Aristotle

[amir]

My Pothos friends I like to update you on the progress of my comic.
We have almost completed the main outline pictures of the first chapter which is titled the early years.
My main dificulty at this point is the mieza school teachings of aristotle. In a couple of pictures I have to show Aristotle teaching the class and Alexander his wisdom.
Any ideas or suggestions are welcomed.Amir

[maciek]

It should be more like discussion then like regular class with tables and blackboard. There was a two storey building with columns wich fragments are in museum in Veroia. The place is beautifull and it made great impression for me when I were there this year. I have some photos from there - if You like I can send it to You just to have a idea how it look like. I think Aristotele made countless discussions with his young printisses (I don't know the spelling but love that word after SW), and during those disscusions he showed them all ways of orations, philosophy knowledge, political ideas - maybe even model of ideal country, and many more like mathematic, geography and so on.Maciek

[amir]

thank you for the offer but I have sketched a drawing of a small theater for the teaching scene.
I guess I am more at lost about the type of dialogue I need to come up with.Amir

[marcus]

Hi Amir,I was reading something a few days ago that pointed out that we have *no idea* exactly what Aristotle taught Alexander at Mieza. You have to remember that Aristotle, while well known in Greece, had not published his works (or most of them) at the time, and was probably only just formulating his works.However, it is almost certain that he did teach literature (because we know that Alexander had an annotated copy of the Iliad from Aristotle) and he probably taught 'sciences'.To be on the safe side (if you want my opinion), if you want historical accuracy, I would include some dialogue of Aristotle teaching the boys something like 'the nature of Homer's heroes', or a dissection of the poetry in the Iliad...All the bestMarcus

[amir]

thanks marcus I was thinking of aristotle showing the map of the world as he knew it to be and showing his xenophobia side.what do you think ?

[marcus]

You mean the bit from "Politics" where Aristotle says that all barbarians were born to be slaves (or something like that)?That would be cool - it is vey reasonable to assume that in the late 340s Aristotle was teaching this - it was, after all, hardly his original concept.It would be quite good to have his map of the world, as it was so patently wrong!All the bestMarcus

[ruthaki]

Did they walk around in the gardens of the school while Aristotle lectured as the Peripatetics did?\I haven't been to Mieza as yet (have photos) but I have been at the site of Platos school in Athens which was a large area of gardens and woodlands by the river where I understand the students followed him about as he taught.

[maciek]

This place is not so large but very beautifull. I think You will love it Ruth when You will finaly be there. Marcus we have no evidences what Aristotele tought king's boys but I think it's quite obvious that he had to tought them all he could in three years period and from every discipline. We also know that he tought them acsiomatic knowledge which was sciences as You wrote. We know it from complains which Alex made to Aristotele when he published it as it was now knew for everybody and should be known only for choosen people. I think that sciences could mean almost all disciplines. Such other like politics or rethoric we also know he tought them.Maciek

[ruthaki]

Amir, what I am curious about is this. If you are living in Athens why aren't you able to take a few field trips to these places, such as Mieza, to get the 'feel' of it and see from what is there how you can imagine the place to be. For the whole last part of my novel I have done that several times and you'd be surprised at how your imagination can conjur the scenes as they might have been. Seeing it in real life is a very valuable experience the artist/writer needs to have.