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Why did Aristotle leave Athens after Alexander the Great died?
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Aristotle
Aristotle, detail of a Roman copy (2nd century bce) of a Greek alabaster portrait bust (c. 325 bce); in the Museo Nazionale Romano, Rome.
Following the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE, Aristotle fled Athens due to a surge of anti-Macedonian sentiment in the city.12
As a prominent figure with strong ties to Macedonia—having served as Alexander’s tutor—Aristotle became a target of this political hostility. Fearing that the Athenians might persecute him, he chose to leave for Chalcis on the island of Euboea. In doing so, he famously remarked that he did not wish to give the city of Athens a second opportunity to "sin against philosophy," a reference to the earlier execution of Socrates. Aristotle died in Chalcis the following year.123