Lyceum

Aristotle’s Lyceum, the place where the great ancient philosopher taught, was located in the eastern, lush suburb of the city, outside the walls and the gates of Diochares. It was bounded to the north by mount Lycabettus and the Iridanos river, and to the south by the Ilissos river and the Panathenaic Stadium. Although the area was known from ancient written sources, it was identified with certainty as the site of Aristotle’s School at the end of the 20th century, when archaeological excavations brought to light the remains of the Gymnasium’s Palaestra.

Already since the time of Peisistratus (6th century BCE), three famous Gymnasiums were operating in Athens: one in the suburb of the Academy, one in the Cynosarges and one in the Lyceum. These large outdoor areas with groves and rivers were places of recreation and exercise. There, young people played sports, prepared for their military duties and attended lectures by philosophers. Around the 5th century BCΕ, specialised facilities such as gymnasiums, palaestras, baths and stadiums began to take shape, leading to the sites’ evolvement into organised intellectual centres.

According to ancient sources, in the area of the Lyceum was the sanctuary of Apollo Lyceus, from which the region took its name. There, god Apollo was worshipped as Lyceus, taking on a pastoral aspect as the protector of herds from wolves. According to another suggestion, the name derived from Lycus, son of the mythical king of Athens, Pandion. Literary evidence also mentions a sanctuary dedicated to the Muses, a garden, two stoas (in one of which geographical maps were displayed), an altar and lodgings used to house students and teachers.

Aristotle, originally from Stagira in Chalkidiki, came to Athens in 367 BCE at the age of 17, to study under Plato at his Academy. After the death of his mentor in 347 BCE, he left Athens. Spending some years on the coasts of Asia Minor and Lesbos, he eventually settled in the court of the King of Macedonia, Philip, and took over the education of the – then young – Alexander the Great. After the battle of Chaeronea in 338 BCE, when the Macedonians prevailed in the political affairs of southern Greece, Aristotle returned to Athens. In 335 BCE, he founded his own philosophical school, modelled after Plato’s Academy. He chose the bustling Gymnasium in the vicinity of the Lyceum, but as a metic (a resident of Athens that was a citizen of another city) he had no rights to own land and he would have to lease the premises.

The school of the Stagirite philosopher is also known by the name “Peripatos”, which, according to Diogenes Laertius, a historian of philosophy from the 3rd century CE, arose from Aristotle’s habit of teaching and conversing with his students and associates while walking. Most scholars today believe that the word Peripatos refers to a specific area in the Gymnasium, either a stoa or a pathway with trees, as Aristotle used maps, charts, anatomical tables and other instructional material in his teaching that required a fixed space. Aristotle’s students were called ‘Peripatetic Philosophers and in later years, when Theophrastus took over the leadership of the School, the Peripatetic School is believed to have had 2000 students.

Lessons were held in the morning for advanced students and in the afternoon for beginners. The library of the School is referred to as the most important private library of antiquity, with numerous scrolls and maps, so that it later became the model for the library of Alexandria. The students and teachers at the School, dedicated to scientific and philosophical research, formed a community of men with communal characteristics, as the School provided housing and food.

Aristotle taught at the Lyceum for thirteen years. During this period of his stay in Athens, he wrote most of his work. After the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE, the anti-Macedonian sentiment flared in Athens, thus Aristotle was forced to leave the city. He fled to Chalcis, where he died in 322 BCE. He appointed his student Theophrastus as the director of his school.

During the invasion by Sulla in 86 BCE, the area of Lyceum suffered significant damages, both to the buildings and to the natural landscape, as the troops cut down the trees of the grove for the construction of siege engines. In the following years, the Palaestra and the Baths were repaired, indicating that the Lyceum continued to function as an educational space. The Palaestra was rebuilt at the end of the 3rd century, following the destruction caused by the raid of the Heruli in 267 CE. Its operation ceased at the end of the 4th century CE, leading to its abandonment.