ALEXANDER AND ARISTOTLE (9)
PART OF THE BOOK “SELECTED PAPERS FOR MACEDONIA”
BY SLAVÉ KATIN
Alexander the Greats’ work alone cannot be adequately evaluated without taking into consideration the role of his great teacher, Aristotle, who at one time said that “he loves Alexander not less than he loves his own father to whom he owes his physical life but his spiritual and eternal life he owes to Alexander”. (Plutarch C, Alexander, 8)
From what we know about Aristotle, he was born in 384 B.C. in Stagira, Chalcidice, a small Macedonian town located near today’s Holy Mountain and he died in 322 B.C. Stagira was established sometime in 655/4 B.C. by the people of Andra and Chalcidice, destroyed by Philip II in 350 B.C. and rebuilt later by Alexander.
Nicomachus, Aristotle’s father, was a private physician and a friend of the Macedonian Royal family since Amyntas II’s time. He was also Philip II’s physician.
Raised in the Macedonian court by a family of physicians, Aristotle became interested in studying medicine and joined the well established medical brotherhood of Asklepeys. He began his career as a part time physician in Stagira and at age 17 went to the school in Athens to study under Plato (427-347) where he stayed for two years.
Under Plato’s guidance, this rare and genius disciple “from the barbarian east”, as the anti-Macedonians called him, dubbed as “the brains of the Academy” by his teacher, quickly became an independent thinker. Aside from Europind, Aristotle was the first in his time to establish a library, which according to Plato was known as “The house of readers” in which Aristotle established a number of basic principles for its functioning; contributions he made in the name of science.
Later, during his stay in Athens, Aristotle established the famous school of rhetoric. Hermia, who later became ruler of the small state Aternea in the Aeolian part of Asia Minor, was among his disciples. In 345/4 Hermia brought Aristotle to Aternea, to the island of Mytilene, where Aristotle wrote his “Historia Animalium”. After gaining some notoriety as a reputable philosopher and teacher, at the age of 46 Aristotle was invited by Philip II, then king of Macedonia, to come to Pella to educate his son Alexander and his peers.
After the Macedonians occupied the City States in 334 B.C., Aristotle returned to Athens in time to witness the rise of his star pupil Alexander to king of Macedonia. At that time Athens had forever lost its independence both politically and spiritually and the embittered Demosthenes continued to deliver anti-Macedonian speeches but that did not faze Aristotle who dedicated his time to science even in this anti Macedonian atmosphere.
After joining the Macedonian Party in Athens and accepting Alexander’s ideals of rule, Aristotle dedicated himself to organizing a new school called “Lyceum” a name he took from the property where the training ground of the “Peri patics School” was located, which belonged to the temple of Apollo of Likea who, in mythology, defended this place from a pack of wolves.
To pay him back for the education he received, Alexander, during his campaigns in Europe, Asia and Africa, financed Aristotle’s schools particularly his physics and biology departments with considerable funding support. Alexander also provided Aristotle with samples of flora and fauna for his scientific research, which his expeditions discovered in his conquered territories. This was the first time in European history where state funds were invested in scientific research. Durant (1926), quoting Athenaeus, gave a figure of 800 talents being spent on Aristotle’s school in comparison to 70 talents being set aside for the initial Persian campaign expedition.
Although Aristotle’s stay in Athens was short, he and his school became dominant in Greek philosophy thus laying a scientific foundation leading to the development of our modern European civilization. His work in science spanned all fields including logic, physics, meteorology, biology, psychology, esthetics, rhetoric, criticism, poetry, philosophy, ethics, politics, metaphysics, etc. and comprised over 1,000 compositions out of which only one is preserved. However in regards to the volume and comprehensiveness of each, they would fill a whole library.
By bringing philosophy from the sky down to earth, Aristotle created a unique holistic spirit which in parallel influenced and followed Alexander’s accomplishments and statesmanship. The notion of “one” has remained key for understanding the development of philosophy during the Macedonian period and onwards (Žunjić, 1988, 16).
After Alexander’s unexpected death in 323 B.C., conditions in Athens changed considerably with a sharp increase in anti-Macedonian sentiment. Aristotle, being a Macedonian, had to leave Athens in order to avoid Socrates’s destiny and went to Chalcidice where he soon fell ill. Unhappy with the change in events Aristotle took poison in 322 B.C. and died at age 62. In a turn of events in October 322 B.C., Demosthenes, the great anti-Macedonian proponent, also poisoned himself while in Italy, where he was given asylum to escape falling into Macedonian hands.
These were turbulent times which bear witness to much turmoil, including the deaths of famous Macedonophil Phocion, eminent Athenian citizen, army commander, strategist and 45 time opponent of Demosthenes and respected Athenian orator Calimedon, both of whom were sentenced to death for treason in 319 B.C.
In a single year the young European civilization lost not only Alexander, its greatest military commander and ruler, but also Aristotle, its greatest philosopher, thinker and political orator. However, regardless of these losses, Alexander and Aristotle remained the shining lights throughout the Roman and Byzantine Empires, the Renaissance and today as well.
