L’Aristotele di Dione: precettore di principi e ‘politico in patria’

Elaborating on traditional material, Dio of Prusa constructs in Trajan’s time a somewhat original image of Aristotle: Homeric exegete, tutor to Alexander, unfortunate politician at home. The image, which is intended to remind the public of Dio’s situation and personal ambitions in Rome and Prusa, develops an ‘eccentric’ aspect of Aristotle’s bios, his less than good relations with the Stagirites. This aspect is not echoed in contemporary and later literature, in all likelihood because it is too closely linked to Dio’s contingent situation and unable to portray an image of the philosopher that can be shared by Greek communities.