ARISTOTLES INFLUENCE ON ALEXANDERS

EDUCATION

Hist- 134

Gurvir Bhullar
Date - 04/03/16

Macedonian king Alexander the great was born to parents king Philip II and queen
Olympia. Tutored by Aristotle, the prince took charge of the companies cavalry at the age of 18
and aided Philip in defeating the Athenian and Theban armies at Chaeronea. After the death of
his father Alexander garnered the support of the Macedonian army and eliminated his enemies to
become king and leader of the Corinthian league. Alexander went to conquer Persia and Egypt,
his kingdom ranging from the Mediterranean to the border of India. Just 32 when he died from
malaria, he regarded as one of historys brilliant military leaders and most powerful rulers.
Aristotles was assigned tutor of Alexanders in age of thirteen by his father Philip. The
result would become one of the famous mentors relationship in history. Aristotle had family
connection with Alexanders family his father had served as court physician to an earlier
Macedonian king. Aristotle and an alliance there would be useful for Philip plans to invade
Persia. Not only did it offer a high honor and the chance to pursue his research under the most
powerful of the Greek states, but it also gave him the opportunity to influence the development
of the states future leader.
Cavalry commander at the age eighteen, king at twenty, conqueror of the Persian empire
at twenty-six, explorer of the Indian frontier at thirty, Alexander the great died before his thirtythird birthday, neither the ancient sources nor the modern literature take sufficient note of his
brilliant commanders extreme youth. Alexander the greats tomb was one of the biggest tourist
attractions of the ancient world.
Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle was born circa 384 B.C. in Stagira, Greece. After
Aristotles father died, Peoxenus of Atarneus, who was married to Aristotles older sister,
Arimneste, became Aristotles guardian until he came of age. When Aristotle turned seventeen,
Proxenus sent him to Athens to pursue a higher education. At the time, Athens was considered

the academic center of the universe. In Athens, Aristotle enrolled in Platos Greeks premier
learning institution, and proved an exemplary scholar.
In 338, he began tutoring Alexander the great. In 335, Aristotle founded his own school,
the Lyceum, in Athens, where he spent most of the rest of his life studying, teaching and writing.
On and off, Aristotle spent most of the remainder of his life working as a teacher, researcher and
writer at the Lyceum in Athens. Aristotle died in 322 B.C., after he left Athens and fled to
Chalcis.
In 338 B.C., Aristotle went home to Macedonia to start tutoring king Philip II son, the
then 13-year-old Alexander the great. When Alexander turned 13 years old, Philip, to this point
not much involved in his sons upbringing, decided to choose a tutor for him. The result would
become one of the most famous mentors-student relationships in history. Philips reasons for
choosing Aristotles family connection, his father had served as court physian to an earlier
Macedonian king. The position suited Aristotle as well. Not only did it offer a high honor and the
chance to pursue his research under most powerful of the Greek states, but it also gave him the
opportunity to influence the development of that states future leader. Philip and Alexander both
held Aristotle in high esteem and ensured that the Macedonian court generously compensated
him for his work.
Alexanders education took place in a setting removed from the capital city of Pella, in the more
isolated village of Mieza, within the so-called precinct of the Nymphs. In this rural seclusion,
and Alexander was joined by several of most notable peers, some of them future kings
themselves. All Alexanders departure, Philip urged his son to work hard and to learn to avoid
repeating his fathers mistakes. In response, Alexanders rebuked his father for having had
children by other women.

Alexanders education was for the most part formal, not the kind of life training that we
might envision in a mentor relationship. Rather, the curriculum consisted mainly of standard
subjects such as poetry, rhetoric, geometry and astronomy, the practice of arguing a point from
either side. Alexander developed an interest in medicine, he prescribed treatments for sick
friends throughout his life. His another favorite subject was Greek poetry.
Though perhaps best known for his scientific treaties, Aristotle also published his ethics
and politics and his influence in these areas also reached Alexander. Alexander was passionately
anti-Persian; and Aristotle provided him with the intellectual justification for his fated and
inherited mission. Aristotle believed that slavery was a natural institution, and that barbicans
were by nature meant to be slaves. He therefore encouraged Alexander to be a leader to Greeks
and a barbican, treaties the former as friends and the latter as beasts.
Alexander spent three years studying with the great philosopher. In the meantime, his
father was mobilizing troops to pay a visit to noncompliant allies in Perinthus and Byzantium. In
340 B.C., Philip he summoned the 16-year-old Alexander to return and serve as Regent of
Macedonia and master of Royal seal in Philips absence. Thus Alexander would retire from the
academy and begin the lessons of real-life responsibilities.
In 335 B.C., after Alexander had succeeded his father as king and conquered Athens,
Aristotle went back to the city. In Athens, Platos academy, now run by Xenocrates, was still the
leading influence on Greek thought. With Alexanders permission, Aristotle started his own
school in Athens, called the Lyceum.

Annotated Bibliography

Walbank, Frank W. "Alexander the Great." Encyclopedia Britannica Online.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 07 Apr. 2015. Web. 03 Apr. 2016.

"Alexander the Great (Alexander of Macedon) Biography." Alexander the Great

(Alexander of Macedon) Biography. N.p., July-Aug. 2013. Web. 03 Apr. 2016.

Evelyn. "Alexander and Aristotle." Alexander the Great and Aristotle. N.p., n.d. Web.

03 Apr. 2016.
Day, Doris. "Aristotle Biography." N.p., 23 June 2014. Web. 05 Apr. 2016.