Alexander’s death, quoted by Plutarch (C, Alexander, 76) was described in the “The Court’s Diary” as the most magnificent commemorations ever held for a great leader with highest unparalleled honours ever bestowed by Macedonian priests, military representatives and foreign diplomats to a dead emperor. The main ceremonies lasted thirty days and were accompanied by even more ceremonies.
Alexander’s wish was to be buried modestly in Amon’s Oasis in Libya but Ptolemy I, one of his successors and future king of Egypt, insisted that his sarcophagus be transferred to Memphis and displayed in a wonderful royal tomb in the royal sector of Alexandria.
Ptolemy followed the Macedonian tradition that to be a king one had to bury a king because he wanted to inherit Alexander’s heritage. Ptolemy II glorified it and turned it into a Ptolemaic royal divine cult.
Alexander’s premature and tragic death raised a very important question: who was going to succeeded him? Before dying, when Alexander was asked to whom he was to leave his empire, he replied: “… to the best among the best.”
After the month long ceremony ended the Macedonian army was assembled in Babylon and at the request of its commanders was asked to choose its next leader. After a long deliberation it was finally decided that the Empire outside of Macedonia would be jointly ruled by Arrhideaus or Philip III, Philip II’s son with Felina of Larissa, and by Alexander’s unborn child with Roxana or Alexander IV (born three months later). The European part of Macedonia would be entrusted to Antipater. By this decision unity of the Macedonian Empire for the time being was preserved.
The highest military commander of Royal blood after Alexander was Perdiccas of Orestis, Kostur Region. At the time Perdiccas was commander of the cavalry and unofficial hiliatch or Grand Vizier.
After Alexander’s death Perdiccas was appointed commander of the Macedonian army outside of Macedonia and leader of the Macedonian governing council. According to Plutarch (Aleks. 15) there is an interesting story about Alexander and Perdiccas. Before setting off for the Persian campaign, Alexander divided up his personal possessions and almost all of his royal properties and gave them to his friends. After witnessing this Perdiccas asked Alexander if all he had he gave away, then what would remain for him, to which Alexander replied “hope”. Hearing that, Perdiccas too gave all he had including some of his property in Orestis so that he too could share in Alexander’s “hope”. This example was also followed by others.
Second highest in rank was Craterus of Lyncus, one of Alexander’s best generals and guardian of the state vault and of the new ruler, kings Philip III and Alexander IV. Craterus was very popular with the soldiers and was a loyal and dedicated Macedonian. Craterus died two years after Alexander’s death.
Sometime after Alexander’s death the situation took a turn for the worse as Perdiccas could not keep control of the rivalries between his generals so, in order to avoid a civil war, he made a decision to divide up the Empire outside of Europe and give a piece to each. Ptolemy received Egypt; Leonat received the Hellespont Phrygia; Antigonus received Phrygia, Pamphilia and Lycia; Lysimachus received Thrace; Piton received Media; Laomid received Syria; Eumenes received Cappadocia and Paphlagonia; etc. This division was the first manifestation of a separatist spirit in Alexander’s successors, contrary to Alexander’s dream of having a unified commonwealth.
Striving for certain independence and decentralization on one hand, and being short on political and economic preconditions on the other, created antagonism, mutual alliances and conflict among the new rulers; eventually leading to civil war.
Dubbed the era of Alexander’s successors or the era of the “Diadochi”, this period lasted from 323 to 281 B.C. and the period of “followers or epigonidi” lasted from 281 to 221 B.C.
Women in the Macedonian court also played a role in the antagonism between the dynasties. Olympias, Alexander’s mother, above all had the most dominant position especially since she was the daughter of king Neoptolemus of Molossia. Then there were Roxana, Eurydice and Cleopatra all vying for power.
During one of the Dynastic clashes at Ipsos (Sipsin-Karahisar), in August 301 B.C., where opposing forces were of equal strength, Monophtalmus, one of Alexander’s most important associates, died in battle. Tragically so did Alexander’s ideas of forming a single world. In this cruel civil war Olympias, Alexander’s mother, was also killed, as were his wife Roxana and son Alexander IV.
Then in 275 B.C., immediately after the death of Alexander’s direct successors: Ptolemy I, Seleucus, Antigonus, Monophtalmus, Lysimachus and the others divided Alexander’s empire into three major Macedonian kingdoms, one in the Balkans, one in Egypt and the other in Asia.
Much literature about Macedonia has been compiled and studied over the years, especially after the papyrus findings in Egypt depicting the works of Polibius, Plutarch and many others including its interpretations by modern authors (Ranović, 1983; Papazoglou, 1995 et al). Literature which details historical information about the social and economic conditions of the 3rd, 2nd and 1st century B.C. and information about the various post Alexandrian Macedonian states, their religions, spiritual life and scientific development up to the Roman occupation will not be presented here.
To be continue
By Slave Nikolovski-Katin
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