When Alexander was thirteen, Philip, to this point not
much involved in his son's upbringing, decided to choose a tutor
for him. The result would become one of the most famous mentors-student relationships
in history. Philip's reasons for choosing Aristotle were not purely
academic. First, there was Aristotle's family connection: his father
had served as court physician to an earlier Macedonian king. Moreover,
Aristotle had previously served in the court of Hermeias in Atarneus,
and an alliance there would be useful for Philip's plans to invade
Persia.
The position suited Aristotle as well. Not only did it
offer a high honor and the chance to pursue his research under
the most powerful of the Greek states, but it also gave him the
opportunity to influence the development of that state's future
leader. As the ultimate payment, Philip also restored Aristotle's
native city of Stagira, which he had himself conquered years before.
Alexander's education took place in a setting removed
from the capital city of Pella, in the more isolated village of
Mieza, within the so-called Precinct of the Nymphs. In this rural
seclusion, Alexander was joined by several of his most notable
peers, some of them future kings themselves. At Alexander's departure,
Philip urged his son to work hard and to learn to avoid repeating
his father's mistakes. In response, Alexander rebuked his father
for having had children by other women. In this regard, Alexander
seems to have been troubled not so much by any moral compunction,
but rather concerned for future conflicts over succession to his
father's throne. Alexander's ambition was therefore evident even
at this stage, if not earlier.
Alexander's education was for the most part formal, not
the kind of life training that we might envision in a mentor relationship. Rather,
the curriculum consisted mainly of standard subjects such as poetry,
rhetoric, geometry, astronomy, and eristics–the practice of arguing
a point from either side. Alexander developed a particular interest
in medicine–and not merely a theoretical interest, for he actually
prescribed treatments for sick friends throughout his life. When
Alexander set off on his Asiatic invasion, he brought along with
him a large group of zoologists and botanists, who returned with
collected materials and information that would form the basis for
several groundbreaking scientific works. Another of Alexander's
favorite subjects was Greek poetry. He held an especially strong
reverence for Homer, and he even saw the mythical Achilles as a
model to follow in his own life.
Though perhaps best known for his scientific treatises,
Aristotle also published his Ethics and Politics, and
his influence in these areas also reached Alexander. Aristotle
asserted this influence particularly with regard to the so-called
barbarians–a term that was used to characterize essentially all
non-Greeks. Alexander himself was already passionately anti-Persian;
and Aristotle provided him with the intellectual justifications
for his fated and inherited mission. Aristotle believed that slavery
was a natural institution, and that barbarians were by nature meant
to be slaves. He therefore encouraged Alexander to be a leader
to Greeks and a despot to barbarians, treating the former as friends
and the latter as beasts.
Aristotle saw barbarians as living only through and for
their senses, incapable of rising above hedonism. Alexander, in
his desire to follow a heroic paradigm, naturally placed great
value on honor, and with it the virtues of self-control and self-denial.
Therefore, in his own life he ate sparingly, gave generously while
keeping little for himself, and had a cautious attitude toward sex.
In these respects, Aristotle's influence was likely essential,
for he pushed Alexander along a path that diverged greatly from
the more precarious model set by his father.
Alexander spent three years studying with the great philosopher. In
the meantime, his father was mobilizing troops to pay a visit to noncompliant
allies in Perinthus and Byzantium. In 340 B.C., Philip he summoned
the sixteen-year-old Alexander to return and serve as Regent of
Macedonia and Master of the Royal Seal in Philip's absence. Thus
Alexander would retire from the Academy and begin the lessons of
real-life responsibilities.
