A family. Three royal worlds.
Alexander’s ancestry joins Macedonia and Epirus; his marriages connect him to Bactrian nobility and the Persian royal house. Open a name to explore the relationship.
From Macedonia & Epirus
Paternal line · Macedonia
Paternal grandfatherAmyntas IIIDetails +
King of Macedonia and father of Philip II. His marriage to Eurydice links the preceding generation to Alexander’s paternal line.
Historical reference ↗Paternal grandmotherEurydice IDetails +
Wife of Amyntas III and mother of Philip II. Daughter of Sirras; aspects of her family’s ethnic background remain debated.
Historical reference ↗Father · king, 359–336 BCEPhilip IIDetails +
Philip expanded Macedonian power and reformed the army inherited by Alexander. He had children by several wives; Olympias was the mother of Alexander and Cleopatra.
Historical reference ↗Maternal line · Epirus
Maternal grandfatherNeoptolemus IDetails +
Molossian king in Epirus and father of Olympias and Alexander I of Epirus. The dynasty claimed descent from Achilles; that heroic genealogy is a royal tradition, not documented biological ancestry.
Historical reference ↗Maternal grandmotherName not securely knownDisputed or unknown · Details +
The surviving evidence does not securely identify Olympias’s mother. The gap is retained rather than supplied with an invented name.
Historical reference ↗Mother · c. 375–316 BCEOlympiasDetails +
Epirote princess, wife of Philip II and mother of Alexander and Cleopatra. She remained a major dynastic figure and later fought to protect her grandson’s succession.
Historical reference ↗Alexander III “the Great”
356–323 BCE · King of Macedonia, 336–323 BCE
Siblings & half-siblings
Only Cleopatra below shares both Philip II and Olympias as parents.
Full sister · Philip II + OlympiasCleopatra of MacedoniaDetails +
Married Alexander I of Epirus in 336 BCE. He was her maternal uncle, so this marriage links two branches already present in the family. Do not confuse her with Cleopatra Eurydice, Philip’s last wife.
Historical reference ↗Half-brother · Philip II + PhilinnaPhilip III ArrhidaeusDetails +
Became king after Alexander’s death, alongside the infant Alexander IV. His marriage to Adea Eurydice joined him to another branch of Philip II’s descendants.
Historical reference ↗Half-sister · Philip II + AudataCynaneDetails +
Married Amyntas IV, Philip II’s nephew. Their daughter Adea Eurydice later married Philip III Arrhidaeus.
Historical reference ↗Half-sister · Philip II + NicesipolisThessalonikeDetails +
Later married Cassander. Their union linked the new ruling household to the Argead family.
Historical reference ↗Half-sister · Philip II + Cleopatra EurydiceEuropaDetails +
A child of Philip’s last marriage. The later succession crisis destroyed this branch; details of the children of that marriage vary in the accounts.
Historical reference ↗This is a selection of attested close relatives. Some reconstructions add further children of Philip; disputed identifications are not silently treated as certain.
Wives, relationships & children
Three marriages are recorded. Barsine belongs to a separate reported relationship; she is not the same woman as Stateira.
Wife · married 327 BCERoxaneDetails +
Daughter of Oxyartes, a Bactrian noble. Her marriage to Alexander followed the Sogdian campaign. Their son was born after Alexander died.
Historical reference ↗Son · Alexander + RoxaneAlexander IVDetails +
Born in 323 BCE after his father’s death and recognized as king under regents. He and Roxane were later murdered on Cassander’s orders, conventionally dated around 310/309 BCE.
Historical reference ↗Wife · married at Susa, 324 BCEStateiraDetails +
Daughter of Darius III and Queen Stateira. Arrian calls her Barsine; she must be distinguished from Barsine daughter of Artabazus.
Historical reference ↗No securely attested child of Alexander and Stateira is known. Speculation about pregnancy is not established descent.
Wife · married at Susa, 324 BCEParysatisDetails +
Daughter of Artaxerxes III (Ochus). Arrian reports this marriage on the authority of Aristobulus, connecting Alexander with another branch of Persian royalty.
Historical reference ↗No securely attested child of Alexander and Parysatis is known.
Reported relationship · not an attested marriageBarsineDisputed or unknown · Details +
Daughter of Artabazus and widow of Memnon. Ancient traditions connect her with Alexander and identify her as the mother of Heracles; the paternity is disputed.
Historical reference ↗Reported son · paternity disputedHeraclesDisputed or unknown · Details +
Traditionally said to be Alexander’s son by Barsine. The claim cannot be verified securely. He later became a possible dynastic claimant and was killed around 309 BCE.
Historical reference ↗The wider family connections
Maternal uncle & brother-in-lawAlexander I of EpirusDetails +
Brother of Olympias. By marrying Alexander the Great’s sister Cleopatra, he became both the king’s uncle and his brother-in-law.
Historical reference ↗Paternal cousin & brother-in-lawAmyntas IVDetails +
Son of Perdiccas III, Philip II’s brother, and husband of Cynane. His daughter was Adea Eurydice.
Historical reference ↗Niece & half-brother’s wifeAdea EurydiceDetails +
Daughter of Cynane and Amyntas IV; married Philip III Arrhidaeus. She is distinct from Alexander’s grandmother Eurydice and his stepmother Cleopatra Eurydice.
Historical reference ↗Father-in-law through RoxaneOxyartesDetails +
A noble from Bactria who became part of Alexander’s political network. His diplomatic role appears in the surrender of Chorienes.
Historical reference ↗Father-in-law through StateiraDarius IIIDetails +
Alexander’s defeated royal opponent became his father-in-law posthumously when Alexander married Stateira at Susa.
Historical reference ↗Father-in-law through ParysatisArtaxerxes IIIDetails +
Also known as Ochus; father of Parysatis. This marriage connected Alexander to the preceding Persian royal line.
Historical reference ↗Dynastic claims are not a biological family tree
The Argeads claimed Heracles as an ancestor; the Epirote royal house claimed Achilles. Alexander’s association with Zeus-Ammon also belonged to royal and religious identity. Those claims are deliberately kept outside the documented parent–child connections above.
Olympias and royal traditions ↗