Aristotle (Aristotéles) Aristotle was born in 384 BC in Stagira, a place on Chalkidike (since King Philip part of Macedonia). At the age of 17 he went to Athens to study at Plato's Academy. First being a student and becoming a teacher himself later on, he stayed there for 20 years until Plato's death. Afterwards he followed an invitation of the ruler of Assos, Hermia. In Assos (Asia Minor) he married Hermia's niece, Phytias. After Hermia's murdering he went to Mytilene on Lesbos. Between 343/2 and 340, Aristotle became teacher of the young Alexander the Great at court of King Philip in Pella, capitol of Macedonia. In 335 he returned to Athens and founded there his own school, the Lykeion (Lyceum). After Pythias' death, he lived with Herpyllis. They had a son, Nikomachos. During the anti-Macedonian agitation after Alexander's death, Aristotle fled to Chalcis on Euboea in 323, where he died the following year (322 BC).

Aristotle's philosophy mainly differed from that of his former teacher Plato in the rejection of his Theory of Ideas. Aristotle is considered to be the founder of scientific logic. Up to the 20th century, one only meant the Aristotelean Logic when speaking of logic. In and around his philosophical works, he also investigated various research fields. Within his work as teacher, he made numerous scripts on themes of natural science, metaphysics, ethics, poetry and rhetoric. One main attention in Aristotle's philosophical works is drawn on biology, especially zoology. Above all, his observations (e.g. of bees) and classifications of nature, his anatomical descriptions, but also the descriptions of embryonic developmental courses were leading scientific works for his posterity. His biological classifications were influencing the systematics of creatures up to the 18th century. He therefore is called a father of biological systematics. Although having their mistakes from a modern point of view, the works of Aristotle with their classification of organisms by similar characteristics to different groups (genera) were the most important biological synthesis of its time.

(A. Pashos, Translation: B. Gedrose & A. Pashos)