Alexander the Great's father was Philip. Philip's wife was Olympias. Their son Alexander was born in 356 B.C. Alexander had a younger sister, Cleopatra. When Alexander was sixteen his father went away to war, leaving Alexander to serve as regent of Macedon. During Philip's absence Alexander led an expedition to a wild region of modern day Bulgaria, where he subdued rebellious barbarians and established his first city, Alexandropolis. After this triumph he became a general in his father's army. But things were tense between father and son. On one occasion rioting soldiers injured Philip. He fell to the ground and played dead while Alexander shielded him and fought off his attackers. Yet Philip never acknowledged that Alexander had saved his life, which Alexander resented. Alexander was prone to temper tantrums. One of them took place at a feast held to celebrate his father's marriage to his final wife. The bride's uncle, Attalus, toasted the couple, saying that he hoped his niece would give birth to a legitimate heir to the throne. What about me? Am I a bastard? Alexander shouted. Attalus threw his own goblet back and a general brawl ensued, during which Alexander and his father snarled at each other.
After this incident Alexander and his mother left Macedon. Later they reconciled with Philip and returned home, but Alexander continued to mistrust his father. When Philip arranged for his retarded son Arridaeus to marry the daughter of a Persian governor, Alexander feared that this meant Philip intended to make Arridaeus his successor. In a panic Alexander secretly married the satrap's daughter himself.
In celebration of this marriage a great festival was arranged. An opening ceremony was to be held in a theater. As Philip was entering the theater he was stabbed in the heart by the captain of his bodyguard, Pausanias. The assassin fled...