’s fifth marriage that there was tension between Philip and Olympias. Cleopatra’s uncle insulted Alexander by questioning his legitimacy to the throne, Alexander erupted into fits of outbursts. Philip failed to defend Alexander’s legitimacy and in an angry rage tried to kill his son. This caused Alexander and his mother to flee into exile. They stayed with Olympias’s brother, King Alexander I of Epirus. Philip II still intended to make Alexander his heir. The father and son eventually reconciled. Shortly afterward, Philip II was assassinated. Alexander became king of Macedon and led the military campaign in Asia.
When Alexander was away on campaign, Olympias played a major role in Macedon. She formed an international policy. She exerted public authority as the mother of Alexander. She had a close relationship with her son and kept in correspondence. However, she did not get along with Antipater, whom Alexander chose to rule Macedon in his stead.
The death of Alexander the Great left his empire in turmoil. His generals fought over his territories. It also left Olympias with no protection. The only thing Alexander left was his pregnant wife, Roxanne. Roxanne later gave birth to a son. Olympias decided to fight for her grandson’s inheritance. However, Antipater took advantage of Alexander’s death and stripped her of her influence. Eventually, Antipater was assassinated and a general named Polyperchon became king. Polyperchon and Olympias formed a military alliance. When Antipater’s son, Cassander, became Olympias enemy. Olympias and Cassander met on the battlefield, and Olympias lost. Cassander put her on trial for the murders of King Philip III and his wife Adea Eurydice. Cassander sentenced her to death and ordered her body to remain unburied. Cassander also killed her grandson.
Overall, this biography of Olympias shows a woman who was adept in politics. The author states that Olympias’s only weakness was that she did not have any military experience in battle. She waged a military war and lost. Her ruthless actions were no different than any Greek king of her era. There were a few arguments the author made that I did not necessarily agree with. One example is Mrs. Carney states that Olympias killed her husband’s fifth wife, Cleopatra and her infant daughter as an act of shrewd calculation. I still believe that she murdered them out of jealousy. Mrs. Carney’s novel was also a quick read. She gave a brief overview of her life, and I wish that she would go into more detail about Olympias. Still, it is a light read for the general reader, and it gave me a different perspective on Olympias. Her portrayal of Olympias was much more realistic than anything I have ever read about it. It also shows Olympias to be an ambitious, shrewd, and calculating woman who fought for her son and grandson’s rights to the throne. I greatly recommend this novel for any fan of Ancient Greece and Alexander the Great.
February 18, 2022
This book provides a nice overview of what we know about the life of Olympias and how she was viewed during her own lifetime and afterwards. Carney does a great job staying neutral and providing the bias evident in various sources.
July 24, 2020
Well researched and grounded in evidence. Excellent insight into the life of one of history’s most enigmatic women.
August 14, 2011
A very interesting book on a fascinating female character,which makes the image of a plotting,witchy and meddling mother for Alexander the Great look more realistic and down-to-earth; an Aeacid princess in a foreign court trying to protect herself and her offspring and no more cruel than most of her male adversaries.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews