After establishing himself as a conqueror, the former student of Aristotle turned his attention to building an empire of knowledge headquartered in his namesake city.
In the case of both Napoleon and Hitler, the many victories they enjoyed led them to believe that anything was possible, that nothing could stand in their way.
In March Richard Freeman, a former doctor to Britain's all-conquering 2012 Olympic cycling team, was struck off by regulators for obtaining steroids in 2011 (Dr Freeman is appealing).