The excellent student-teacher relationship between Alexander the Great and the philosopher Aristotle is a well-known chapter in the King of Macedon’s life. One of the greatest philosophers in history had tutored the future emperor of the largest part of the known world.
However, while Alexander was campaigning in Asia and battling King Darius of Persia in his effort to take over the Achaemenid Empire, he was informed that Aristotle, his beloved teacher, had done something he strongly disapproved of, prompting a sharp reaction.
The student-teacher relationship between Alexander the Great and Aristotle
Aristotle was brought to the Macedonian court by Philip II of Macedon and, beginning circa 343 BC, served as the tutor of his young son, Alexander the Great. For several years—most historians say roughly from the time Alexander was thirteen to his late teens—Aristotle shaped the prince’s intellectual formation, guiding him through philosophy, ethics, politics, natural science, and Greek literature.
According to the ancient biographer Plutarch, their school was located near Mieza (near modern-day Naoussa in Northern Greece), where Aristotle held lessons under shaded pathways and at stone benches that—even in Plutarch’s time—were still shown to visitors. In those early years, Alexander reportedly admired Aristotle greatly. Plutarch noted that “he admired at first, and loved him…more than he did his father.”
A long distance quarrel
When, later on as an adult, Alexander was in Asia, winning battle after battle and expanding his territories, he received news at some point that his teacher had published some of his “Acroamatic” (more esoteric) philosophical treatises.
The idea that someone else would share the precious knowledge his beloved teacher imparted enraged the young emperor. The teachings that once set him apart personally were now accessible to everyone. He immediately wrote a letter to his former teacher. According to Plutarch, in his letter to Aristotle, Alexander proclaimed:
“Thou hast not done well to publish thy acroamatic doctrines; for in what shall I surpass other men if those doctrines wherein I have been trained are to be all men’s common property? But I had rather excel in my acquaintance with the best things than in my power. Farewell.”
As Alexander matured and advanced on his eastern campaigns, their relationship seems to have cooled; Plutarch noted that the Macedonian king’s “kindly attentions lacked their former ardor…and this was proof of estrangement.”
Modern scholars express doubt
Historian Paul Cartledge notes that Alexander’s letter “captures a real tension” between the exclusivity of royal education and Aristotle’s impulse to systematize and disseminate knowledge. It reflects their differing views on the ownership of ideas: for Alexander, knowledge was power, reserved for royalty; for Aristotle, knowledge was a universal pursuit that should be accessible to all.
However, modern scholars have expressed skepticism about the authenticity of this exchange. The letter comes from the literary tradition surrounding the so-called Alexander Romance, a blend of history and legend composed centuries after Alexander’s death, and the specific letter is widely considered apocryphal.
Thus, while the anecdote effectively illustrates the idea of a student challenging his master—a symbolic “rebuke”—many scholars reject the story’s historical validity, regarding it as a later invention rather than fact.
The Aristotle and Alexander the Great exchange: Anecdote or fiction?
From this scholarly perspective, the relationship between teacher and student ended not with a fiery public denunciation but with a gradual estrangement. In other words, Alexander no longer required Aristotle’s moral and philosophical guidance, as his life had moved into a different realm—he was now a ruler, a conqueror, and a builder of an empire.
Plutarch’s phrase that Alexander’s “kindly attentions lacked their former ardor” most likely does not reflect betrayal but rather the natural distance that arises when a student’s path diverges from his teacher’s ideals. For scholars, the story of Alexander’s letter to Aristotle—whether anecdote or fiction—symbolizes the tension between philosophical ideals and political power. It raises enduring questions: Can a conqueror remain a true student of virtue? Does political power inevitably corrupt the soul?
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