Five Lesser-Known Facts About Aristotle: From Tutoring Alexander the Great to Shaping the Islamic Golden Age
The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle (384–322 BC) is celebrated for his contributions to logic, ethics, and political theory. However, a recent overview highlights five lesser-known facets of his life. In 343 BC, he was appointed by King Philip II of Macedon to educate his son, Alexander the Great, for three years, focusing on ethics and governance. Aristotle studied more than 500 animal species, resulting in significant works such as History of Animals, where he accurately classified whales and dolphins as air-breathing mammals. Most of his surviving writings are lecture notes from the Lyceum, which he established in 335 BC. During the Muslim Golden Age (8th–13th centuries), Byzantine and Muslim scholars preserved his works, which were later reintroduced to Western Europe in the 12th and 13th centuries.
Key facts
- Aristotle lived from 384 to 322 BC and was an ancient Greek philosopher and scientist.
- In 343 BC, King Philip II of Macedon asked Aristotle to teach his 13-year-old son, Alexander the Great.
- Aristotle spent about three years at the Macedonian court teaching Alexander ethics, governance, and health.
- He is said to have given Alexander a marked copy of Homer’s Iliad, which Alexander carried on all his campaigns.
- Aristotle provided research reports on over 500 animal species, including the History of Animals, Generation of Animals, and Parts of Animals.
- He correctly deduced that whales and dolphins breathe air and give birth to live young, a fact not fully accepted for centuries.
- Most of Aristotle’s public writings are lost; the surviving texts are mainly study notes and detailed papers for his students at the Lyceum.
- In 335 BC, Aristotle founded the Lyceum in Athens, named after the temple of Apollo Lyceus, as one of the first research institutions.
- During the Muslim Golden Age (8th–13th centuries), thinkers such as Al-Kindi, Al-Farabi, Avicenna, and Averroes translated and expanded Aristotle’s ideas.
- Arabic copies of Aristotle’s writings returned to Western Europe in the 12th and 13th centuries, causing a major change in medieval schooling.
Entities
Artists
- Aristotle
- Alexander the Great
- Philip II of Macedon
- Al-Kindi
- Al-Farabi
- Avicenna
- Averroes
- Ibn Rushd
- Porphyry
- Jose Armet Portanell
- Homer
- Plato
- Giovanni Lagetti
- Raphael
- Luca della Robbia
- Rembrandt
Institutions
- Lyceum
- Plato's Academy
- The British Museum
- The Athens Centre
- Wikimedia Commons
- Getty Images
- The Collector
- Art UK
- Vatican Museums
- NY Times
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
Locations
- Macedon
- Athens
- Greece
- Lesbos
- Byzantine Empire
- Western Europe
- Macedonia
- Chalcis