Alexander the Great's Mummy Issues: Olympias
Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society
History Hit
4.8 • 2.1K Ratings
🗓️ 5 September 2025
⏱️ 62 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
They say behind every great man is a great woman. In this episode, we meet the woman behind Alexander the Great's success. From securing his status, to influencing his succession, Olympias was a force to be reckoned with.
Kate is joined for this episode by Tristan Hughes, host of our sister podcast, The Ancients.
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Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello everyone, it's me your host, Kate Lister. I'm just jumping in before the episode to ask you for a little favour. |
| 0:07.6 | If you are enjoying betwixt, and I hope that you are, we'd love it if you could vote for us for the |
| 0:12.5 | Listeners Choice Awards at the British Podcast Awards. If you follow the link in the show notes, |
| 0:17.9 | it should take you to the place you need to go and it would mean the world to us. We were shortlisted last year, and the one before that, and the one before that. |
| 0:27.8 | We were so close, and it just made us want it even more. I think we can do it this year. Right, |
| 0:34.5 | on with the show. Hello, my lovely betwixters. It's me, Kate Lister. You are listening |
| 0:39.0 | to Bertwitster Sheets, but before I'm allowing you to listen any further, I do have to tell you. This is an adult podcast, spoken by adults, other adults about adulty things in an adultity way around around adults and Brickson, you should be an adult too. That's our small print. That's our auditory small print because if you do keep listening after that and you happen to get upset, |
| 0:37.4 | well, tough tits, that one's on you because fair too. That's our small print. That's our auditory small print because if you do keep listening |
| 0:55.3 | after that and you happen to get upset, well, tough tits, that one's on you because fair news, |
| 0:58.6 | we did warn you. Right, on with the show. |
| 1:06.3 | In the north of the Aegean Sea, the azure blue waters give way to the island of Samothrace. |
| 1:13.2 | Wooden boats laden with pilgrims bump against the pier. |
| 1:17.2 | Inland, white-robed initiates gather to join a mysterious cult. |
| 1:22.5 | There is music chanting, fire, and everyone's being ritually cleansed. |
| 1:27.5 | Sounds like a Friday night. |
| 1:30.4 | But seriously, across the masses of the swaying and dancing bodies, |
| 1:34.8 | a man and a woman catch each other's eyes, |
| 1:37.0 | as though struck by cosmic lightning, they are immediately taken with each other. |
| 1:41.4 | It's fate, it's kismit. |
| 1:43.4 | These two people are destined to be together and soon |
| 1:46.2 | they will birth the legend Alexander the Great. Or that's how some Greek writers would have us |
| 1:53.1 | believe that the meeting of Philip B. Second and Olympius went. But let's be honest, it's probably |
... |
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