Aristotle the Great

When we think of the greats we think of warriors and kings, but we never stop to think about the brains behind the brawn. 

                                                            https://www.britannica.com/biography/Aristotle

 Aristotle is one of the most notable philosophers and scientists in history. He is also still considered one of the greatest thinkers in politics, psychology, and ethics. When we think of the greats we think of warriors and kings, but we never stop to think about the brains behind the brawn. I believe Aristotle influenced much more than we believe in the ancient world and still impacts students lives today with his writings. In fact, his works lay the foundation for over seven centuries of philosophy and influenced western thought in the humanities and social sciences.

Aristotle was born with luck in Stagira, a small town off the north east coast of Greece in 384 B.C. His father and mother were both physicians. Although little is known about his mother who died when he was young, his father was a court physician for the king of Macedonia, Amyntas II. This gave Aristotle many advantages and after his father’s death he still kept very close ties with the Macedonian court. At the age of 17 Aristotle was sent off to Plato’s Academy in Athens which was considered the academic center of the universe. He spent roughly 20 years here as both a student and a teacher and even influenced Plato’s later works. When Plato died Aristotle was left with the short stick, and did not inherit his Academy like many assumed, because of a disagreement about philosophical treatises.

After Plato’s death Aristotle left Athens where he would spend five years on the coast of Asia Minor as a guest to one of his friends, Hermias, king of Atarneus and Assos. This is where he would meet his wife, Pythias, King Hermias’ niece. Together the couple had a daughter, Pythias, who, you guessed it, was named after her mother.  Asia Minor is also where Aristotle found his love for something unheard of at the time, Marine Biology. This fascination for Marine Biology left him constantly observing aquatic life and he even tried classifying species of marine animals.

After five years in Asia Minor, Aristotle and his new family moved back to Macedonia where he opened his own school in 335 B.C. This bliss didn’t last long and his wife died shortly after moving. It didn’t seem to bother Aristotle too much though seeing that soon after he began a romantic relationship with a women named Herpyllis who is rumored to have been his slave. Allegedly he freed and than married her, but nevertheless she bore Aristotle children, including one son named Nicomachus, named after Aristotle’s father.

The Lyceum in Athens became Aristotle’s life. Like Plato’s Academy, the Lyceum attracted students throughout the Greek world. He wrote an estimated 200 works there which touched on reasoning, rhetoric, politics, metaphysics, poetics, and prior analytics. Interestingly enough the majority of these 200 works are believed to be lecture notes that he used in his classrooms and today only 31 of these works are still in circulation. Aristotle spent the majority of his life teaching and studying on and off here and was know to walk around the school grounds while teaching. His students would be forced to follow him and were nicknamed “peripatetic,” meaning “people who travel about.” The Lyceum students and teachers studied a broad array of subjects ranging from science and math to philosophy and politics, and nearly everything in between. Members of the Lyceum are also credited for one of the first great libraries because they wrote up all of their findings in manuscripts and saved them.

Although Aristotle had many students, one of his most famous pupils was Alexander the Great whom he began tutoring in 338 B.C. Both King Philip II and Alexander held Aristotle in high self esteem and made sure the court compensated him well for his teachings. He kept a close relationship with Alexander until his death which is when Aristotle’s life took a turn. After Alexander the Great’s death, the Macedonian government was overthrown and Aristotle was charged with impiety (lack of piety or reverence, especially for a god) for his association with his students and the Macedonian court. This put an end to his works including; teaching, researching, and writing. Avoiding prosecution, Aristotle left Athens and moved to Chalcis a small island off of Euboea where he lived only briefly with his “wife” before his death. He left the Lyceum to his favorite students, but it slowly disappeared and became less of a hot spot for academics.

After his death Aristotle was unfortunately forgotten about as were his works. His works were rediscovered in the 1^st century in a moldy cellar in Asia Minor and there is speculation that these were not the only copies. His works specifically in philosophy influence idea all the way through the Renaissance. By the 13^th century Aristotle’s works were reintroduced to the western world by both Albertus Magnus and more notably Thomas Aquinas who used them as the fundamentals of Catholic philosophy, theology, and science. Today in Arabic philosophy he is known as “The First Teacher” and in the Western world he is known as “The Philosopher”. 

https://me.me/i/aristotle-plato-truth-19591898]    

Sources:

https://www.biography.com/people/aristotle-9188415

https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/aristotle