Aristotle :: biographies biography bio

Background Again, men in general desire the good, and not merely what their fathers had. - Aristotle, Politics * Aristotle was born in 384 BC at Stagira in northern Greece. * He was the son of Nicomachus, a physician with close connections to the Macedonian court. * Some believe it to be his father's influence that gave Aristotle his interest in anatomy and the structure of living things in general. * He was a Greek philosopher and scientist. Life / Career Education is the best provision for the journey to old age. - Aristotle * Aristotle went to Athens to study at Plato's Academy at the age of 17. He stayed for 20 years, first as a student and then as a teacher. * Aristotle moved to Assos, a city in Asia Minor, after the death of Plato in 347 BC. Here he counseled his friend, Hermias of Atarneus, and married Hermias' niece and adopted daughter, Pythias. * After Hermias' execution at the hands of the Persians in 345 BC, Aristotle travelled to Pella, the Macedonian capital. * In 342 BC, he began tutoring King Philip II's young son Alexander, who later became known as Alexander the Great. * When Alexander became king in 335 BC, Aristotle returned to Athens where he founded his own school, the Lyceum. * The Lyceum was involved in a greater range of subjects than the Academy, even during Plato's time. * The Lyceum was often refered to as the Peripatetic ('walking' or 'strolling') school because many teacher-student discussions took place while walking on its grounds. * Aristotle spent the last year of his life at a family estate in Chalcis on the Aegean island of what is now Evvoia. He died in 322 BC. # Many believe Aristotle to be the most influential philosopher in the history of Western thought. * The logic of this last century was based on much of his thoughts and logic.