Olympias in the context of "Alexander's Balkan campaign"

Cleopatra of Macedonia (Greek: Κλεοπάτρα της Μακεδονίας; c. 355/354 BC – 308 BC), or Cleopatra of Epirus (Greek: Κλεοπάτρα της Ηπείρου) was an ancient Macedonian princess and later queen regent of Epirus. The daughter of Philip II of Macedon and Olympias of Epirus, she was the only full sibling of Alexander the Great. Her other siblings include half sisters Thessalonike and Cynane, and half-brother Philip III of Macedon.

Alexander I of Epirus (Ancient Greek: Ἀλέξανδρος Α'; c. 370 BC – 331 BC), also known as Alexander Molossus (Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ Μολοσσός), was a king of Epirus (343/2–331 BC) of the Aeacid dynasty. As the son of Neoptolemus I and brother of Olympias, Alexander I was an uncle, and a brother-in-law, of Alexander the Great. He was also an uncle to Pyrrhus of Epirus.

Philip III Arrhidaeus (Ancient Greek: Φίλιππος Ἀρριδαῖος, romanized: Phílippos Arrhidaîos; c. 357 BC – 317 BC) was king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia from 323 until his execution in 317 BC. He was a son of King Philip II of Macedon by Philinna of Larissa, and thus an elder half-brother of Alexander the Great. Named Arrhidaeus at birth, he assumed the name Philip when he ascended to the throne.

As Arrhidaeus grew older it became apparent that he had mild learning difficulties. Plutarch was of the view that he became disabled by means of an attempt on his life by Philip II's wife, Queen Olympias, who wanted to eliminate a possible rival to her son, Alexander, through the employment of pharmaka (drugs/spells); however, most modern authorities doubt the truth of this claim.

Neoptolemus I of Epirus (Greek: Νεοπτόλεμος Α' Ηπείρου) (370–357 BC) was a Greek king of Epirus and son of Alcetas I, and father of Troas, Alexander I of Epirus and Queen Olympias. He was the maternal grandfather of Alexander the Great and great-grandfather of Pyrrhus of Epirus. He claimed he was a descendant of the hero Achilles and King Lycomedes, while Emperor Caracalla claimed that he was a descendant of Neoptolemus.

Derdas III (Ancient Greek: Δέρδας) was probably the ruler of Elimiotis in mid 4th century BCE, or at least one of its military commanders. He was probably of the same family as Derdas I and Derdas II, but no evidence exists to say what the relationships were. There are two brief mentions of him in ancient sources, both passed on by Athenaeus.

The reference here is to Philip II of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great.  Philip was credited by Satyrus with seven wives, foremost of which were Olympias, Alexander’s mother, and Cleopatra, a late love-match that brought total discord into his house.  His marriage to Phila was a minor affair, no doubt concluded for political reasons to secure his alliance with Elimiotis.  There is no mention of any resulting offspring.  For the record, Derdas’ brother Machatas had two sons who joined Alexander on his expedition to Asia: Harpalos (Alexander’s treasurer) and Philip (later appointed satrap of India by Alexander).A second report from Athenaeus said:

Neoptolemus II (Greek: Νεοπτόλεμος; died 297 BC) was king of Epirus from 302 BC until his death. He was the son of king Alexander I of Epirus and Cleopatra of Macedonia, his maternal grandparents were Philip II of Macedon and Olympias. His maternal uncles included Alexander the Great and Philip III of Macedon. His maternal aunts included Thessalonike and Cynane.

Neoptolemus came to the throne after the overthrow of his cousin Pyrrhus in 302 BC. However, Pyrrhus returned five years later in 297 BC with the financial and military support of the Egyptian king Ptolemy I. After they initially agreed to rule together as co-kings, Neoptolemus was killed at the behest of Pyrrhus.

In Greek mythology, Pergamus (/ˈpɜːrɡəməs/; Ancient Greek: Πέργαμος) was the son of the warrior Neoptolemus and Andromache. Pergamus's parents both figure in the Trojan War, described in Homer's The Iliad: Neoptolemus was the son of Achilles and fought on the Greek side, while Andromache was the Trojan prince Hector's wife. After the death of both Achilles and Hector, and the fall of Troy, Neoptolemus captured the newly widowed Andromache for his concubine and went to rule in Epirus. After Neoptolemus's death, some sources say that Andromache returned to Asia Minor with her youngest son, Pergamus, although this is probably a later addition to the legend.

The Kingdom of Pergamon (or Pergamum), while it was independent, seems to have created new mythology about Pergamus. According to them, upon traveling to Asia Minor with his mother, Pergamus killed the king of Teuthrania, renamed the capital after himself to Pergamum, and ruled as king. Andromache's descendants would include the royal family of Epirus (and thus Olympias, the mother of Alexander the Great), and Pergamus's line would include Attalus, the forefather of the Attalid rulers (although not a king himself and considered of common stock). This account is distrusted as transparently created to build a link between the Attalid dynasty, the rulers of Pergamon; and Alexander the Great, the great source of legitimacy that Hellenistic rulers sought to link to themselves. It does not appear to have been a major part of Attalid propaganda (unlike their claimed link to the hero Telephus), but at least one small heroon (shrine) in Pergamon was dedicated to Pergamos Ktistes, probably built in the 3rd century BC.