9 moments

1. Born at Stagira

   0384-01-01 BC · Ancient Stagira, Chalkidiki, Greece

   

   Aristotle was born at Stagira on the northern Aegean coast. The city supplied his enduring epithet, “the Stagirite.” Only the year is securely reported; no birth month or day survives.

2. Studies at Plato’s Academy

   0367-01-01 BC · Platonic Academy, Athens, Greece

   

   Aristotle moved to Athens and entered Plato’s Academy, where he remained for approximately twenty years as a student, researcher, and eventually lecturer. The coordinate is the archaeological site of the Academy; its fourth-century activities also used nearby properties. Aristotle’s arrival age is variously given as seventeen or eighteen.

3. Moves to Assos

   0347-01-01 BC · Assos, Troad, Çanakkale Province, Turkey

   

   After Plato’s death, Aristotle joined the philosophical circle at Assos under Hermias. His years there included philosophical work and growing engagement with natural history. Sources variously date the move to 348 or 347 BC; 347 BC follows the cited chronology.

4. Settles in Mytilene

   0345-01-01 BC · Mytilene, Lesbos, Greece

   

   Aristotle relocated to Mytilene on Lesbos, where he worked with Theophrastus and pursued research associated with the beginnings of systematic zoology and marine biology. Some scholarly chronologies place the move in 344 BC or identify only Lesbos rather than Mytilene. The coordinate represents Mytilene.

5. Teaches Alexander at Mieza

   0343-01-01 BC · Nymphaeum of Mieza, near Naousa, Central Macedonia, Greece

   

   Tradition places Aristotle’s instruction of Alexander and other Macedonian nobles at Mieza, at a sanctuary and garden complex associated with the Nymphs. The teaching relationship is well attested, but Carlo Natali has challenged the traditional identification of Mieza as its location. The coordinate is the archaeological site traditionally called Aristotle’s school.

6. Travels to the Macedonian court at Pella

   0343-01-01 BC · Ancient Pella, Central Macedonia, Greece

   

   Philip II summoned Aristotle to Macedonia to educate the young Alexander. Pella was the royal capital and the documented destination of Aristotle’s journey from Lesbos. The appointment is also dated 343/342 BC in the biographical tradition. Coordinates identify the archaeological site of ancient Pella.

7. Founds his school at the Lyceum

   0335-01-01 BC · Aristotle’s Lyceum, Athens, Greece

   Aristotle returned to Athens and established the school later known as the Lyceum or Peripatetic school. It became the center of his teaching, collaborative research, collections, and library. The coordinate identifies the excavated Lyceum grounds; the precise building used by Aristotle is not securely established.

8. Withdraws to Chalcis

   0323-01-01 BC · Chalcis, Euboea, Greece

   Following Alexander’s death and a resurgence of anti-Macedonian feeling in Athens, Aristotle left the city and relocated to Chalcis on Euboea. Some chronologies date the flight to 322 BC. The coordinate represents Chalcis because the location of his maternal family estate is unknown.

9. Dies at Chalcis

   0322-01-01 BC · Chalcis, Euboea, Greece

   

   Aristotle died at Chalcis during his final residence on Euboea, ending a life whose schools and writings profoundly shaped later philosophy and science. Only the year is securely reported. The exact death site within Chalcis and the day and month are unknown.