Alexander is a descendant of both sides of the royal family

Alexander the Great is the son of Philip II of Macedon, and his fourth wife, Olympias. Although Olympias is not from Macedonia, she is also the daughter of the king of the Molossians, an ancient Greek tribe in Epirus. Her family even claimed to be related to Achilles, the hero of the Trojan War. Olympias was Philip's major wife for a while, maybe because she gave birth to Alexander, despite the fact that he had seven or eight wives overall. Therefore, after the birth of Alexander, Olympias was named the main wife.

However, their marriage was not happy and in danger of falling apart. Alexander is a descendant of both sides of the royal family with Alexander's mixed heritage, and the continuous doubts about his right to the throne strained the relationship between Philip II and Olympias. Numerous myths exist regarding Alexander's conception and early years. On the night before she married Philip, Olympias had a dream that lightning had hit her womb, starting a fire that spread far and wide before going out, according to the ancient Greek biographer Plutarch. Philip is rumored to have seen himself in a dream sealing his wife's uterus with a seal inscribed with a lion at some point after the wedding. To demonstrate that Alexander was superhuman and predestined for greatness from the moment of his creation, such traditions may have arisen during his reign as king, maybe at his initiative.