Well when I was growing up I was always into anything related to Greek mythology (Herakles was my favorite hero though I called him Hercules like most people back then ), but it wasn't until I read a chapter about Alexander the Great in my middle school history book that I went over from Greek mythology to Greek history.

I was just drawn into learning more about Alexander when I saw the similarities between myself and him (tense, to the say the least, relationship between his parents, close relationship with his mother etc.), and it was the desire to learn more about him that eventually led me to learn more about Greek history and that of the Ancient World.

So in short: Megas Alexandros