According to the ancient Athenian calendar, the date of Alexander the Great’s birth was the sixth day of the Greek month of Hekatombaion, which is believed to be the 20th of July, 356 B.C. Alexander was born in Pella, the capital city of Macedon, to Philip II, King of Macedon, and his wife, Olympias.

On the day of Alexander’s birth, his father, Philip II, was said to be encircling the city of Potidea, preparing to conquer it. On that day, Philip was informed by his men that his horses were victorious at the Olympic Games, along with the news that Parmenion, his general, had crushed the Illyrian and Paeonian armies. It was also believed that on the day of Alexander’s birth, the Temple of Artemis burned down. The Greek historian, Hegesias of Magnesia, said that the temple burned down because Artemis, the Greek Goddess of the hunt, left it to witness Alexander’s birth.