Aristotle Family Tree: The Story Behind The Tutor of Alexander the Great

Aristotle (Greek: Ἀριστοτέλης), born 384 BCE in Stagira, Chalcidice (now Greece), was a Greek philosopher and polymath — student of Plato at the Academy; tutor of Alexander the Great (343 BCE onwards); founder of the Lyceum in Athens (335 BCE). One of the most-influential thinkers in Western history. He died 322 BCE at age 62.

The Family's Roots: A Stagirite Family

The Aristotle family was from Stagira, on the Chalcidice peninsula.

His Parents

Father: Nicomachus — court physician to King Amyntas III of Macedon (grandfather of Alexander the Great); died when Aristotle was young.

Mother: Phaestis — also from a wealthy Chalcidian family.

His Siblings

Arimneste — Aristotle's elder sister.

Arimnestus — Aristotle's brother.

His Wife: Pythias

Pythias — niece (some say adopted daughter) of Hermias of Atarneus, a former student of Plato and tyrant of Atarneus. Aristotle married Pythias around 345 BCE while living in Atarneus under Hermias's protection. She died after the birth of their daughter.

Their Daughter

Pythias (the Younger) — daughter; named after her mother; lived in Aristotle's household.

His Partner: Herpyllis

Herpyllis of Stagira — Aristotle's second long-term partner after Pythias's death; mother of his son.

Their Son

Nicomachus — Aristotle's son with Herpyllis; namesake of the Nicomachean Ethics.

His Famous Students

Alexander the Great — King of Macedon (356–323 BCE); Aristotle was his tutor 343–340 BCE.

Theophrastus (c. 371–287 BCE) — succeeded Aristotle as head of the Lyceum.

The Aristotle Family Tree at a Glance

Father: Nicomachus — Macedonian court physician.

Mother: Phaestis.

Siblings: Arimneste; Arimnestus.

Wife: Pythias of Atarneus (m. c. 345 BCE; died after the birth of their daughter).

Daughter: Pythias the Younger.

Partner: Herpyllis of Stagira.

Son: Nicomachus — namesake of the Nicomachean Ethics.

Famous students: Alexander the Great; Theophrastus (succeeded him at Lyceum).

Aristotle:

  • Born 384 BCE, Stagira
  • Sent to Plato's Academy in Athens at age 17 (367 BCE) — stayed 20 years
  • Left after Plato's death 347 BCE
  • Worked at Atarneus under Hermias (347–344 BCE)
  • Tutor to Alexander the Great in Macedon: 343–340 BCE
  • Returned to Athens 335 BCE; founded the Lyceum (peripatetic school)
  • After Alexander's death (323 BCE), anti-Macedonian sentiment forced Aristotle to flee Athens
  • Died 322 BCE, Chalcis, age 62
  • Wrote ~200 treatises; ~31 survive
  • Works: Organon, Physics, Metaphysics, Nicomachean Ethics, Politics, Rhetoric, Poetics, De Anima, Categories

What the Aristotle Family Story Teaches Us

A Macedonian court-physician father. A wealthy Stagirite mother. Two siblings. A wife from a tyrant's family. A daughter and son (the latter with a long-term partner) — both featured in his writings. A pupil who became Alexander the Great.

For every family — large or small, famous or otherwise — the Aristotle story carries the same lesson. Some families produce both a daughter named after the mother and a son named after the grandfather — preserving family memory through naming.

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