Aristotle was a Greek philosopher who lived from 384 to 322 BCE. He was born in Stagira in northern Greece. His father served as a physician to the Macedonian royal court, which likely influenced Aristotle's later interest in biology.
As a young man, he moved to Athens to study at Plato's Academy, where he remained for about twenty years. After Plato's death, he left Athens, spent time in Asia Minor conducting biological research, and then served as tutor to the young Alexander the Great of Macedon. He returned to Athens in 335 BCE to found his own school, the Lyceum. He left Athens again in 323 BCE following Alexander's death and died in exile the next year.
His extensive surviving works are treatises that cover logic, physics, biology, metaphysics, ethics, politics, and literary theory. Major titles include the Physics, Metaphysics, Nicomachean Ethics, Politics, and Poetics. According to modern scholars, these texts represent only a portion of his output; his more popular writings are lost. The exact number and organization of his treatises remain subjects of academic discussion.
Aristotle's historical importance is foundational. He created the first comprehensive philosophical system in the West, inventing and defining entire fields of study. His work in logic, especially his theory of the syllogism, dominated the subject for centuries. His scientific theories shaped medieval thought, and his detailed biological observations were unmatched in the ancient world. His ethical and political ideas, centered on virtue and human flourishing, continue to be central to philosophy. Through later Arabic and Latin translations, he became the central authority for medieval scholars and remains a major figure in contemporary philosophical debate.
Available Works
Διαιρέσεις Ἀριστοτελικαί
Aristotelian Divisions
99 passages
Ἐπιστολαὶ πρὸς Φίλιππον
Aristotle's Letters to Philip
7 passages
᾿Αριστοτέλους φυσικά προβλήματα κατ᾿ εἶδος
Aristotle's Natural Problems by Type
218 passages
Διάφορα Ἀποσπάσματα
Dialogic Fragments
796 passages
Ἠθικὰ Εὐδήμεια
Eudemian Ethics
72 passages
Ἀθηναίων πολιτεία
Fragments of Lost First Part
265 passages
Ἐκ τοῦ περὶ ἀκουστῶν
From-Things Heard
10 passages
Μεγάλα Ἠθικά
Great Ethics
51 passages
Περὶ Τὰ Ζῷα Ἱστορίαι
History of Animals
307 passages
τὰ Μετὰ τὰ Φυσικά
Metaphysics
228 passages
Μετεωρολογικά
Meteorology
105 passages
Ἠθικὰ Νικομάχεια
Nicomachean Ethics
176 passages
Περὶ Μαντικῆς κατὰ Ὕπνον
On Divination by Sleep
5 passages
Περὶ Γενέσεως καὶ Φθορᾶς
On Generation and Corruption
50 passages
Περὶ ἀτόμων γραμμῶν
On Indivisible Lines
10 passages
Περὶ Ἑρμηνείας
On Interpretation
18 passages
Περὶ θαυμασίων ἀκουσμάτων
On Marvelous Tales
36 passages
Περὶ Μνήμης καὶ Ἀναμνήσεως
On Memory and Recollection
9 passages
Περὶ Ζῴων Μορίων
On Parts of Animals
118 passages
Περὶ ποιητικῆς
On Poetics
32 passages
Περὶ Ἀναπνοῆς
On Respiration
21 passages
Περὶ Αἰσθήσεως καὶ Αἰσθητῶν
On Sense and Sensibles
27 passages
Περὶ Ὕπνου καὶ Ἐγρηγόρσεως
On Sleep and Wakefulness
10 passages
Περὶ Σοφιστικῶν Ἐλέγχων
On Sophistical Refutations
42 passages
Περὶ Ζῴων Πορείας
On the Gait of Animals
22 passages
Περὶ Ζῴων Γενέσεως
On the Generation of Animals
150 passages
Ἀποσπάσματα
On the Good and Happy Life
2 passages
Περὶ Οὐρανοῦ
On the Heavens
92 passages
Ἀποσπάσματα
On the Inundation of the Nile
4 passages
Περὶ Μακροβιότητος καὶ Βραχυβιότητος
On the Length and Shortness of Life
7 passages
Περὶ Ζῴων Κινήσεως
On the Movement of Animals
13 passages
Περὶ Πνεύματος
On the Spirit
12 passages
περὶ Ἀρετῶν καὶ Κακιῶν
On Virtues and Vices
6 passages
Περὶ Ξενοφάνους, περὶ Ζήνωνος, περὶ Γοργίου
On Xenophanes, Zeno, Gorgias
15 passages
Περὶ Νεότητος καὶ Γήρως
On Youth and Old Age, Life and Death
7 passages
Φυσικὴ Ἀκρόασις
Physics, Alternate Text
16 passages
Φυσιογνωμονικά
Physiognomics
20 passages
Ἀνέμων θέσεις καὶ προσηγορίαι
Positions and Names of Winds
2 passages
Ἀναλυτικὰ Πρότερα
Prior Analytics
155 passages