ABSTRACT
Aristotle (384-322 bce) came to Athens as a young man to study in Plato’s Academy. Upon Plato’s death nearly twenty years later, Aristotle left Athens to spend time in Asia Minor and in Lesbos, returning in 343 bce to his home in Macedonia. In 335 bce he went back to Athens to set up his own school in the Lyceum, where he remained until the death of Alexander (323 bce) unleashed anti-Macedonian sentiments in Athens and he was charged with impiety. He fled to nearby Chalcis where he died about a year later. Most of the works Aristotle wrote for publication are lost; what survive are later compilations of works written for use within his school. Aristotle’s most influential political ideas connect human nature and its flourishing with political activity, ideally under a constitution in which virtuous citizens take turns at ruling and being ruled.
