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In 347 BC Aristotle left Athens, partly because he was growing dissatisfied with the Academy but mainly because of the anti-Macedonian atmosphere emerging there as a result of the political unrest in that country. Aristotle set out for the court of Hermias, ruler of Assos in Asia Minor. In the years that Aristotle spent away from Athens there were many political changes in Macedonia. Shortly after his arrival Hermias would be killed (as a part of his court Aristotle was forced to flee to Lesbos) and Philip would make peace with Athens and unite all of Macedonia. Aristotle returned to a very different Macedonia, where he would give lectures to Alexander the Great.

In 335 BC Aristotle returned to Athens where he founded the Peripatetic school. This new school was highly successful and came to outshine the Academy, despite the fact that the philosophy taught there was based on Plato’s work. Only later and gradually would Aristotle’s school develop its new philosophy. For now, it had a sort of improved Platonic philosophy, one that would appeal to the younger men in the Greek world. One large difference is the library Aristotle installed at the school. It was to be the largest collection of books in history, and was the model for the famous State libraries of Alexandria and Pergamum.

Differences in the fundamental attitudes of the schools were that while early philosophers such as Plato had directed their thinking to figuring out how you could improve human society, the Peripatetic school was focused more on observation rather than speculation and research rather than intuition.

In 323 BC Aristotle’s work would come to an end. Alexander’s rule was over and this meant Athens was liberated and again anti-Macedonian attitudes were present. Much of these negative feeling towards Macedonia were focused on Aristotle. He was charged with sacrilege and he and his family fled to the island of Euboea where he died only a year later.

Aristotle was born in Stageira, a Greek colony in Chalice, a peninsula in the northern Aegean, bordering on Macedonia, in 384 BC. The fact that Aristotle was from Stagira and had strong ties to Macedonia played a key role throughout his life. The reason for this becoming important was that Greece was always resistant to Macedonian power, and Macedonia was asserting an ever growing dominant role in Greece at this time. As Aristotle was, therefore, an outsider to Athens, he lived there with non-citizen rights and restrictions.

As for his family, Aristotle’s father, Nicomachus, was a physician to the King Amyntas II of Macedonia. It is, of course, speculated that his great interest in biology sprouted from his father’s interests. Guiding his early childhood was also his mother, Phaestis, who had ties to Chalice. Unfortunately, his parents both passed away when he was about the age of ten. As a result, Aristotle was raised by a relative named Proxenus. According to certain sources he also had a brother and a sister; however there is no mention of either of his siblings in his works or in historical accounts of Aristotle’s life.

Academies

Moreover, Aristotle left his home when he was seventeen years old in order to make the journey to Athens. Athens was after all the city of philosophers and general knowledge. In 376 BC, soon after his arrival in Athens, Aristotle entered Plato’s school. He stayed in Plato’s school for about twenty years, until about the time of Plato’s death.

While Aristotle was enrolled in Plato’s school, the school had evolved into a place of intensive study of all knowledge rather than a place where one would only recite the works of Homer. This was well suited to the needs of Aristotle and his devouring appetite for knowledge. After the end of his student days in this school Aristotle still continued with the school by lecturing, writing, and pursuing his research. Aristotle often touched on controversial issues in his lectures, igniting a flame within his listeners.

However, Aristotle left not only the school, but Athens as well, around 347 BC upon the invitation of King Hermias of Assos in Asia Minor. Around fifteen years later, he opened his own establishment in Athens, the Lyceum. This school, the Peripatetic school, was not one that focused on reading, writing, arithmetic, and the sciences. In fact, there was no classroom or diploma, but rather Aristotle would give lectures to two groups of people at school or at designated areas. In the morning he lectured to a select few, usually heavily involved in his research, and in the evenings to the general public. In his endeavor to create a new school, Aristotle opened an impressive library filled with some of the greatest of all works. It was the largest collection of books in history, and was the model for the famous State libraries of Alexandria and Pergamum.

Differences in the fundamental attitudes of the schools were that while early philosophers such as Plato had directed their thinking to figuring out how you could improve human society, the Peripatetic school was focused more on observation rather than speculation and research rather than intuition.

Death

While in the realm of Hermias, Aristotle continued his studies and philosophical inquires. Moreover, he took Hermias’s niece, Pythias, as his bride during his stay. Information on his life with his young bride is extremely limited. However, evidence suggests that they had a very happy life together. Sometime later Aristotle returned to Athens (335-334 BC) And it is around this time that his wife died. Pythias left him a daughter also named Pythias. Arguments exist as to whether or not Aristotle then had an ongoing affair with a woman named Herpyllis whom bore him a son, Nicomachus. There are those who greatly dispute this claim. Again Aristotle ventured back to Macedonia when Philip of

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