Macedonia (ancient kingdom)
The Classical Greek historians Herodotus and Thucydides reported the legend that the Macedonian kings of the Argead dynasty were descendants of Temenus, king of Argos, and could therefore claim the mythical Heracles as one of their ancestors as well as a direct lineage from Zeus, chief god of the Greek pantheon. Contradictory legends state that either Perdiccas I of Macedon or Caranus of Macedon were the founders of the Argead dynasty, with either five or eight kings before AmyntasI. The assertion that the Argeads descended from Temenus was accepted by the "Hellanodikai" authorities of the Ancient Olympic Games, permitting Alexander I of Macedon () to enter the competitions owing to his perceived Greek heritage. Little is known about the kingdom before the reign of AlexanderI's father Amyntas I of Macedon () during the Archaic period.
The Trials of Apollo
The series follows the trials of the god Apollo, who has been turned into a human as punishment from his father and king of the gods Zeus. Zeus is angry with Apollo for a variety of reasons, most notably for the younger god's allowing his Roman descendant Octavian to rise to power during "The Heroes of Olympus" series by giving him his blessing. The final book of "The Heroes of Olympus", "The Blood of Olympus", takes place about six months before the beginning of "The Trials of Apollo".