<<
Previous
Alexander
the Great Tells History:
ALL
IN THE FAMILY
Dysfunctional
Family
Throughout
my childhood, my father was committed to
my development and success. He never displayed
any resentment or hostility towards me even
though I represented a threat to him as
heir apparent. Being so committed to his
political role as King of Macedonia, I was
naturally closer to my mother Olympias.
Granted, whatever qualities Philip lacked
as a father, he possessed as ruler.
Mommy’s
boy
While
my father sought the best for me, I had
much difficulty growing up in his shadows
and sought to distance myself from him.
We shared an awkward, competitive relationship,
something rather dysfunctional. Family life
was different then, especially for the son
of a monarch, I suppose.
There
were also some factors that exasperated
the strain on our family. My father had
grown wary of my mother’s enchantress
ways. My mother had always bragged about
the fact that Zeus, and not Philip, was
my father. Coincidentally, a serpent is
frequently associated with the God Zeus
Ammon. Incidentally, my father had seen
my mother frolicking with a serpent the
night I was conceived. If this wasn’t
enough to make my father paranoid, the Oracle
at Delphi sealed the deal before I was born.
There, my father was told three things:
to make sacrifices to Zeus; that he would
lose the eye with which he saw the serpent;
and that I was the son of an immortal.
Two
years later, my father lost his eye.
Whatever
his reasons, Philip married a younger woman
named Cleopatra. My mother was his fifth
wife, Cleopatra his sixth. But because I
was the heir apparent, seeing my father
marry a woman other than my mother distressed
me. The shock to our royal family was severe.
The family was never the same. How could
it be?
Philip
was trying to alter the course of history.
My mother did not hail from Macedonia, but
rather, Epirus. As such, a child whose parents
were both Macedonians would technically
have had a stronger claim to the throne.
I could not stand to see this happen.
I
was invited to attend his wedding, which
I did. I took my place of honor, which was
by his right, opposite him, and told him:
“When my mother gets married again
I’ll invite you to her wedding.”
I am sure he did not approve of the comment.
Later
on during the ceremonies, Cleopatra’s
uncle Attalus got up and in a drunken toast
pleaded with the Macedonian Gods to deliver
to the couple – get this – a
“legitimate son!”
Finally,
the truth was out. I was infuriated. I got
up and asked: “You villain. Are you
calling me a bastard?,” before tossing
my goblet his way. I felt great. He didn’t
and proceeded to toss his goblet right back
at me.
You would think that Philip would come to
my defense. But no, he drew his sword and
charged me. Having drank too much wine he
slipped and fell flat on his face.
The
scene was something out of a Greek comedy.
Though to me, it was tragic. I had no choice
but to say what was on my mind: “That,
is the man who was making ready to cross
from Europe to Asia, and who cannot even
cross from one table to another without
losing his balance.”
Oddly
enough, Attalus died shortly thereafter,
though the details of his demise seem to
have slipped my mind.
I
had no choice but to flee with my mother.
I believe that my father had begun to view
my mother’s ambitions for me as a
threat. It was not too long before I too
was seen as a threat, so we had to leave.
Back in the day, the remedy would have been
a swift execution. Our dysfunctional family
feud continued as I sent mother to Epirus
while I headed to Illyria.
Continue
>>
|
