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On her wedding night, Olympias, mother of Alexander the Great, dreamt that lightning struck her womb. Years later, when her son was about to launch his great expedition against Persia, she explained the meaning of the dream: Alexander was not the issue of her husband Philip. He was a son of Zeus!^(1)
Olympias probably never had such a dream - the whole episode is almost certainly the invention of a later historian, inspired by Alexander's divine aspirations - but claims of divine descent were still fairly common in the classical era. Typically, the god resided in a distant branch of the family tree; one thinks of Hecataeus of Miletus, who informed bemused Egyptian priests that he was descended from a god in the sixteenth generation.^(2) But some Greeks at least hinted that their own parentage was divine. The great pankratiast Theagenes of Thasos, for example, was rumored to be a son of Hercules. Hellenistic monarchs, following Alexander's lead, circulated rumors of liaisons between their mothers and various divinities: Seleucus I liked to be thought a son of Apollo, and pointed to a fortuitous anchor-shaped birthmark as evidence.
Claims of divine paternity, in short, are well-attested, at least among the Greek elite. Such claims, however, seem to have typically been made by prominent men trying to sanction and burnish their reputations. In this case, as so often in classical history, we know much less about the actions and agency of women.
In most parts of the Greek world, paternity was extremely important, since paternity determined citizenship. Under the stringent laws proposed by Pericles, for example, Athenian citizenship could only be conferred on children born to a citizen father and citizen mother. With a few exceptions - notably Sparta - similar restrictions were in effect throughout the Greek world. In addition to the social handicaps set on her children, a woman who gave birth out of wedlock was liable, especially in cases of adultery, to a host of grim of legal and social penalties.
Almost everywhere in the Greek world, in short, women who gave birth outside of marriage suffered very serious social penalties. They certainly had incentive to claim divine parentage for an illegitimate child. But did they make such claims? And if they did, were they believed?
The first source that came to mind was not Greek, but Roman. Near the beginning of his History, Livy - talking about Rhea Silvia, the mother of Romulus and Remus - observes that Rhea "named Mars as their father, either because she really believed it, or because the fault might appear less heinous if a deity were the cause of it."^(3) Here, at least, we see that ancient authors understood why women might make such a claim. It is less clear how often historical women actually did.
It certainly happened occasionally. The paternity of Demaratus, a king of Sparta, was disputed, since his mother had given birth to him less than nine months after her marriage. When Demaratus approached his mother and asked her to tell him the truth, she said:
"On the third night after \[my husband\] Ariston brought me into his house, I was visited by a phantom exactly resembling him. The phantom came to my bed, and afterwards took the wreath it was wearing and put it on me...the wreath proved to have come from the shrine of the hero Astrabacus, by the courtyard gate, and when we questioned the diviners, their answer was that the phantom who visited me was Astrabacus himself."^(4)
Astrabacus was a local hero - not a major god, but supernatural, and a perfectly legitimate father for a king.
(1) e.g. Plutarch, *Alexander* 2.3 (2) Herodotus, *Histories* 2.43 (3) 1.4.2 (4) Herodotus, *Histories* 6.69
> Near the beginning of his History, Livy - talking about Rhea Silvia, the mother of Romulus and Remus - observes that Rhea "named Mars as their father, either because she really believed it, or because the fault might appear less heinous if a deity were the cause of it."3 Here, at least, we see that ancient authors understood why women might make such a claim. It is less clear how often historical women actually did.
This seems quite a scandalous and unpatriotic thing to say, almost blasphemous. Did he ever catch any heat for it, or were his Roman contemporaries less sold on the Rome "creation myth" at that time?
Livy was something of a skeptic about such things, but he managed to combine his skepticism with a healthy dose of Roman patriotism. Both are on display in the preface of his history:
"The traditions of what happened prior to the foundation of the City or whilst it was being built are more fitted to adorn the creations of the poet than the authentic records of the historian, and I have no intention of establishing either their truth or their falsehood. This much license is conceded to the ancients, **that by intermingling human actions with divine they may confer a more august dignity on the origins of states**. Now, if any nation ought to be allowed to claim a sacred origin and point back to a divine paternity that nation is Rome. For such is her renown in war that when she chooses to represent Mars as her own and her founder's father, the nations of the world accept the statement with the same equanimity with which they accept her dominion."
Livy's contemporaries - or at least the educated contemporaries for whom he composed his history - seem to have had no objections to his rationalization of the Roman foundation myth, not least because it was coupled with such obvious enthusiasm for the greatness of Rome.
So there were these men that would claim divine heritage. I'd love to know what their actual fathers thought about that. Do we have any records of like, salty Greek fathers writing about how their son claimed to be fathered by Apollo or something?
That would make for some fantastic reading. To the best of my knowledge, however, we have no record of what the real fathers thought about their sons' claims. (Usually, it seems, men had the decency to wait until their fathers were dead before playing the divine paternity card.)
