But there were other influences. The boast that Thucydides puts into the mouth of Pericles, that Athens was the school of Greece, must also have been true for Aristotle. During his stay at the Academy Aristotle was also a student of the cultural and political life of Athens. When Plato died in 347 B.C., Plato's nephew Speusippus was elected head of the Academy. At this same time Aristotle left Athens and traveled to Assos in Asia Minor.
Why Aristotle left the academy is a matter for speculation. There are personal, philosophical, and political considerations, some or all of which may have contributed to his decision to leave. First, he was not chosen as Plato's successor at the Academy. Possibly he was overlooked because Speusippus was Plato's relative and was thus in a position to inherit property that belonged to Plato and the Academy, while Aristotle was not even an Athenian citizen. Second, Aristotle may have found the philosophical direction of the Academy increasingly disagreeable. Discussion and argument had inclined more toward the madiematical world of numbers and farther away from the natural world of living beings, a direction that continued under Speusippus's leadership. Finally, just before Plato's death, Philip of Macedonia had destroyed the city-state of Olynthus.
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