“Alexander was the son of King Philip of Macedon, a great warrior and conqueror, and Philip’s proud, mystical and passionate Queen Olympias, whom Alexander deeply loved. As a young man Alexander patterned himself after the heroes of Homer and swore to conquer Persia, the ancient enemy of the Greeks and the greatest empire of the ancient world before Rome . . . . Alexander’s conquest united the world of the Middle East with the classical world of Greece and Rome, for the only time in history.”