Hello, this question was always in my head, history books always depict Alexander as the only one who managed to spread Hellenism or "The Greek Knowledge",but were there people who tried to spread it before Alexander? ( In Asia )
When Alexander arrived in Bactria (Afghanistan) he found a colony of Greeks, the descendants of Greek mercenaries who had fought for the Persians. The Persians settled their Greek (and other) mercenaries all over their empire, so Greek influence was all over the East before Alexander arrived. They hadn't been seeking to spread Hellenism, but wherever Greeks settled Hellenism, effectively, went with them.