King Alexander III of Macedonia 
Alexander was born in 0356 BC. Alexander's father was King Philip II of Macedonia and his mother was Olympias of Epirus. His paternal grandfather was King Amyntas III of Macedonia and his paternal grandmother is Eurydice Lyncestis of Macedonia; his maternal grandfather was King Pyrrhus of Epirus. He had a brother and a sister, named "the Rabbit" and Thessalonica. He had a half-sister named Phthia. He died in 0323 BC.General Notes
King of Macedonia
Born Alexander III in Pella, Macedon, he was the son of King Philip II of Macedon and Epirote princess Olympias. According to several legends, Olympias was impregnated not by Philip, who was afraid of her and her affinity for sleeping in the company of snakes, but by Zeus. One legend claims that both Phillip and Olympias dreamt of their son's future birth. Olympias dreamt of a loud burst of thunder and that lightening had hit her womb. In Philip's dream, he was sealing her womb with the seal of the lion. Arixstandros determined that the child would have the character of lion. Aware of these legends and of their political usefulness, Alexander was wont to refer to his father as Zeus, rather than as Philip. According to Plutarch, his father descended from Heracles through Caranus and his mother descended from Aeacus through Neoptolemus.
North and east of classical Greece, Macedon was regarded by most Greeks as foreign and semi-barbarian. Olympias herself was from Epirus, another semi-Greek state to the northwest of the Greek peninsula.
Philip selected Aristotle to tutor young Alexander, and their relationship lasted throughout Alexander's life; even after the execution of his nephew, Callisthenes, Aristotle continued to receive presents (plant specimens) from the king.
In 336 BC, he succeeded his father on the throne. Philip's assassination, although perpetrated by a disgruntled young man (Pausanias) who had been one of Philip's lovers, is thought to have been planned with the knowledge and possible involvement of either or both Alexander or Olympias.
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Ancestor Pedigree Chart
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*There are earlier generations for the ancestor(s) indicated. See their page(s) for details (click name)
- b.dd MMM 0515 BC d.dd MMM 0450 BC
- b.dd MMM 0480 BC
- b.dd MMM 0450 BC
- b.dd MMM 0420 BC d.dd MMM 0370 BC
- d.dd MMM 0336 BC
- b. in Pella, Greece
- b. in Pella, Greece
- b.dd MMM 0515 BC d.dd MMM 0450 BC
- b.dd MMM 0356 BC d.dd MMM 0323 BC
- d.dd MMM 0370 BC
- b.dd MMM 0390 BC d.dd MMM 0323 BC
- d.dd MMM 0359 BC
- d.~ 0272
- b.dd MMM 0405 BC
- b.dd MMM 0375 BC d.dd MMM 0321 BC
- b.dd MMM 0340 BC
- d.dd MMM 0316 BC
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‌Alexander and Roxane were married in a religious ceremony. They had a daughter named "the Perdiccid".
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