Was Alexander really influenced by his Mother

[iskander_32]

Its often statyed Alexander very close to his mother, I feel its been over played.I feel were Alexander that close to his mother he would have taken her with him,,, Presley another figure in history was close to his mother to the point he had her everywhere with him and when she died so did he mentally.Or did his parents influence the way Philip definately with his ambition and his determination,,, But I cant see what he took from his mother,,, I recall Alexander bemoaned the fact his mother charged a heavy toll for nine months lodging.Alexander was indeed Philips son.regardsKenny

[jan]

Other men influenced by their mother include Omar Sharif, George Washington, and George Bush.Olympias's role is very important to understand in her bloodlines, and her belief that Alexander is really the son of Zeus. Her influence on Alexander is immense as it is said that he wrote letters to her all the time. He left her behind in Pella apparently to insure not only his freedom from her but also her control over the court there. Without Phillip, she is able to have her way it appears.There are those who believe, whether seriously or not, that he never returned to Pella because of her. More likely that he was just too busy in his campaigns.

[ruthaki1@telus.net]

Of course she 'influenced' his childhood and youth and he always kept in touch with her. But she had put herself into self-imposed exile in Epirus before he left on campaign, and Antipater was in in charge in Pella, so Alexander must have known she wasn't going to 'rule' there (simply 'meddle')
It's said he was attracted to Roxana because she bore some similarity in temperent at least, and was also beautiful. And he was known for his fair and kind treatment of the females he came across in his conquests, so it seems Olympias did have some influence on him in this respect.

[marcus]

Hi Ruth,It's highly unlikely that Olympias was still in 'exile' by the time Alexander left for Asia. Anyway, to go back to a point Kenny made, however much Alexander loved or was influenced by Olympias, it wouldn't have 'done' for him to take her with him on campaign. For a start, at the beginning of the campaign he deliberately kept the number of non-combatants to a minimum, following Philip's lead - the only waggons they took were to carry the wounded (and presumably *some* supplies), and until a firm beachhead was established it would have been a very *unloving* son who exposed his mother to the dangers of the early campaign. At the same time, even though Antipater was regent, there appear to have been some functions that Olympias, as a member of the royal family, performed, which perhaps Antipater 'couldn't'; and it has also been suggested that Alexander wanted Olympias to provide a check on Antipater. Of course, as we know, this led to a less than harmonious situation, although the actual stability of the kingdom, and its hegemony over Greece, wasn't severely affected.All the bestMarcusPS: Jan, whether Olympias believed Alexander to be the son of Zeus is debatable. The problem is that it's so difficult to see beyond the later myth/propaganda - but personally I doubt she felt that way about him until it became part of the court 'legend', from 331 onwards.

[xxx]

Or more likely, Olympias would not tolerate Antipater being over her. One notes that eventually Alexander's sister went to Macedon and his mother back to Epirus with Alexander remarking that Macedonians would not tolerate female rulers and his mother made the wiser choice.