Olimpiade regina Macedonie · Centre for Early Modern Visual Culture

Title: Olimpiade regina Macedonie
Subject: Famous Women; Important Women; Important Queens; Cleopatra; King Philip II; Murder; Olympias
Period: 1450-1500;
Geographic: Macedonia; Epirus; Macedon
Description: This engraving depicts Olympias of Macedonia on the left side of the engraving approaching a man hanging on a cross. The man being crucified is Pausanias, a man who helped Olympias with the murder of King Philip of Macedon (husband to Olympias). Boccaccio explains that Olympias placed the golden crown that Pausanias is wearing on his head to honour him and reward him for the assassination. Along with getting her husband murdered, she also had her husband’s new wife and child murdered out of anger. Cleopatra, King Philips other wife, is pictured on the right side of the engraving hanging by her neck on a tree. Cleopatra’s child is depicted sitting on the ground as one of Olympias’ servants is bashing her head with a rock.
Image Creator: Anonymous (Engraver)
Type: Text; Woodcut Engraving
Identifier: mta:18182
Language: lat
Source Name: Iohannis Bocacij in librum de claris mulieribus
Parent Collection: 1487 Leuven
Image: mta_18182_OBJ.png