Aristotle

Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath whose work shaped logic, ethics, politics, natural philosophy and literary theory for centuries. A student of Plato and tutor to Alexander the Great, he stands at the centre of the intellectual world of classical Greece and the early Hellenistic period.

Aristotle was born in Stageira and died in Chalcis. After studying in Plato’s Academy, Aristotle taught Alexander the Great and later founded the Lyceum at Athens, where his school developed systematic investigations of logic, ethics, politics, biology and natural philosophy.

In Valerio Massimo Manfredi’s Child of a Dream, Tutored by Aristotle and bound closely to companions including Hephaestion and Ptolemy, Alexander learns to command cavalry, judge men and conceal his own ambitions. In Mary Renault’s Fire from Heaven, Alexander grows up inside the divided court of Philip II of Macedon and Olympias, learning early that family affection, dynastic survival and political loyalty cannot be separated. His taming of Bucephalus, friendship with Hephaestion and education under Aristotle help shape the confidence with which he imagines a larger destiny. Further fictional perspectives on Aristotle can be found in Christian Cameron’s Alexander and David Gemmel’s Dark Prince. For broader historical treatment of Aristotle, see Diodorus Siculus’ The Library, Books 16-20.