Aristotle (oligarch)

Aristotle , the son of Timocrates, (* around 468 BC; † probably 403 BC ) was one of the thirty tyrants who died in Athens from August 404 BC. Until March 403 BC. Established an oligarchic reign of terror with the support of the Spartan occupying forces . He probably came from the Attic phyle Antiochis .

Aristotle was interested in philosophical problems in his youth. The philosopher Plato describes the young Aristotle in his dialogue Parmenides , where he spoke to the three philosophers Socrates (* 469 BC; † 399 BC), Parmenides and Zeno of Elea (* around 490 BC. , † around 430 BC). The descriptions of the people show that the time of the fictional dialogue action was around 450 BC. Is because Socrates is said to have been very young. At the same time it is said that Aristotle was the youngest of the group. From this we can conclude that he was around 468 BC. Must have been born. (Parmenides, 127d)

Plato's account also shows that Aristotle was a childhood friend of Pythodorus, son of Isolochus, who later held the honorary office of archon, the highest official of Athens, at the time of the Thirty Tyrants.

For decades Aristotle of Antiochis played an important role in the politics of the city of Athens as a member of the oligarchic, democracy-critical party. He is considered a consistent representative of a hard line in the oligarchical endeavors and was an opponent of the moderate oligarch Theramenes . In terms of foreign policy, he must be counted among those in favor of a compromise with Sparta.

The historian Thucydides mentions that Aristotle 426/425 BC. Supported the Athenian general Demosthenes in operations in the waters north-west of the Peloponnese as commander of 20 ships .

421/420 BC In BC Aristotle held the office of Hellenotamias, that is, he was one of the financial administrators for the secular state expenditures.

411 BC He was a member of the oligarchical assembly of the four hundred. He actively campaigned with Melanthios and Aristarchus to fortify the Eetioneia headland in front of the port of Piraeus . The rival politician Theramenes maliciously speculated that the fortification should serve to control the access to the port in order to let the Spartans into Athens treacherously at the appropriate opportunity. After the collapse of the rule of the Four Hundred, Aristotle had to flee the persecution initiated by Theramenes and go into exile. Probably he sought protection on the Spartan side. Xenophon mentions that he was born in 405 BC. Stayed with the Spartan general Lysander during the siege of Athens .

In 404 BC After the defeat of Athens, Aristotle was elected a member of the thirty-man oligarchical college that was to rule the city of Athens under Spartan supervision. Only his fellow tyrants and like-minded fellows Mnesilochos, Sophocles and Onomakles could look back, like him, on an experience in the oligarchic government of the Assembly of the Four Hundred.

After the overthrow of the Thirty Tyrants in March 403 BC. Aristotle is no longer mentioned in the sources. What is certain is that after this point in time he no longer played a role in Athenian politics. Presumably he perished in the fighting between the oligarchs and the democratic Piraeus party or was later murdered in Eleusis , where most of his tyrant colleagues had withdrawn, during a democratic advance into the city.

swell

• Plato: Parmenides 127d
• Thucydides: History of the Peloponnesian War Books 3, 105.3; 8, 90.
• Xenophon: Hellenika Book 2, 2, § 18; 3, § 2, 46

literature

• György Németh: Kritias and the Thirty Tyrants. Studies on the politics and prosography of the ruling elite in Athens 404/403 BC Chr. Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3515088660 .