His dreams were fulfilled, and even surpassed, by his son Alexander the Great, in a brief but action-filled lifetime of only 33 years (356 323 b.c. ). In 334 b.c. , aged only 22, he led his army across the Hellespont (now the Dardanelles), and paused at Troy to make a sacrifice at the temple of Athena and pay homage to his hero Achilles, before going on to defeat the Persians at the Battle of Granicus and liberating the Ionian cities.
The Ionian cities were freed after Alexander the Great defeated the Persians at Granicus.