This is a tool for learning the history of Alexander the Great. ALEXANDER III, king of ancient Greek MACEDONIA, surnamed the Great, was born at Pella, in the autumn of B. C. 356. He was the son of Philip II and Olympias, and he inherited much of the natural disposition of both of his parents - the cool forethought and practical wisdom of his father, and the ardent enthusiasm and ungovernable passions of his mother. MACEDONIA is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in south eastern Europe whose area was re-defined in the early 20th century. This arbitrary territory corresponds to the basins of (from west to east) the Aliakmon, Vardar/Axios and Struma/Strymon rivers (of which the Axios/Vardar drains by far the largest area) and the plains around Thessaloniki and Serres. In ancient times all this region was Hellenic (Greek) and all tribes of this region spoken and wrote ancient Greek.