Alexander and Aristotle

Aristotle was a Greek philosopher who had a connection with Alexander the Great, conquerer of the world. Aristotle grew up and learned about everything from philosophy to law and was sought out by Philip king of Macedonia to tutor his son Alexander. While it is said that Alexander did enjoy the company and lessons of Aristotle, it cannot be said that he absorbed all of the knowledge carefully. A few years after his sessions with Aristotle ended he did not go into higher education. Instead he seized the opportunity to conquer the known world. Alexander found this initial instinct too powerful to overcome and went with it. Some parts of Aristotle's philosophical teachings may have been crammed in Alexander's sub conscience when he was campaigning through the entirety of the land. The most prominent example of philosophy is the Gordian Knot. This was an intricate knot that was said to be impossible to untie. Alexander sliced it with his sword proclaiming, "It does not matter how you untie the knot." This is one of the few signs of Aristotle Alexander ever showed. For the most part he was bent on an idealistic view that he can make an army better than anyone else could and blaze across the entire land, forcing people to come at him with all they had.

 "Aristotle (384-322 BCE): Overview [Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy]." UTM.edu - The University of Tennessee at Martin. Web. 26 Feb. 2010. <http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/a/aristotl.htm>. 


"The ten-horned beast: Alexander the Great." Livius. Articles on Ancient History. Web. 26 Feb. 2010. <http://www.livius.org/aj-al/alexander/alexander00.html>.


"File:Alexander and Aristotle.jpg -." Wikimedia Commons. Web. 26 Feb. 2010. <http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alexander_and_Aristotle.jpg>.