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367 BCE: Aristotle
enrolls in the
Academy and
becomes a student
of Plato.
384 BCE: Aristotle
was born in
Stagirus,
Macedonia
Legend
Political
Academic
Personal
347 BCE:
Aristotle marries
Pythias.
347 BCE:
Plato dies and
Aristotle is
passed over
as head of the
Academy.
343 BCE: Aristotle,
invited by King Phillip
II, went to Macedonia
to tutor his son,
Alexander the Great.
345 BCE:
Aristotle begins
writing his book,
“Politics”. He
never finished the
book until about
335 BCE.
335 BCE: Aristotle
founded his own
school, called
Lyceum.
323 BCE:
Aristotle is
forced to flee
Athens.
322 BCE:
Aristotle
passes away.
The most notable rulers during
this time are King Phillip II and
his successor and son,
Alexander the Great; both of
these kings ruled over the
Macedonian Empire. King Phillip
II took over much of the Athenian
Empire during his rule.
Alexander took over his fathers’
empire at the young age of
twenty when his father passed
away. For a young leader,
Alexander surprised many with
his strong attributes and his
ability to lead his military.
Aristotle lived during the 4th century
BCE which was the height of
Classical Greek society; art,
architecture, literature and
philosophy flourished. Aristotle fit
right into this period in time with his
fascination of education.
Alexander’s Empire
Alexander was engaged in a war against the Persian
empire and his victory proved why he would become
known as Alexander the Great. One of the most
influential events during the fourth century BCE to
effect Aristotle was the death of Alexander. Following
Alexander’s death in 323 BCE a series of civil wars
broke out and the leading forces strongly opposed the
Macedonians. This period is regarded as a decline in
Greek society. Literature was not preserved as well as
previously in time and the height of the arts fell.
Macedonia; the place of
Aristotle’s birth.
Aristotle was born in Stagirus, Macedonia
in Greece in 384 BCE. His father was the
court physician to the Macedonian royal
family; the son of the ruling king at the
time was Phillip II. This forced Aristotle
and Phillip have interactions at a young
age . For the first portion of his life,
Aristotle shadowed his fathers career and
studied medicine. Nichomachus,
Aristotle’s father, pasted away when
Aristotle was only ten years old. After the
death he was placed under the guidance
of Proxenus.
At the age of seventeen Aristotle enrolled at the
Academy in Athens and became a student of Plato. At
the academy students learned about mathematics,
astronomy, philosophy, medicine and political theory.
Although he started out as a student at the academy,
he eventually became a teacher there himself and
aspired to lead the school after Plato. Plato passed
away in 347 BCE. Despite his aspirations Aristotle was
not chosen as the successor of Plato and left the
school shortly after the death.
The period in Aristotle’s life directly after leaving the
Academy is unclear, there are a few favored
possibilities. Some say that he traveled Asia minor
(now Turkey) studying biology and philosophy.
Another theory is that he moved to Mysia and stayed
in the court of his friend and ruler, Hermeas. In 347
Aristotle married the niece of king Hermeas, Pythias.
Although the past area in his life is uncertain, most
historians can agree on the fact that in 338 BCE,
Aristotle returned to Macedonia. This was under an
invitation from his child hood acquaintance, Phillip II;
Phillip was now the ruling king and had a young son
named Alexander. Phillip asked Aristotle to come and
tutor his son. The tutoring ended in 336 BCE when
Phillip passed away and Alexander took over the
thrown.
Aristotle returned to Athens shortly after it had been
conquered by Alexander. In 335 BCE Aristotle built his
own school in Athens named Lyceum. He was the
head of the school for twelve years and in his time he
wrote extensively on the topics of ethics, politics,
metaphysics and science and logic. Around 335 BCE
or maybe a bit later in time, Aristotle finished one of
his most famous works, “Politics”.
Aristotle was forced to flee Athens after the sudden
death of Alexander in 323 BCE. This was because
Aristotle was associated with the Macedonian kings
because of his friendship and tutoring with the royal
family; and after Alexander’s death Athens was
overtaken by forces strongly opposing the
Macedonians. To avoid prosecution Aristotle fled to
his house in Euboea. After about a year of residing in
his country home, Aristotle passed away due to an
alleged stomach illness, which has yet to be
completely confirmed.
Theophrastus became the successor of Aristotle’s
school and tried his best to preserve the works of
Aristotle but because of the numerous amounts of
writings composed, many were lost in the process. It is
said that only thirty of the original one hundred and fifty
philosophical treaties remain to date. Although many of
the treaties are claimed to be incomplete lecture notes.
Aristotle’s works ranged from the topic of physics to
political morals.
Aristotle’s achievements continue to effect society to
this day with his works in politics, ethics, philosophy
and other fields still being studied in universities and
colleges.
Aristotle’s achievements in biology were not passed
for centuries after his death. His studies in this
region held vast effects on the medical field,
surgeries on the brain were now more accurate and
safe than previous to his time.
His biological
advancements also
lead to a system for
classifying animals
and plants based on
certain characters.
This effected the
theory of evolution.
One of Aristotle’s achievements was his work in politics. His thesis
was “that human beings are by nature political animals, who
naturally want to live together.” This was his theory behind the
reason why city-states and political governments come into being.
His thesis gave a physiological reasoning for one distinct ruler. So
no longer could leaders claim religious status but natural instinct
status as well. This theory evolved into the six-fold classification
as shown below:
Correct
Deviant
One Ruler
Kingship
Tyranny
Few Rulers
Aristocracy
Oligarchy
Many Rulers
Polity
Democracy
This classification effected political divisions through out
Aristotle’s time.
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