The Cast of Characters

Characters Not Double-Cast

  1. Olympias……………………..Queen of Epirus; age 57, I,1
  2. Cassander……………………Son of Antipater; age 31, I,2
  3. Alexander IV………………..Son of Alexander; age 4, I,2

Characters Multiple-Cast

  1. Roxanê………………………..Alexander’s first wife; age 23, I,2; Also plays:
  2. Eurydice………………………Wife of Philip Arrhidaeus; age 35, I,2; Also plays:

Greek Chorus: Olympias’s Lady Companions

  1. Thessalonike…………………….Half sister to Alexander; Also plays:
    • Bacchante I,1
    • Litae I,4
  2. Demarete……………………Also plays:
    • Lyre player
    • Bacchante I,1
  3. Ephthalia…………………Also plays:
    • Drum player
    • Bacchante I,1;
    • Woman, attendant to Antipater, I,2
  4. Deïdameia…………………Also plays:
    • Satyr I,1
  5. Sophia……………………Also plays:
    • Satyr I,1
    • Litae I,4
  6. Pothos……………………Also plays:
    • Bacchante I,1
    • Litae I,4

    GREEK CHORUS: OLYMPIAS’S GENTLEMEN COMPANIONS

  7. Attalus…………………..Also plays:
    • Alexander the Great I,1
    • Nobleman I,2
  8. Hecataeus…………………Also plays:
    • Philip II I,1
    • Philip Arrhidaeus I,2
  9. Euxenippus………………..Also plays:
    • Antipater I,1
    • Nobleman I,2
    • Nicanor I,4
  10. Gorgatus………………….Also plays:
    • Aristotle I,1
    • Polyperchon I,2
  11. Gorgias…………………..Also plays:
    • Zeus/serpent I,1
    • Diodotus I,2
    • Glaucias II,4
  12. Timaeus…………………..Also plays:
    • Antipater I,2
    • Alexander IV II,4

Additional Character Descriptions

Olympias

  • Age, fifty-seven in the first scene
  • She appears in all scenes except the Epilogos.
  • Widow of Philip II, mother of Alexander, daughter of Neoptolemus, a former King of the Molossians, a tribe in Epirus (in the region of modern Albania), whose dynasty is traced back to the son of Achilles
  • Direct-line descendant from Achilles
  • Followed the cult of Dionysus
  • Claimed to have dreamed that Zeus, in the form of a serpent, impregnated her with Alexander
  • Variously characterized as honest, outspoken, full of courage, fascinating in conversation, impetuous, violent, unfitted for governing.
  • She faithfully guarded the interests of Roxanê and her grandson, Alexander IV.

Cassander

  • Age, thirty-one in the second scene
  • Tall, lean, red-haired and freckles over a pale complexion
  • Ambitious son of Antipater, who was Regent of Macedonia, he was a life-long antagonist to Alexander.
  • Cassander was shocked to see the Regency go to another of more proven reliability and so began the intrigues that led to the total destruction of the family of Alexander.
  • Fragile health in youth, Cassander was of no use to the armies of Alexander, and could not participate in athletic games and competitions.
  • A clever, sedentary youth, a frustrated, brooding, and hate-filled spirit who brought about the wars among the formerly united generals, gained the crown, ruled over Macedonia and Greece, and buried the memory of Alexander under disgrace by suppressing the historical records such as those authored by Ptolemy and Aristobulus which are now lost to us.

Roxanê

  • Age, twenty-three in the second scene
  • Alexander’s first wife, pregnant at the time of Alexander’s death
  • Daughter of Oxyartes, the king of Sogdiana, whom Alexander defeated with 300 “winged soldiers” in a miraculous battle, surmounting the Sogdian Rock to reach the Sogdians above
  • A “barbarian” of great beauty and charm
  • Left alone, by Alexander’s death, in the realm of Greeks, deprived of Alexander’s protection, and in daily danger; a virtual prisoner
  • Lonely years. Memories of past grandeur while the threat of Cassander’s power grows larger and nearer, death for her and her son coming at any moment and in any way.

Antipater

  • Age, eighty-one in the second scene, his only appearance
  • Regent of Macedonia (d. 319 B.C.E.)
  • Appointed by Alexander before Alexander left on his military expedition into Persia, never to return

Polyperchon

  • Age, fifty in the second scene
  • Appointed to be Antipater’s successor in Macedonia

Eurydice

  • Age, thirty-five in the second scene
  • Granddaughter of Philip II (Alexander’s father)
  • She married Arrhidaeus (Philip III), Alexander’s half-brother.

Philip Arrhidaeus (Philip III)

  • Age thirty-seven in the second scene
  • Alexander’s slow-witted half-brother, which defect was rumored to be the result of a drug administered by Olympias in his infancy

Alexander IV

  • Son of Alexander the Great by Roxanê
  • Born several months after Alexander died
  • Age four in second scene
  • Age, twelve in Epilogos

Nicanor

  • Son of Antipater, brother of Cassander
  • Age, slightly younger than Cassander

Diodotus

  • Staff secretary to Antipater
  • Middle age

Old Woman

  • Attends the dying Antipater

Glaucias

  • A soldier companion of Cassander in charge of the guard placed by Cassander over Roxanê and Alexander IV
  • Cassander’s age or older

Olympias’s Lady Companions

Thessalonike

  • Daughter of one of Philip II’s minor wives and half sister to Alexander
  • Age, mid-thirties
  • Thessalonike is a politically desirable conquest for Cassander. He would thus ally himself with the house of Alexander and his charisma and have an easier path to the throne. Antigonus said that Cassander took her by force to achieve his political aims.

Demarete

  • A fictional name
  • Plays the lyre and sings
  • Daughter of a general (Aristonoüs) in the army
  • Age, twenties

Ephthalia

  • Plays the drum accompaniment and sings

Deïdameia

  • Beautiful daughter of Aeacides, King of Epirus
  • (I love this name: day-ee-duh-may-uh. As beautiful as she should be.)

Sophia

  • Fictional name (wisdom)
  • Intellectual daughter of Attalus (not the Attalus named below)

Pothos

  • Fictional name, meaning “longing” (just as Alexander longed to explore, craved exploration)
  • Daughter of Attalus
  • (not the Attalus named below)

Olympias’s Gentlemen Companions

Attalus

  • A veteran of Alexander’s wars in Persia
  • He was similar in appearance to Alexander, who once used him as a decoy.
  • A short man who should have some resemblance to Alexander, with light, abundant hair, clean shaven, muscular
  • Author’s fiction that he re-appears here
  • Age, late thirties

Hecataeus

  • A young Macedonian at the court of Olympias when conscripted against Olympias’s wishes
  • Author’s fiction that he has been reclaimed by Olympias after Alexander’s death
  • Age, late thirties

Euxenippus

  • An effeminate, irritating, though very handsome youth when conscripted against Olympias’s wishes from her court
  • A favorite of Alexander’s
  • Author’s fiction that he has been reclaimed by Olympias after Alexander’s death
  • Age, late thirties

Gorgatus

  • Enlisted against Olympias’s wishes (author’s fiction that he has been reclaimed by her later)
  • Age, late thirties

Gorgias

  • Enlisted against Olympias’s wishes (author’s fiction that he has been reclaimed by her later)
  • Age, late thirties

Timaeus

  • (fictional) Son of the father who died shielding the body of Alexander in India.
  • Age, early twenties.
  • Slight and shorter in body type, to play very young and very old, frail characters.

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