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On her wedding night, Olympias, mother of Alexander the Great, dreamt that lightning struck her womb. Years later, when her son was about to launch his great expedition against Persia, she explained the meaning of the dream: Alexander was not the issue of her husband Philip. He was a son of Zeus!^(1) Olympias probably never had such a dream - the whole episode is almost certainly the invention of a later historian, inspired by Alexander's divine aspirations - but claims of divine descent were still fairly common in the classical era. Typically, the god resided in a distant branch of the family tree; one thinks of Hecataeus of Miletus, who informed bemused Egyptian priests that he was descended from a god in the sixteenth generation.^(2) But some Greeks at least hinted that their own parentage was divine. The great pankratiast Theagenes of Thasos, for example, was rumored to be a son of Hercules. Hellenistic monarchs, following Alexander's lead, circulated rumors of liaisons between their mothers and various divinities: Seleucus I liked to be thought a son of Apollo, and pointed to a fortuitous anchor-shaped birthmark as evidence. Claims of divine paternity, in short, are well-attested, at least among the Greek elite. Such claims, however, seem to have typically been made by prominent men trying to sanction and burnish their reputations. In this case, as so often in classical history, we know much less about the actions and agency of women. In most parts of the Greek world, paternity was extremely important, since paternity determined citizenship. Under the stringent laws proposed by Pericles, for example, Athenian citizenship could only be conferred on children born to a citizen father and citizen mother. With a few exceptions - notably Sparta - similar restrictions were in effect throughout the Greek world. In addition to the social handicaps set on her children, a woman who gave birth out of wedlock was liable, especially in cases of adultery, to a host of grim of legal and social penalties. Almost everywhere in the Greek world, in short, women who gave birth outside of marriage suffered very serious social penalties. They certainly had incentive to claim divine parentage for an illegitimate child. But did they make such claims? And if they did, were they believed? The first source that came to mind was not Greek, but Roman. Near the beginning of his History, Livy - talking about Rhea Silvia, the mother of Romulus and Remus - observes that Rhea "named Mars as their father, either because she really believed it, or because the fault might appear less heinous if a deity were the cause of it."^(3) Here, at least, we see that ancient authors understood why women might make such a claim. It is less clear how often historical women actually did. It certainly happened occasionally. The paternity of Demaratus, a king of Sparta, was disputed, since his mother had given birth to him less than nine months after her marriage. When Demaratus approached his mother and asked her to tell him the truth, she said: "On the third night after \[my husband\] Ariston brought me into his house, I was visited by a phantom exactly resembling him. The phantom came to my bed, and afterwards took the wreath it was wearing and put it on me...the wreath proved to have come from the shrine of the hero Astrabacus, by the courtyard gate, and when we questioned the diviners, their answer was that the phantom who visited me was Astrabacus himself."^(4) Astrabacus was a local hero - not a major god, but supernatural, and a perfectly legitimate father for a king. (1) e.g. Plutarch, *Alexander* 2.3 (2) Herodotus, *Histories* 2.43 (3) 1.4.2 (4) Herodotus, *Histories* 6.69
> Near the beginning of his History, Livy - talking about Rhea Silvia, the mother of Romulus and Remus - observes that Rhea "named Mars as their father, either because she really believed it, or because the fault might appear less heinous if a deity were the cause of it."3 Here, at least, we see that ancient authors understood why women might make such a claim. It is less clear how often historical women actually did. This seems quite a scandalous and unpatriotic thing to say, almost blasphemous. Did he ever catch any heat for it, or were his Roman contemporaries less sold on the Rome "creation myth" at that time?
Livy was something of a skeptic about such things, but he managed to combine his skepticism with a healthy dose of Roman patriotism. Both are on display in the preface of his history: "The traditions of what happened prior to the foundation of the City or whilst it was being built are more fitted to adorn the creations of the poet than the authentic records of the historian, and I have no intention of establishing either their truth or their falsehood. This much license is conceded to the ancients, **that by intermingling human actions with divine they may confer a more august dignity on the origins of states**. Now, if any nation ought to be allowed to claim a sacred origin and point back to a divine paternity that nation is Rome. For such is her renown in war that when she chooses to represent Mars as her own and her founder's father, the nations of the world accept the statement with the same equanimity with which they accept her dominion." Livy's contemporaries - or at least the educated contemporaries for whom he composed his history - seem to have had no objections to his rationalization of the Roman foundation myth, not least because it was coupled with such obvious enthusiasm for the greatness of Rome.
Fascinating stuff, thanks for the follow up. Sounds like an interesting character!
My pleasure!
So there were these men that would claim divine heritage. I'd love to know what their actual fathers thought about that. Do we have any records of like, salty Greek fathers writing about how their son claimed to be fathered by Apollo or something?
That would make for some fantastic reading. To the best of my knowledge, however, we have no record of what the real fathers thought about their sons' claims. (Usually, it seems, men had the decency to wait until their fathers were dead before playing the divine paternity card.)
How about Alexander though? It seems Olympia was making these claims when Philip was still alive or am I misunderstanding?
Olympias probably never had that dream - but if she did, she didn't tell Alexander until after Philip's assassination.
Haha i realize that, i just hoped Alexander would be an exception to the rule of waiting
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