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Mieza (Náousa)
Aristotle's school at Mieza.
The Greek author Plutarch of Chaeronea, writing at the beginning of the second century CE, had no doubts about it: as a boy, Alexander the Great had been the student of Aristotle of Stagira, the most famous philosopher of his age. The story, however, is a bit too good to be true:
Museum, Palermo)
As a place for the pursuit of their studies and exercise, [king] Philip II of Macedonia
assigned the temple of the Nymphs, near Mieza, where, to this very day,
they show you Aristotle's stone seats, and the shady walks which he was
wont to frequent. It would appear that Alexander received from him not
only his doctrines of Morals and of Politics, but also something of
those more abstruse and profound theories which these philosophers, by
the very names they gave them, professed to reserve for oral
communication to the initiated, and did not allow many to become
acquainted with.
It is not very likely that the future world conqueror was really interested in the more abstruse and profound theories, but there is no reason to doubt that the great scientist was once Alexander's teacher. The shrine of the Nymphs and the school of Aristotle have been identified by archaeologists; they were situated in one of the most beautiful and green parts of Macedonia.
Livius.Org, 2005
Revision: 16 Nov. 2008
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