Alexander the Great was the son of Philip Ⅱ of Macedon, himself a great warrior¹ who defeated the Greeks in 338 BC, bringing all of Greece under Macedonian control with the exception of Sparta. Alexander's mother was Olympias, princess of Epirus, who according to Plutarch was descended² from Achilles' grandfather. Alexander was taught by his mother that Achilles was his ancestor, and that his father was descended from Hercules. Achilles became Alexander's role model in all things, and he kept a copy of Homer's Illiad under his pillow.

Even more ambitious than his father, Alexander wept bitterly as a child when he heard of Philip's conquests. "My father," he said, "will get ahead of me in everything and will leave nothing great for me to do."

亚历山大大帝是马其顿国王菲力浦二世的儿子。菲力浦本身是大军事家，公元前三三八年打败希腊，使全希腊除了斯巴达都要听马其顿号令。亚历山大的母亲奥林匹亚斯是伊庇鲁斯国公主，而据蒲鲁塔克说，阿奇里斯的祖父正是奥林匹亚斯的祖宗。奥林匹亚斯告诉亚历山大：他的祖先是阿奇里斯，而他父亲则是海克力斯之后。亚历山大事事都以阿奇里斯作榜样，他枕头下长期放一本荷马的《伊里亚特》。

亚历山大的野心比父亲更大。他小时候，听见菲力浦沙场奏捷，曾经痛哭说：「爸爸什么事都先我而行，一点大事都不留给我做。」