Did Aristotle's teachings to Alexander the Great facilitate him in conquering lands later?

by JocularPhilosopher
Tiako

Indirectly, I suppose. A big part of Alexander's early self fashioning is that he planned to liberate the Greeks from the tyrannical Persians. It is somewhat difficult to get into the Greek mindset at this time because the standard education conflates "ancient history" with "Greco Roman" history, and so we tend to think of the period as being Greek times. In reality, Persia was the dominant cultural, economic, and political force in that corner of the world, and the Greeks were absolutely obsessed with it. T give just one example, when Socrates had to come up with the height of earthly pleasures to contrast them to philosophical pleasures (or a good night's sleep) in The Apology, he chose the Great King of Persia. The Greeks were absolutely aware that they were existing on the margins of empire, and even if they could occasionally gain localized dominance in the Aegean this could never translate to absolute dominance. Arguably this only changed with the expedition of the 10,000, who were Greek mercenaries who fought their way across the Persian Empire (long story), and so revived an idea that the Greeks could realistically beat the Persians. Xenophon, the most famous participant of this, was himself one of the leading lights of the "pan-Hellenists", the politicians and thinkers who, in the wake of the Peloponnesean Wars, advocated for a united front against the Persians. Philip II, Alexander's father and the conqueror of Greece, was himself taught by Epaminondas, who was certainly very closely related to the pan-Hellenists, even if he was only debatable one. It was not exactly a coherent political party, but there were very many influential Greeks who can be put under the heading of panhellenism.

So to understand the context of Philip II's conquest and Alexander's securing of Greece it is crucial to keep in mind that when they claimed to be trying to "liberate" the Greeks, it was not only the Greeks of Asia that they referred to, but also the Greeks of Greece, who needed to be liberated from the constant fear of Persia. In portraying himself as the liberator of the Greeks, Philip II undertook an extensive cultural program which included patronizing the playwright Euripides and, of course, hiring Aristotle to tutor Alexander. So, indirectly, Aristotle helped Philip and Alexander portray themselves as the liberators of Greece.

The more interesting question is what effect Aristotle had on Alexander, which I think can hardly be overstated. The drive to conquer India was one of those genuinely weird moments of history that I think can only be explained through biography, that is Aristotle instilling a deep seated curiosity and drive to explore in the young Alexander.