I wanted to write something for Queen Olympias, mother of Alexander. No matter what history may say about her, I believe she deserved a more humane perspective. Most of the references I used are events and historical evidences presented by Wikipedia and various websites about Alexander the Great.

The M-o-t-h-e-r poem belongs to Howard Johnson (c. 1915). Everything else belongs to history and my speculations. Happy Mother's Day, everyone!

Thank you for reading this story. Please leave me with your thoughts and comments!

O – for Olive wreath

She received this new name, Olympias, when her husband, Phillip, became the winner of that year's Olympic Game. The laurel wreath may don the king's head for his athletic triumph, but it belonged to her for giving him an irreplaceable heir. Phillip's fresh olive wreath paled in comparison to her new-born son's golden halo. The boy was her crowning achievement for all of Greece to behold.

L – for lust

That was all she would ever symbolize. The witch who enchanted Zeus. The seductress who enticed their Macedonian king in wild throes of passion. The wanton woman who stooped so low as to inspire incestuous intimacies with her own son. History has never been kind to any woman that dares to threaten the male supremacy.

Y – for youth

She was a teenage princess when she entered Phillip's harem. She spent her youth competing for his favor and obtaining an heir to secure her position. Being in that dog-eats-dog world, youth gave her passion, fueled her jealous rage and brought her grand dreams to fruition.

M – for mother

History remembers her as the woman who gave birth to Alexander the Great. Yet, the men who weaved history never connected the one who carried the world conqueror in her womb with the nurturing role said woman would naturally take upon herself. After all, it is the combination of bearing a child and caring for him that makes a mother. And, Olympias was no exception.

P – for power

It was what she had craved as an insignificant princess. It was what she had earned in Phillip's vicious harem. It was what she had gained in the riches of her son's victorious campaigns. She spent her whole life pursuing, sacrificing and maintaining it, even with her last breath.

I – for invictus

She was indomitable. Willful, passionate and proud. Her husband feared her and died by her schemes. Her son fled Macedon and escaped being smothered by her overwhelming influence as well as overbearing personality. In the end, only the strongest woman survived.

A – for ambition

She was born a daughter of a king. It was her expectation to become the wife of another one. It was her ambition that led her to be the mother of the 'king of kings.' For those goals, she did not hesitate to eliminate all threats, commit regicide and infanticide as her schemes dictated. In a patriarchal society, an ambitious woman had to be willing to pay any price for men to recognize and accept her rightful place. And, Olympias was determined to establish herself in this misogynistic court.

S – for snake

She was the serpent that tempted men. She was one of the snakes on Medusa's head, enchanting warriors only to reduce them to dust. Women like her were fatal threats to the hierarchy of men and their unstable society. Unpredictable, poisonous and vindictive. She was ready to strike at any opportune moment with a ruthlessness that made others fear her wrath and avoid her nest.

Olympias might have been a merciless politician and heartless queen. But, what was her true motive? If she had been any less ambitious, would her son have survived and become Alexander the Great? Would a mother's love justify her bloody course of action?

M - is for the million things she gave me,

First and foremost, she gave him life. Then, she gave him all of her love. To her only son, she dedicated her soul and everything that the Gods required to keep him safe and sound. She paved his way to the Macedonian throne with her own blood-soaked fingers. But, most importantly, she gave him the independence, will and freedom to pursue his worldly dreams. For him, she was strong, savvy and cruel. Just so, Alexander the Great needed never to look back on his journey; secured in his knowledge that the woman who gave birth to him would be more than capable of handling Macedonian politics, protecting herself and carrying on without his presence.

O -means only that she's growing old,

She was the one growing old, knowing she had outlived her son who was the sole reason she had survived this long. But, old age did not release her from the duties of a grandmother. Instead of spending her last mortal years in peace, she had to fight tooth and nail to protect Alexander's remaining bloodline. Even with her last breath, she tried her best to safeguard her son's legacy. For seven years after her son's death, she could not afford to be senile and comforted in the joys of having children or grandchildren.

T - is for the tears she shed to save me,

She cried silent tears when the young Alexander went into voluntary exile to escape Phillip's wrath. Powerless and angry tears tried to sooth away the pain of betrayal, injustice and indignation. She could only go with him to counsel and absorb her son's ire, preventing him from rashly throwing his life away. How dare Phillip denounce her son, shatter Alexander's love and trust so easily! The next time her heart wept was the moment her son became king, his father dead by her hands. And, the last time she shed tears was in prayers for her son to finally find his eternal peace in the Elysian Fields with the one he loved. May the Gods save him! Because she could not do so for him anymore.

H - is for her heart of purest gold;

To men of her time, her heart was that of venomous snakes, ready to destroy anyone who entered its treacherous nest. To history, her heart was tainted with the blood of her husband and enemies, never been pure or capable of affection. To Alexander the Great, her heart was a forbidden lair, enshrouded by ice, laden with traps and nourished by manipulations. What her son did not know was that underneath the ice, her heart beat for him only. Her love was of the purest gold. And, her heart had never belonged to anyone except for her little conqueror. If her son had looked a little closer or stayed a little longer, he might have been able to find her heart's hidden treasure reserved just for him.

E - is for her eyes, with love-light shining,

In her eyes, many great men, Phillip included, saw merely pride, ambition and willfulness. They said her eyes incited lust, promised carnal ecstasy and drove them wild with passion to dominate this tempestuous seductress. However, they all had missed the gleam of motherly love deep in her irises. Her eyes truly shone the brightest when she watched her son taking his first step, calling her 'mother' and looking unassumingly into her soul. The love would always be there in her eyes regardless of how many years had passed. The light waited patiently for the day her son would return to Macedon, to his childhood home and to his lonely mother.

R - means right, and right she'll always be,

She was right to believe Alexander the Great was the son of Zeus. She was right in knowing that her son was extraordinary, blessed by the Gods, favored by Fortune and loved by men. She was the first to recognize his true potential and to have faith in him. She inspired in her son greatness, drive and dream. She understood his desires, supported him and let him go exploring the world, never to look back at her. She was right to believe in the boy who grew up to be the immortal Alexander the Great.

Put them all together, they spell
"MOTHER,"
A word that means the world to me.

Once upon a time, she was his world, mother and first love. From his childhood to his death, she was the only woman who ever briefly claimed a part of Alexander's heart comparable to that held permanently by Hephaestion, his lifetime partner and love. Like the Chiliarch, Olympias never stopped loving and sacrificing for Alexander.