Born in the Ionian colony of Stagira in Macedonia, Aristotle lost his parents at an early age. Little is known about them, but scholars have recorded that his father, Nicomachus, served as the court physician to the King of Macedon. When Aristotle was seventeen, his guardian sent him to study in Athens, under Plato. Aristotle spent twenty years at the Academy and left after Plato's death in 347 B.C. After a period of travel, Aristotle married Pythias, with whom he had a daughter and probably a son, Nicomachus. In 342, Aristotle was appointed tutor to Philip II's thirteen-year-old son, Alexander (later known as Alexander the Great). After remaining in the Macedonian court at Pella for some time, Aristotle probably retired to Stagira in 340, when Alexander became his father's regent. Not long after, in 335, Aristotle returned to Athens and founded a school, the Lyceum. Here, Aristotle lectured, conducted research, and established a library. Upon Alexander's death in 323, the anti-Macedonian party grew strong in Athens. Some of its officials charged him with impiety and prosecuted him. Following this incident, Aristotle left the directorship of his school to Theophrastus and departed Athens for the last time. He retired to Chalcis and died in the next year, 322.
