The little square began to fill with people—page boys, soldiers, secretaries, officers, diplomats, they all gradually formed a circle around Diogenes. He looked them over, as a sober man looks at a crowd of tottering drunks and shook his head. He knew who they were. They were the servants of Alexander, the conqueror of Greece, the Macedonian king, who was visiting his new realm.

Only twenty, Alexander was far older and wiser than his years. Like all Macedonians he loved drinking, but he could usually handle it; and toward women, he was nobly restrained and chivalrous. Like all Macedonians he loved fighting; he was a magnificent commander, but he was not merely a military automaton. He could think. At thirteen, he had become a pupil of the greatest mind in Greece, Aristotle, who gave him the best of Greek culture. He taught Alexander poetry: the young prince slept with the Iliad under his pillow and longed to emulate Achilles, who brought the mighty power of Asia to ruin. He taught him philosophy, in particular the shapes and uses of political power. And he taught him the principles of scientific research: during his invasion of Persia, Alexander took with him a large corps of scientists, and shipped hundreds of zoological specimens back to Greece for study.