HISTORY: Alexander’s mom made him ‘great’

Even before Alexander was great, he had a mother who pushed him—and who didn't sweetly abide by societal norms.

While many old-school historians have focused on the world-conquering Greek emperor, modern researchers are studying Olympias (pictured), the formidable, world-changing matriarch who was the wife of Philip II, king of Macedonia, and mother of Alexander the Great. A student of Aristotle, Alexander is celebrated for his vast military might. He also benefited from the support and counsel of his mother as he navigated his way to the throne at age 20 after the murder of his father.

The first woman to actively participate in the politics of the Greek peninsula, Olympias was murderous and vengeful, like the men in her life. But instead of being celebrated as a courageous warrior who still participated in battles after Alexander died at age 32, Olympias has been criticized for not being quiet and passive.

The long-neglected Olympias may illustrate a millennia-old truism: Sometimes a “great” mom is behind a “great” person.

We asked, you responded: Readers reacted several ways to our story on Saturday’s Pearl Harbor anniversary, and we loved this memory from six decades ago from then-sailor Leon Shiver. As his Navy launch approached the Hawaiian waters where the USS Arizona sank in the Japanese attack, Shiver wrote, “We stopped the engine, coasted by, at attention, saluting as we coasted by, starting the engine after passing by.”

Where did the world begin? For the Arhuaco people, the answer is a depression at nearly 12,000 feet near Colombia’s Caribbean coast that they call the Mother. Living amid mountaintops that rise to 19,000 feet, the Arhuaco see the ice is melting, imperiling the flowing waters that have nurtured the people and their enviable ecosystem for centuries. The Arhuaco want to tell the world of the danger, National Geographic reports.

Cranberries, explained: Cancer fears, later proved premature, kept the red fruit off America’s Thanksgiving plates in 1959. Since then, production has kept growing, with a fifth of the berries and related products sold in November. The United States is the world’s leader in cranberries, with half of them harvested in Wisconsin and another third in Massachusetts.

Related: The sticky history of a sweet fruit

This newsletter has been curated and edited by David Beard, and its photos have been selected by Eslah Attah. Have an idea, a link, or a tip on Babylonian royalty? We'd love to hear from you at david.beard@natgeo.com. Thanks for reading.