Scramblin' thru... Alexander the Great
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Alex the Pretty Frickin' Sweet...
The mountainous region to the north of Greece was called Macedonia. Macedonians spoke a different language, and they never embraced the city-state system. While Macedonian nobles considered themselves Greek, most commoners did not.
During the Greco-Persian War (499-479 BC), the friendship between Sparta and Athens was tested. By the end, the two allies had grown apart. With Persia gone, mutual suspicion led to the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC). The civil war ended in the shocking defeat of Athens and weakened all of Greece. With Athens and Sparta in disarray, Macedonia's King Philip II conquered all of Greece by 338 BC. Two years later, while preparing to invade Persia, he was assassinated. His son, Alexander, took over and inherited Greece at the age of 20. Tutored by the Greek philosopher Aristotle when he was 13, Alexander grew accustomed to Greece and exported its culture during his military exploits. He conquered Egypt and much of the ancient world, including Persia. He extended his empire to India by 327 BC. While Alexander never lost a battle, his troops grew tired and wanted to stop the campaigns. He returned home but fell ill with a fever brought on by... poisoning, malaria, typhoid, West Nile, or cirrhosis. (In other words, historians have no idea what caused it.) He died at the age of 32. 
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The empire of Alexander the Great helped a new culture emerged. Known as Hellenistic, it was a blend of Greek, Persian, Egyptian, and Indian influences. Alexandria in Egypt, one of the cities founded by Alexander, became a center of learning in the world. The Hellenistic Era became a period of cultural advances across many fields.
Alexander made an example of the rebellious Greek city of Thebes by razing it, sparing only the temples, and selling the inhabitants into slavery. His handling of Thebes brought the other Greek states into fast submission.
Yup, nothing gets someone's attention faster than heads on pikes...
Alexander had a sexual preference for men, but he also had a wife with whom he conceived a child, so it is likely he was bi-sexual.
It is also thought that Alexander was sexually attracted to his Mom. 
"Tell me about your mother..."
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Alexander's empire at his death. What'd you accomplish by the age of 32? Yea... didn't think so...