Olympias, mother of Alexander the Great, was a royal princess from Molossia, a distant mountain kingdom in northwestern Greece. She became a powerful—and sometimes ruthless—political force after Alexander took the throne in 336 BCE, forging military alliances, raising armies, and eliminating her enemies to protect her dynasty. After Alexander’s sudden death in 323 BCE, she fought valiantly to secure the crown for her grandson, then only an infant, but she failed, and was executed by Cassander, the son of Alexander’s regent, who also wanted the throne.

Olympias was one of seven wives of Philip II of Macedonia. His last wife, Cleopatra Eurydice, was known to have committed harmful acts against the family. After Philip was assassinated, Olympias ordered the assassination of Cleopatra Eurydice and her infant daughter, whom she perceived as threats. After her son Alexander’s death, Olympias marched from Molossia into Macedonia in an attempt to safeguard the throne, and reportedly her reputation alone incited the Macedonian army to rebel against their commander and join Olympias’s fight.

Olympias then commanded the murder of Alexander’s mentally handicapped half-brother (who had been appointed as a placeholder to the throne), his wife, and a hundred others who supported her rival. In a terrible betrayal, she was eventually captured and killed by Cassander, who had initially promised to spare her life.