Archaeologists in northern Greece believe they have found the school where the great thinker Aristotle taught a young Alexander the Great. The buildings are about 2,400 years old. They stand at Mieza, an ancient town about 43 kilometres (27 miles) from Pella, the old capital of the kingdom of Macedonia. Greece’s Ministry of Culture shared the news in September.

Alexander was the son of King Philip II of Macedonia. When the boy was about 13, his father asked Aristotle, one of the most important thinkers of ancient Greece, to be his teacher. Alexander later became king and built one of the largest empires the world had ever seen.

At Mieza, the team uncovered a group of buildings with stone columns and mosaic floors, which are pictures made from many small pieces of stone. One room was a lecture hall with stone desks. There were also two large dining halls, each with space for nearly a dozen couches. Earlier digs at the site had already found a stadium and an area for sports.

The archaeologists also found coins, pottery, and four styluses. A stylus is a pointed tool that students used for writing. Finding the four styluses “allows us to dream that one belonged to Alexander,” said Graham Wrightson, a historian at South Dakota State University.

Angeliki Kottaridi, the archaeologist who led the work, says Philip II built the school to educate his son and the children of important Macedonian families. The buildings also look very similar to Philip’s royal palace at Aigai. Historian Jeanne Reames, from the University of Nebraska, agrees that “all the evidence suggests” this is the school where Aristotle taught Alexander.

Not every expert is ready to say this is certain. Historian Miltiades Hatzopoulos thinks it is probably the right place, but he pointed out that Kottaridi has not yet published a scientific paper with her evidence. A paper like this would let other researchers study the findings in detail.

Historian Elizabeth Baynham has an idea about why the school was built away from the capital. She said Mieza was far enough from Pella that Alexander might have had a chance to escape if someone killed his father. In the end, Philip was killed in 336 B.C., and Alexander became king at the age of 20.

Sources: Live Science, Smithsonian

Archaeologists in northern Greece say they have located the school where Aristotle, one of the most influential philosophers in history, tutored the young Alexander the Great. The ruins, which date to the fourth century B.C., lie at Mieza, an ancient Macedonian site about 43 kilometres (27 miles) from Pella, the kingdom’s capital at the time. Greece’s Ministry of Culture announced the findings in September.

King Philip II of Macedonia hired Aristotle to teach his son, who was about 13 when the lessons began. Alexander would go on to build an empire that stretched from Greece to Egypt and as far east as India.

The newly excavated complex is far grander than a simple classroom. Its centrepiece is a teaching hall, or didaskaleion, fitted with stone desks. Nearby are two banquet halls with mosaic floors and raised platforms for nearly a dozen couches, decorated in a style closely resembling Philip’s royal palace at Aigai. Earlier digs at Mieza had already revealed a wrestling ground, a stadium, and a covered running track about 200 metres long.

Among the smaller finds are coins, pottery, fragments of containers for sacred olive oil from Athens, and four bronze styluses, the pointed tools students used to write on wax tablets. Finding the four styluses “allows us to dream that one belonged to Alexander,” said Graham Wrightson, a historian at South Dakota State University.

Angeliki Kottaridi, the archaeologist who led the excavation, believes Philip built the complex specifically to educate his son alongside the children of Macedonia’s noble families. Some outside experts find the case convincing. “I agree that all the evidence suggests this is the school Philip provided for Aristotle to tutor the young Alexander and his fellow students,” said Jeanne Reames, a historian at the University of Nebraska.

Others are taking a more cautious line. Historian Miltiades Hatzopoulos accepts that the site is likely the right one, but noted that “the excavator has given interviews, but has not yet published a paper with the relevant testimonies.” Until that research appears in print, other scholars cannot fully examine the evidence behind the claim.

Historian Elizabeth Baynham has a theory about why the school was built outside the capital. In her view, Mieza was “far enough away to potentially give Alexander a chance for escape if his father was assassinated.” Philip was in fact murdered in 336 B.C., and Alexander, then 20, took his place as king.

Sources: Live Science, Smithsonian