A major figure in Greek history, Alexander the Great conquered much of the world, spreading Greek culture from India to Egypt, but the question of whether Alexander the Great was actually Greek continues to spark debate.

01 of 04 What Nationality Was Alexander the Great? Map of Macedonia, Moesia, Dacia, and Thracia, from The Atlas of Ancient and Classical Geography, by Samuel Butler and Edited by Ernest Rhys. The Atlas of Ancient and Classical Geography, by Samuel Butler and edited by Ernest Rhys. 1907. The question of whether Alexander the Great was actually Greek resonates among modern Greeks and Macedonians who are extremely proud of Alexander and want him for one of their own. Times have certainly changed. When Alexander and his father conquered Greece, many Greeks weren't so eager to welcome the Macedonians as their fellows. The political borders and ethnic composition of Alexander's homeland, Macedonia, are not now the same as they were at the time of Alexander's Empire. Slavic peoples (a group to which Alexander the Great did not belong) migrated to Macedonia centuries later (7th century CE), making the genetic composition of the modern Macedonians (citizens of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia or FYROM) different from those of the 4th century BCE. Historian NGL Hammond says: "Macedonians considered themselves to be, and were treated by Alexander the Great as being, separate from the Greeks. They were proud to be so."

02 of 04 Who Were Alexander's Parents? Alexander the Great may be considered (ancient) Macedonian or Greek or both, depending. For us, parentage is paramount. In the 5th century Athens, this issue was important enough for a law determining that no longer was one parent (the father) enough: both parents had to be from Athens for their child to bear Athenian citizenship. In mythical times, Orestes was freed from punishment for killing his mother because the goddess Athena didn't consider the mother crucial to reproduction. In the time of Aristotle, Alexander's teacher, the importance of women in reproduction continued to be argued. We understand these things better, but even the ancients recognized that women were important since, if nothing else, they were the ones who did the birthing. In the case of Alexander, whose parents were not of the same nationality, arguments can be made for each parent separately. Alexander the Great had one mother, who was known, but four possible fathers. The likeliest scenario is that the Molossian Olympias of Epirus was his mother and the Macedonian King Philip II was his father. For what it's worth, the other contenders are the gods Zeus and Ammon, and the Egyptian mortal Nectanebo.

03 of 04 Were Alexander's Parents Greek? Olympias was an Epirote and Philip was Macedonian, but they may also have been considered Greek. The appropriate term isn't really "Greek," but "Hellenic," as in Olympias and Philip may have been considered Hellenes (or barbarians). Olympias came from a Molossian royal family that traced its origins to Neoptolemus, the son of the greatest hero of the Trojan War, Achilles. Philip came from a Macedonian family that traced its origins to the Peloponnesian Greek city of Argos and Hercules/Heracles, whose descendant Temenus received Argos when the Heracleidae invaded the Peloponnese in the Dorian invasion. British historian Mary Beard points out that this was, after all, a self-serving legend.