by Aleksander Hasanas
Summary
The text cites German historian Ulrich Wilcken (1967) to argue that Alexander the Great had partial Illyrian ancestry. According to Wilcken, Alexander’s mother Olympias was from the Molossian tribe of Epirus, which he describes as barbarian and related to the Illyrians. This made Alexander “not a pure Macedonian” but someone with “barbarian blood” through his maternal line. The excerpt also references Philip II’s possible Illyrian maternal connection and draws on a 2020 academic publication from the Autonomous University of Barcelona.
A fragment from the study of the renowned German historian Ulrich Wilcken (Alexander the Great, English edition 1967) provides another vital piece of evidence regarding the ethnic composition of the family of Alexander the Great (Alexander of Macedon).
The highlighted text scientifically clarifies the origin of his mother, Olympias, and her direct connection to the Illyrian world:
The Molossians were barbarians related to the Illyrians
Wilcken states: “…the Molossians themselves, a tribe of Epirus, seem to have been barbarians, and were probably related to the Illyrians.”
Academic explanation: The author makes a clear distinction between the royal dynasty of the Molossians (which claimed a mythical Greek origin from Achilles for prestige) and the common Molossian people. Wilcken specifies that the Molossian population of Epirus itself was “barbarian” (non-Greek in language) and had direct blood ties with the Illyrians.
Non-Greek blood in Alexander the Great’s veins
Wilcken states: “So Alexander was not a pure Macedonian but had a dash of barbarian blood in his veins.”
Academic explanation: Since Olympias was the daughter of Neoptolemus, King of the Molossians, she came from this Illyro-Epirote ethnic stock. Consequently, Alexander the Great was not a pure Macedonian but inherited through his mother a significant portion of barbarian (Illyro-Albanian) blood.
Conclusion
This quote perfectly complements the earlier German classification that identified the tribes of Epirus (Chaones, Thesprotians, Molossians) as Illyrian tribes (illyrische Stämme). It definitively confirms, through the pen of one of the world’s greatest historians, that Alexander the Great had documented Illyrian ancestry on his mother’s side.
This study from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Department of Antiquity and Medieval Sciences, published in the journal Karanos – Bulletin of Ancient Macedonia, Vol. 3 (2020), states:
“His mother Myrtale Olympias, whom Philip made his lawful wife in 357, was the daughter of Neoptolemus, king of the Molossians, whose dynasty was traced back to the son of Achilles and for this reason was considered Greek, but in fact the Molossians themselves, an Epirote tribe, seem to have been barbarians and related to the Illyrians.
In 356 Olympias, who was about twenty years old, gave birth to Alexander and the following year to his sister Cleopatra.
Thus, Alexander was not a pure Macedonian but had a stream of barbarian blood in his veins.” (WILCKEN 1967, 53. My italics).
We must also keep in mind that Philip himself, Alexander’s father, was in reality the son of an Illyrian Albanian woman… (Wilcken 1967, 54. My italics).
Sources
Wilcken, Ulrich. Alexander the Great. Translated by G. C. Richards. New York: W. W. Norton, 1967.
“Karanos – Bulletin of Ancient Macedonia.” Vol. 3 (2020). Department of Antiquity and Medieval Sciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona.
