Who was Alexander's tutor?

Aristotle was Alexander the Great’s tutor. Around 343 BC, Philip II of Macedon invited the philosopher to educate his thirteen-year-old son at Mieza, a royal estate near the Macedonian capital of Pella.

Aristotle taught Alexander and other sons of Macedonian nobles subjects including ethics, politics, medicine, philosophy, literature, and science. He introduced Alexander to Greek culture through works such as Homer’s Iliad, and tradition holds that he prepared an annotated copy of the poem that Alexander treasured during his campaigns.

The tutoring lasted only a few years. By about age sixteen, Alexander returned to Pella and began taking on public responsibilities, including serving as regent while Philip campaigned. Aristotle later returned to Athens, where he founded the Lyceum and developed the Peripatetic school.

Aristotle’s influence on Alexander should not be overstated. Alexander eventually adopted Persian customs and pursued policies that conflicted with Aristotle’s strongly Greek-centered political outlook. Xenophon, Socrates, and Plato were important Greek thinkers, but none served as Alexander’s personal tutor. Plato had taught Aristotle, making him Alexander’s intellectual grandfather in a broad philosophical sense.